title: Are medical students satisfied with rural community posting? A survey among final year students in medical schools of south-east Nigeria.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The aim of the study was to determine whether final year medical students in medical schools of south-east Nigeria were satisfied with rural community posting.
  
  
  METHODS
  A cross-sectional descriptive study design was used. All final year medical students in the six medical schools in south-east Nigeria who had completed their rural community posting and were willing to participate were included in the study. The students were interviewed using a pretested, self-administered questionnaire.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 457 medical students participated in the study, representing a response rate of 86.7%. Only a minor proportion of the students (22.5%) were satisfied with rural community posting. The most common reason for dissatisfaction among the students was lack of interest in rural communities. Most students (68.7%) were of the opinion that a good rural community posting could influence the students to practise in a rural area after graduation. Factors associated with satisfaction with rural community posting included being a student in a federal institution (adjusted odds ratio (AOR)=0.6, 95% confidence interval (CI)=0.4-0.9), being a male student (AOR=2.4, 95%CI=1.5-3.9) and intention to specialize in community medicine after graduation (AOR=2.7, 95%CI=1.2-6.0).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Most students were dissatisfied with rural community postings and the major reason for dissatisfaction was lack of interest in rural communities. A properly organized rural community posting is capable of changing the negative attitude of the students towards life and medical practice in the rural area. Adequate orientation of the students on the relevance of the posting, good community exposure and enhanced student lecturer interactions during the posting period could ensure satisfaction of the students. There should be a targeted evaluation of the rural community posting at the various medical schools in the country with the aim of strengthening and modifying the posting where necessary so as to ensure its purpose is realized.
authors.affiliation: Department of Community Medicine, College of Health Sciences, Ebonyi State University, Abakaliki, Nigeria. ossai_2@yahoo.co.uk.
authors.forename: Edmund N
authors.initials: EN
authors.lastname: Ossai
authors.affiliation: Department of Community Medicine, College of Health Sciences, Ebonyi State University, Abakaliki, Nigeria. bnazuogu@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Benedict N
authors.initials: BN
authors.lastname: Azuogu
authors.affiliation: Department of Community Medicine, College of Medicine, Imo State University, Owerri, Nigeria. drkenuwa@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Kenechi A
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Uwakwe
authors.affiliation: Division of Graduate Entry Medicine, School of Medicine, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK. ucheanyanwagu@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Uchenna C
authors.initials: UC
authors.lastname: Anyanwagu
authors.affiliation: University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital, Enugu, Nigeria. ntatibiok@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Ntat C
authors.initials: NC
authors.lastname: Ibiok
authors.affiliation: German Leprosy and TB Relief Association, Enugu, Nigeria. ekekengozi@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Ngozi
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Ekeke
mesh_terms: D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D002321:Career Choice; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004504:Education, Medical, Undergraduate / Q000458:organization & administration; D005260:Female; D058006:General Practice / Q000193:education*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009549:Nigeria / Q000453:epidemiology; D011365:Professional Practice Location / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D019035:Rural Health Services; D013337:Students, Medical / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D000078329:Workforce
keywords: Africa; Continuing Professional Education; Education; Postgraduate; Primary Health Care; Undergraduate