{"title":"Factors Influencing the completion of 2 years of rural service by MBBS graduates at an Indian medical college - A qualitative study.","authors":"Verna Mauren Amy, Nachiket Shankar","doi":"10.4103/efh.EfH_288_17","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Physician shortage in rural areas is a global problem that is one of the contributors to disparities in health indicators between rural and urban areas. The medical college to which the authors are attached has a 2-year mandatory rural service requirement which medical graduates are expected to fulfil. However, some students choose the option of paying off rather than completing the service requirement. The objective of this study was to explore the facilitating factors and barriers for MBBS graduates from the above medical college to complete the mandatory rural service requirement.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>This was a qualitative study in which data was collected through in-depth interviews with 15 alumni of the college who were pursuing their postgraduate courses or working as junior residents. The participants in the study comprised those who completed or partially fulfilled the rural service requirement as well as those who chose to opt out of it. Data collection and analysis were done in August and September 2016 after obtaining ethical clearance from the Institutional Ethics Committee. Purposive sampling was done to ensure the diversity of responses. A semi-structured interview guide was used to conduct the interviews after pilot testing. Transcripts of the interviews were then analyzed for emergent themes related to the objective of the study.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Certain themes were identified as both facilitating and inhibiting factors for completing the rural service requirement. These included financial aspects, utilization of time, and peer influences. Facilitating factors included the need to acquire clinical and practical skills, moral considerations, the influence of the college, and the need to broaden perspectives. Unforeseen exigencies served as a barrier.</p><p><strong>Discussion: </strong>The identified facilitating factors and barriers will serve as a useful starting point to initiate measures to encourage MBBS graduates to work in rural areas.</p>","PeriodicalId":46742,"journal":{"name":"Education for Health","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.9000,"publicationDate":"2021-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Education for Health","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.4103/efh.EfH_288_17","RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":null,"ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q3","JCRName":"EDUCATION, SCIENTIFIC DISCIPLINES","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Background: Physician shortage in rural areas is a global problem that is one of the contributors to disparities in health indicators between rural and urban areas. The medical college to which the authors are attached has a 2-year mandatory rural service requirement which medical graduates are expected to fulfil. However, some students choose the option of paying off rather than completing the service requirement. The objective of this study was to explore the facilitating factors and barriers for MBBS graduates from the above medical college to complete the mandatory rural service requirement.
Methods: This was a qualitative study in which data was collected through in-depth interviews with 15 alumni of the college who were pursuing their postgraduate courses or working as junior residents. The participants in the study comprised those who completed or partially fulfilled the rural service requirement as well as those who chose to opt out of it. Data collection and analysis were done in August and September 2016 after obtaining ethical clearance from the Institutional Ethics Committee. Purposive sampling was done to ensure the diversity of responses. A semi-structured interview guide was used to conduct the interviews after pilot testing. Transcripts of the interviews were then analyzed for emergent themes related to the objective of the study.
Results: Certain themes were identified as both facilitating and inhibiting factors for completing the rural service requirement. These included financial aspects, utilization of time, and peer influences. Facilitating factors included the need to acquire clinical and practical skills, moral considerations, the influence of the college, and the need to broaden perspectives. Unforeseen exigencies served as a barrier.
Discussion: The identified facilitating factors and barriers will serve as a useful starting point to initiate measures to encourage MBBS graduates to work in rural areas.
期刊介绍：
Education for Health: Change in Learning and Practice (EfH) is the scholarly, peer-reviewed journal of The Network: Towards Unity for Health. Our readers are health professionals, health professions educators and learners, health care researchers, policymakers, community leaders and administrators from all over the world. We publish original studies, reviews, think pieces, works in progress and commentaries on current trends, issues, and controversies. We especially want to provide our international readers with fresh ideas and innovative models of education and health services that can enable them to be maximally responsive to the healthcare needs of the communities in which they work and learn.
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