Increased care provision and clinical activity in General Practice in Ireland will have important manpowerudimplications. Recent developments in medical education policy including the introduction of graduate-entry medicaluddegree programmes may help address this issue. The aim of this study was to determine GP career intentions amongudstudents on an Irish graduate-entry medical degree programme and to identify factors that influence these. Anudelectronic cross-sectional study of students at University of Limerick Graduate-Entry Medical School (UL-GEMS) wasudundertaken. We received 139 replies (78% response rate). 41(29%) reported GP was their current preferred careerudchoice, while 29(19%) reported it was their preferred career choice on entry to medical school. This first study toudpresent data on GP career intentions among graduate-entry students in Ireland highlights the specialty as a popularudpreferred career choice among students, both on entry to, and during medical school. The study also identifies factorsudwhich are likely to be important in determining career intentions. Further research to examine this issue at otherudgraduate-entry medical schools in Ireland and to determine whether our findings are pursued over time amongstudgraduates is a priority.
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