Medical students' impression of a generalist in Japan: A cross-sectional study

BackgroundDespite the increasing global demand, few medical students aspire to become generalists. To address this shortage, we investigated medical students' impressions of generalists in Japan.MethodsThis cross-sectional study used a web-based questionnaire from a previous study. The participants chose the impression of a generalist from four categories based on the previous report: family physician, hospital family physician, hospitalist, and general internal medicine.ResultsMedical students' impressions were as follows: family physicians (32%), hospitalists (28%), general internal medicine staff (20%), and hospital family physicians (18%). Students considered reasonable working hours, research opportunities, a clinical clerkship in generalist medicine, and information from university faculty as essential for making career choices.ConclusionsThe study demonstrated that the number of Japanese medical students who considered generalists to be family physicians/hospital family physicians and the number of those who considered generalists to be hospitalists/general internal medicine were almost equal. To increase the number of medical students who consider and choose to become generalists, understanding their impressions of generalist practice and their needs regarding work settings in that role is crucial. Understanding how medical students think of Generalists helps to address the global demands. Medical students' impressions of generalists were family physicians, hospitalists, general internal medicine, and hospital-based family physicians. Medical students have varying impressions of generalists, and the individual factors affecting their career choices differ.