Current situation of primary general practitioners and demand on continuing medical education content in China

Objective To investigate the current situation of primary general practitioners and demand on continuing medical education content in China, and to provide scientific evidences for general practitioners development and continuing medical education policy. Methods Cluster random sampling and convenient sampling method were used in this study. In May, 2017, a questionnaire survey was carried out among 670 general practitioners from 54 Primary health institutions of 13 Provinces in China. EpiData 3.1 was used to enter and verify data. Results It was found that the average number of general practitioners per million populations was 3.46 in institutions surveyed. The number of the eastern region was highest (4.12), whereas the central and western regions were only 1.45 and 1.93, respectively. The number also varied greatly in different provinces, which was lowest in Hunan province (0.76) while was 5.55 and 5.75 in Jiangsu and Zhejiang province respectively. Among the primary general practitioners, most aged from 30 to 50 years old. And 70.51% of the primary general practitioners were undergraduate degree, mostly with intermediate title, accounting for 43.97%. In addition, general practitioners in city had higher education degree than the rural, and proportion of general practitioners with senior titles was highest in the eastern regions. Demand on continuing medical education content survey found that the demand on continuing medical education content was concentrated in medical technology; however, the needs of general practitioners differ in different regions, educational backgrounds and professional titles. The general practitioners with higher professional title or highly educated were more willing to accept the education of new theory and new technology. Conclusions The average number of general practitioners per million populations was up to standard in China, but there were obvious regional differences. In recent years, the education level and professional title of primary general practitioner had constantly improved, but the development was also unbalanced in different areas. In addition, continuing medical education should meet different needs of the primary general practitioners in different contents.