Attitudes towards community medicine: a comparison of students from traditional and community-oriented medical schools

Objective To compare the attitudes towards community medicine of first and final year students from two Australian medical schools. Method In 1995, medical students from Newcastle University (a problem-based , community-oriented curriculum) and Adelaide University (a more traditiona l lecture-based curriculum) were asked to complete the Attitudes to Communi ty Medicine questionnaire. This is a valid and reliable 35 item survey asse ssing six key domains of community medicine. The two medical schools differ in their methods of selection and curriculum delivery, and also in curricu lum content. Results Response rates averaged 95% for first year and 81% for final year s tudents. Students selected into both medical schools were found to have pos itive attitudes with respect to most aspects of community medicine. However , those entering Newcastle had more positive attitudes toward community med icine overall than their Adelaide counterparts. They also scored more posit ively on subscales relating to holistic care and evaluation of health care interventions. Students who were older and female scored more positively on some subscales, but correction for age and gender did nor change the concl usions about medical school differences. Conclusion This study suggests that selection criteria, and probably curric ulum style and emphasis, have an influence on the attitudes that medical st udents possess and later develop toward community medicine.