Perception of Community Medicine as a subject and career preference among undergraduates

Background Community Medicine (CM) teaches undergraduates about the needs of both healthy and unhealthy individuals as well as how to plan and administer healthcare services. Undergraduate students benefit greatly from a curriculum that integrates comprehensive health care with community engagement...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Saleha Afreen, Susmitha KM, P. Bhuvaneswari, P. Sasikala, Pravallika S, S. Govindu
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Makhdoomi Printers 2025-07-01
Series:Global Journal of Medicine and Public Health
Subjects:
Online Access:https://nicpd.ac.in/ojs-/index.php/gjmedph/article/view/4154
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1839642086013403136
author Saleha Afreen
Susmitha KM
P. Bhuvaneswari
P. Sasikala
Pravallika S
S. Govindu
author_facet Saleha Afreen
Susmitha KM
P. Bhuvaneswari
P. Sasikala
Pravallika S
S. Govindu
author_sort Saleha Afreen
collection DOAJ
description Background Community Medicine (CM) teaches undergraduates about the needs of both healthy and unhealthy individuals as well as how to plan and administer healthcare services. Undergraduate students benefit greatly from a curriculum that integrates comprehensive health care with community engagement, prevention, and health promotion. Objective The objective of this study is to assess the perception of undergraduate medical students and interns regarding community medicine as a subject and as a career option. Methodology An observational cross-sectional study was conducted between April and November 2024 among undergraduate medical students and interns at ACSR Government Medical College, Nellore, using purposive sampling method. Predesigned, pretested self-administered structured questionnaire (Google form) was used as a data collection tool for data collection. Results Out of 700 students who participated in the study, 357 (51%) were females and 343 (49%) were males. The majority, 87 (69.6%), were from urban areas. 598 (85.4%), students understood the concept of community medicine, 612 (87.4%) of them feel that community medicine has improved their problem-solving skill. 687 (98.1%) students feel that the knowledge and experiences will be useful for their career as a doctor and 483 (69%) feel that preventive medicine is better than curative medicine. Only 128 (18.3%) students consider pursuing community medicine as a career option due to low income and few opportunities of treating patients. Conclusion Students understood the concept and relevance of community medicine; however, they did not choose it as a future career option.
format Article
id doaj-art-23f8dc6bcc0a46e9bfb1efb132678f1d
institution Matheson Library
issn 2277-9604
language English
publishDate 2025-07-01
publisher Makhdoomi Printers
record_format Article
series Global Journal of Medicine and Public Health
spelling doaj-art-23f8dc6bcc0a46e9bfb1efb132678f1d2025-07-02T17:07:04ZengMakhdoomi PrintersGlobal Journal of Medicine and Public Health2277-96042025-07-01142Perception of Community Medicine as a subject and career preference among undergraduatesSaleha AfreenSusmitha KMP. BhuvaneswariP. SasikalaPravallika SS. Govindu Background Community Medicine (CM) teaches undergraduates about the needs of both healthy and unhealthy individuals as well as how to plan and administer healthcare services. Undergraduate students benefit greatly from a curriculum that integrates comprehensive health care with community engagement, prevention, and health promotion. Objective The objective of this study is to assess the perception of undergraduate medical students and interns regarding community medicine as a subject and as a career option. Methodology An observational cross-sectional study was conducted between April and November 2024 among undergraduate medical students and interns at ACSR Government Medical College, Nellore, using purposive sampling method. Predesigned, pretested self-administered structured questionnaire (Google form) was used as a data collection tool for data collection. Results Out of 700 students who participated in the study, 357 (51%) were females and 343 (49%) were males. The majority, 87 (69.6%), were from urban areas. 598 (85.4%), students understood the concept of community medicine, 612 (87.4%) of them feel that community medicine has improved their problem-solving skill. 687 (98.1%) students feel that the knowledge and experiences will be useful for their career as a doctor and 483 (69%) feel that preventive medicine is better than curative medicine. Only 128 (18.3%) students consider pursuing community medicine as a career option due to low income and few opportunities of treating patients. Conclusion Students understood the concept and relevance of community medicine; however, they did not choose it as a future career option. https://nicpd.ac.in/ojs-/index.php/gjmedph/article/view/4154Keywords: Community medicine, undergraduates
spellingShingle Saleha Afreen
Susmitha KM
P. Bhuvaneswari
P. Sasikala
Pravallika S
S. Govindu
Perception of Community Medicine as a subject and career preference among undergraduates
Global Journal of Medicine and Public Health
Keywords: Community medicine, undergraduates
title Perception of Community Medicine as a subject and career preference among undergraduates
title_full Perception of Community Medicine as a subject and career preference among undergraduates
title_fullStr Perception of Community Medicine as a subject and career preference among undergraduates
title_full_unstemmed Perception of Community Medicine as a subject and career preference among undergraduates
title_short Perception of Community Medicine as a subject and career preference among undergraduates
title_sort perception of community medicine as a subject and career preference among undergraduates
topic Keywords: Community medicine, undergraduates
url https://nicpd.ac.in/ojs-/index.php/gjmedph/article/view/4154
work_keys_str_mv AT salehaafreen perceptionofcommunitymedicineasasubjectandcareerpreferenceamongundergraduates
AT susmithakm perceptionofcommunitymedicineasasubjectandcareerpreferenceamongundergraduates
AT pbhuvaneswari perceptionofcommunitymedicineasasubjectandcareerpreferenceamongundergraduates
AT psasikala perceptionofcommunitymedicineasasubjectandcareerpreferenceamongundergraduates
AT pravallikas perceptionofcommunitymedicineasasubjectandcareerpreferenceamongundergraduates
AT sgovindu perceptionofcommunitymedicineasasubjectandcareerpreferenceamongundergraduates