Public Health Posting As a Motivating Factor for Medical Students to Work in Rural Areas upon Graduation

Abstract

Background: There is a serious concern on the shortage of healthcare workforce in rural Malaysia. Aim: To describe the effect of a public health programme on the student’s motivation to work in rural areas. Methods: Students were asked to rate on how they perceived their motivation to work in rural areas after the public health posting. Results: The level of motivation for the majority of the students ranged from good (38.5%) followed by very good (27.5%), fair (24.8%), excellent (6.4%) to poor (2.8%). Overall, majority of the students had a positive perception on the three domains studied i.e. knowledge of public health and their skills in dealing with patients, their ability to work with colleagues and their perception about rural communities Conclusion: Exposing the medical students to rural communities by way of field work has helped to motivate them to work in rural areas.

Keywords: Medical students, doctors, rural, motivation, Malaysia