ATTITUDES OF DOCTORS TOWARD COMMUNITY-MEDICINE - DIFFERENCES BETWEEN GRADUATES FROM INNOVATIVE AND TRADITIONAL MEDICAL-SCHOOLS

Background: As the importance of community medicine in undergraduate m edical curricula is increasingly emphasized, it is important to measur e the long-term impact of these courses on graduates' attitudes coward s community medicine. Purpose: To compare the attitudes of general pra ctitioners from a community-oriented medical school with those from a traditional undergraduate background. Methods: We developed a valid an d reliable 35 item questionnaire assessing six key areas of community medicine. Results: We found general practitioners from the community-o riented medical school had more positive attitudes towards community m edicine overall, and towards holistic and collaborative care. General practitioners, who were younger and female, had more positive attitude s on some dimensions. Conclusions: This study provides some evidence t o support the notion that medical educators have the potential to rein force, or shape, the attitudes that students bring to medical school.