Core competencies of rural practice for medical students of government-sponsored medical education programs in Taiwan: The students' perspective

Background: The shortage of rural physicians remains a public health concern. Placing medical students in rural areas and exposing them to rural physicians as models may enhance physician retention in rural areas. The purpose of this study was to explore the core competencies of medical students for rural practice and develop a framework of such competencies. Methods: A three-stage mixed method was used to develop the core competencies of medical students who will engage in rural practice. In the exploring stage, four physicians completed in-depth interviews; eight students participated in the focus group to identify the core competencies. In the construct stage, two students were interviewed individually and four students as a group to construct the framework. Finally, the competencies were validated by experts in the verification stage. In addition, the analytic hierarchy process was used. Results: After thematic analysis, three themes—adaptation, befriending, and career—emerged as the ABC model for rural practice. The framework of competencies for rural practice was established with the ABC model and validated by the analytic hierarchy process (AHP). Conclusions: Although some competencies vary across professional stages, the ABC model—adaptation, befriending, and career—is the competencies essential for medical students preparing to practice in rural areas.