Changes in the knowledge of and attitudes toward family medicine after completing a primary care course.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES The study's objective was to determine medical students' knowledge of and attitudes toward family medicine before and after completing a course in primary care. METHODS Before and after a course in primary care, 81 medical students were asked to respond to a self-administered, anonymous questionnaire, comprising 34 items that measured students' attitudes and knowledge about primary care that uses a 5-point Likert response scale. RESULTS Forty-four (54.3%) students completed both the pre-course and post-course questionnaires. Before the course, 38.6% looked favorably upon the specialty of family medicine. After the course, the percentage increased to 70.4%. Nevertheless, only 11.4% initially considered family medicine as a first career option, and their attitude did not change after the course. CONCLUSIONS After completing the course, the students showed an improvement in their knowledge of and attitudes toward family medicine and primary care, but only a small percentage considered a career in family medicine as a first-choice option.