Family medicine
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Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical Trial
Medical school application essays and specialty choice.
To identify factors that could be used to predict physician specialty selection at the level of admissions to medical school. ⋯ Contact with a specialty prior to entering medical school may be a significant predictor of the prospective student's eventual specialty selection. However, goals mentioned in the statements are not predictors of specialty choice.
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This study examined longitudinal relationships between attitudes and career choice in family practice from admission to medical school through the end of internship. ⋯ Although attitudes toward family practice remained positive throughout the 5-year study, student interest in family practice declined during the clinical years. Women maintained stronger interests in family practice than men; the reasons for this are not clear. Attitudes were poor predictors of choice. Care is needed in interpreting cross-sectional studies reporting significant relationships. We need to develop more sensitive attitude measures to improve the predictive validity of attitude measurement scales.