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OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to investigate early outcomes of one of the first medical undergraduate education programmes with a goal of mitigating severe rural physician shortages in China, which was developed by Guangxi Medical University (GXMU) and was called the Rural-oriented Free Tuition Medical Education (RTME)-GXMU programme. DESIGN: A prospective cohort study comprising a baseline investigation and follow-up research was conducted to dynamically observe the evolution of the RTME-GXMU programme that began since 2010. PARTICIPANTS: 380 RTME-GXMU graduates and 383 non-RTME-GXMU graduates from GXMU who completed trainings between 2015 and 2018 were recruited in the baseline investigation. Among them, 285 RTME-GXMU and 283 non-RTME-GXMU graduates responded to the follow-up research. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Graduate practice location, registered specialty, passing rate of the National Medical Licensing Examination (NMLE), specialty of residency programme and contract compliance for the RTME-GXMU graduates. RESULTS: By the end of 2018, 100% of the 2015 RTME-GXMU graduates enrolled in this study practised in rural township health centres and registered themselves as general practitioners (GPs). All the RTME-GXMU graduates had completed or were attending residency programmes of general practice (GP). The above data stood in stark contrast to that of the non-RTME-GXMU graduates among whom as few as 1.06% worked in rural areas, 2.13% registered as GPs and less than 3% chose GP residency programmes. No significant differences were detected on passing rates of the NMLE between the two groups. Only one RTME-GXMU graduate broke the contract and dropped off the programme. CONCLUSIONS: The RTME-GXMU programme has achieved encouraging early outcomes. Reduced entry score and proper usage of urban primary care institutions are two key approaches contributing to these positive early results.
Shen et al. (Wed,) studied this question.