GENERAL PRACTICE RESIDENTS’ PERCEPTIONS ON THE DUALLY ACCREDITED PROGRAM: A PILOT QUALITATIVE STUDY

Introduction and Objective To train qualified general practitioners and attract more graduates into general practice, a dually accredited program which integrated a 3-year general practice master degree program with the general practice residency training program was implemented in China since 2012. This study was aimed at revealing the opinions and perceptions of the residents on the dually accredited program and to provide advice to help this program develop efficiently. Methods We conducted three focus groups to identify the needs and viewpoints of the residents in Beijing in January 2015. Furthermore, we analyzed the audiotapes and transcripts to extract themes. The data was processed by content analysis in February 2015. Results and Conclusions Three dominant themes were converged: perception on the program and training, perspectives of general practitioners’ positioning, and views on future career as general practitioner. The residents acknowledged the importance of the dually accredited program, the necessity of general practice continuing education for specialist faculty, the urgency of designing community-based training curriculum during clinical rotation, and the benefits of cooperation between specialist and general practitioner. But some barriers including undervalued profession, low social prestige and financial reward, insufficient clinical skills, and unattractive career future hindered their career choice in general practice. This study achieved significant findings from the insights of the residents on the general practice dually accredited program. These conclusions would help revise and improve the dually accredited program in future training. The strategies to solve these barriers need to be designed and implemented by government.