Student Perceptions of a Programme in Family Medicine at the Faculty of Medicine, Colombo, Sri Lanka

Abstract

Background Family medicine is an integral part of global undergraduate medical curricula. The recently introduced two week programme in family medicine for 3rd year medical students at the Colombo Medical Faculty reflects this initiative. It is important to evaluate the perceptions of these students as primary consumers. Method The study population comprised 26 third year medical students who have completed the family medicine programme. A pre-tested self-administered questionnaire assessed general attitude on family medicine, and perceptions on content and competencies through several questions each on a Likert scale of 0 to 5. Response rate was 100%. Based on themes emerging from the feedback, a Focus Group Discussion (FGD) was conducted with 22 students. Data was recorded verbatim, collated and analyzed.