Attitude of Medical Undergraduates toward Learning of Community Medicine as a Subject and its Preference as a Medical Specialty: A Cross-Sectional Study

Background: The Department of Community Medicine in medical colleges focuses on teaching and training medical students with an aim to ensure value-based education and help in molding a basic doctor of first contact. The preference of medical school students to pursue community medicine as a career is widely varied but pivotal. Objectives: 1) To study the attitude towards learning of community medicine among medical school students in Central India. 2) To study the preference of PG specialty subjects among medical school students in Central India. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted at a teaching hospital in Central India. All undergraduate Medical Students and Interns who were willing to participate in the study were included. A pre-tested questionnaire was administered to the students who consented to participate in this study as Google Form by means of social media. Results: Study participants belonged to the age group of 17-24 years. Among 332 students, 50% were Male and 50% were Female. Almost 96% were of the opinion that community medicine subject is mandatory.50.6% found community medicine interesting during their third-year medical school. Only 26.9% of students wanted to pursue post-graduation in community medicine. Conclusion: The majority of students had a positive attitude toward community medicine discipline but only a few preferred to opt for community medicine as a post-graduate specialty. Therefore there is room to influence the medical students positively toward learning community medicine in the curriculum.