Evidence map›Paper›PMID 35436928›Full record

ArticleBMC medical education2022

Understanding concepts of generalism and specialism amongst medical students at a research-intensive London medical school.

Adam T Misky, Ronak J Shah, Chee Yeen Fung, Amir H Sam, Karim Meeran, Martyn Kingsbury, Victoria Salem

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in BMC medical education, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 13 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
13citing papers in PubMed, 2 pooled it
4.9field-weighted citation impact, top 5% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

13 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 18 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Factors influencing UK medical students' choice of general practice: a systematic review.The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners · 2026
    Pooled it
  2. Generalism as a cross-disciplinary practice in medicine: Mixed-studies systematic review.Canadian family physician Medecin de famille canadien · 2026
    Pooled it
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.

Adam T MiskyImperial College School of Medicine, Imperial College London, London, England.
Ronak J ShahImperial College School of Medicine, Imperial College London, London, England.
Chee Yeen FungImperial College School of Medicine, Imperial College London, London, England.
Amir H SamImperial College School of Medicine, Imperial College London, London, England.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9599-9069
Karim MeeranImperial College School of Medicine, Imperial College London, London, England.
Martyn KingsburyCentre for Higher Education Research and Scholarship, Imperial College London, London, England.
Victoria SalemImperial College School of Medicine, Imperial College London, London, England. v.salem@imperial.ac.uk.
Imperial College London · GBCentre for Higher Education · DENIHR Imperial Biomedical Research Centre · GB

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundMany prominent UK medical organisations have identified a need for more generalist clinicians to address the complex requirements of an aging society. We sought to clarify attitudes towards "Specialists" and "Generalists" amongst medical students and junior doctors at Imperial College School of Medicine.

methodsA survey exploring medical students' beliefs was followed up by qualitative analysis of focus groups of medical students and Imperial-graduate foundation year doctors.

resultsFirst year medical students associated specialists with academia and higher income, and generalists with ease of training and job availability. Senior (Years 5/6) medical students associated specialists even more firmly with broader influence and academic work, whilst generalists were assigned lower prestige but the same workload as specialists. The medical student focus group discussed concepts of Generalism pertaining only to Primary Care. In contrast, the foundation year doctor focus group revealed that Generalism was now seen to include some hospital care, and the perception that generalists sat lower in a knowledge hierarchy had been challenged.

conclusionPerceptions that Generalism is associated with lower prestige in the medical profession are already present at the very start of medical school and seem to be reinforced during undergraduate training. In early postgraduate clinical practice, the perceived knowledge and prestige hierarchy lessens. These findings can help inform curriculum redesign and the promotion of Generalism as a rewarding career aspiration.

Indexed as

Students, MedicalCareer ChoiceHumansLondonSchools, MedicalSpecializationCareerCurriculumGeneralistSpecialist

Identifiers

PMID35436928
PMCPMC9017034
OpenAlexW4224285417

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.