Analysis of Standardized Training for Free Medical Students from Rural Areas in Yunnan Province: A Multi-center Cross-sectional Survey

Background Primary health care personnel worldwide are confronted with challenges including a paucity of personnel, imbalanced regional development and unstandardized services. Rural-oriented tuition-waived medical students (RTMSs) play a crucial role as the main body of Standardized residency training (SRT) in enhancing primary healthcare capabilities and achieving universal health coverage and sustainable development goals.To date, there has been a relative paucity of research, both nationally and internationally, on rural-oriented tuition-waived medical students (RTMSs) in primary health care workforce development. The present dissertation focuses on the analysis of factors influencing the training satisfaction of medical students in rural areas who are targeted by the programme in eight hospitals in Yunnan Province. Methods A multicenter cross-sectional observational study was conducted in June 2022 in eight hospitals in Yunnan Province, and a questionnaire survey was administered to 643 RTMS participating in the SRT program. The data were analyzed using descriptive analysis and analytical statistics. Results The study revealed that 91.29% of respondents expressed support for standardized residency training(SRT), with 45.37% of respondents believing that it has the potential to enhance medical skills. However, 46.50% of respondents indicated that they would not continue working in rural grassroots settings after completing their contractual services. The survey revealed that training hospitals exhibited the lowest levels of satisfaction with living conditions and salary. This was associated with several factors, including expectations of higher income, positive psychological state, frequent skills training and lectures, regular counselling and team-building activities, and identification with the status of rural-oriented tuition-waived medical students (RTMSs). Conclusions It is crucial for rural-oriented tuition-waived medical students (RTMSs) to improve their medical skills through standardized residency training (SRT) Enhancing their engagement and satisfaction in SRT, and encouraging them to stay in rural areas, will more effectively achieve the goals of the rural-oriented tuition-free medical education (RTME). Clinical trial number Not applicable