RT Journal Article SR Electronic T1 Medical applicant general practice experience and career aspirations: a questionnaire study JF BJGP Open JO BJGP Open FD Royal College of General Practitioners SP BJGPO.2021.0023 DO 10.3399/BJGPO.2021.0023 VO 5 IS 3 A1 Agravat, Priyesh A1 Ahmed, Tafsir A1 Goudie, Esme A1 Islam, Shahraz A1 McKechnie, Douglas GJ A1 Abdirahman, Haji Mohamed A1 Ahmed, Mahnoor A1 Al-Balah, Amer A1 Alam, Ayesha A1 Amin, Fahima A1 Beqiri, Sara A1 Chakka, Smruthy A1 Chisenga, Katy A1 Goodka, Roshni A1 Hafiz, Nida A1 Kotamarthi, Ankita A1 Olatunji, Ayobami Emmanuel A1 Fyfe, Molly V A1 Dutta, Nina A1 McManus, Ian Chris A1 Harrison, David A1 Woolf, Katherine YR 2021 UL http://bjgpopen.org/content/5/3/BJGPO.2021.0023.abstract AB Background Increasing access to general practice work experience placements for school students is a strategy for improving general practice recruitment, despite limited evidence and concerns surrounding equity of access to general practice experiences.Aims To examine the association between undertaking general practice experience and the perceptions of general practice as an appealing future career among prospective medical applicants. To identify socioeconomic factors associated with obtaining general practice experience.Design & setting Cross-sectional questionnaire study in the UK.Method Participants were UK residents aged ≥16 years and seriously considering applying to study medicine in 2019/2020. They were invited to take part via the University Clinical Aptitude Test (UCAT). Questionnaire data were analysed using a linear regression of general practice appeal on general practice experience, adjusting for career motivations and demographics, and a logistic regression of general practice experience on measures of social capital and demographics.Results Of 6391 responders, 4031 were in their last year of school. General practice experience predicted general practice appeal after adjusting for career motivation and demographics (b = 0.37, standard error [SE] = 0.06, P<0.00001). General practice experience was more common among students at private (odds ratio [OR] = 1.65, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.31 to 2.08, P<0.0001) or grammar schools (OR = 1.33, 95% CI = 1.02 to 1.72, P = 0.03) and in the highest socioeconomic group (OR = 1.62, 95% CI = 1.28 to 2.05, P<0.0001), and less likely among students of ‘other’ ethnicity (OR = 0.37, 95% CI = 0.20 to 0.67, P = 0.0011).Conclusion Having general practice experience prior to medical school was associated with finding general practice appealing, which supports its utility in recruitment. Applicants from more deprived backgrounds were less likely to have had a general practice experience, possibly through lack of accessible opportunities.