Medical Students Open Up To Epocrates

Main Category: Medical Students / Training
Article Date: 27 Jun 2008 - 1:00 PDT

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For the third consecutive year, future physicians speak out on the quality of medical training and failing healthcare system. Technology is also top of mind for today's medical students, who are seven times more likely to call on an electronic resource than a colleague or teacher with a medical question, and strongly support the use of electronic medical records in practice.

Conducted by Epocrates, Inc., the results of the third annual Future Physicians of America survey were released, capturing the opinions of more than 900 medical students. Following are some of the key survey findings:

- Students feel the financial crunch -While work-life balance and being a good physician remain the top concerns for medical students, worries over paying off student loans increased by 40 percent (2007-2008). Conversely, students consistently rank school location and reputation significantly higher than tuition costs among key considerations in selecting a medical school.

- Technology adoption grows - Year over year, medical students overwhelmingly agree technology improves patient safety and care. Today, more than one in three medical students use Epocrates' software solutions on their mobile devices, often at the encouragement of their medical school. The majority of respondents also report experience with electronic medical record (EMR) systems during rotations, yet less than 20 percent see wide-spread adoption in the U.S. within the next five years.

- Preparing for practice - Nearly 70 percent of medical students do not feel adequately prepared for managing or owning a practice in the future. However, they give schools' clinical training programs top marks, showing improvements since 2006. Likely a result of early exposure in training, the availability of an EMR system will be a significant deciding factor in where 60 percent of students choose to practice (nearly a 20 percent increase over the previous year).

- Assessing the healthcare system - Forty percent of survey respondents, increasing from 29 percent in 2006, give the U.S. healthcare system an unsatisfactory grade (D or F). Students cited insurance coverage issues as the system's main challenge in 2007. Approximately 35 percent of this year's respondents predict healthcare system reform within the next five years.

- Students get personal - Students go online for more than clinical answers, with 75 percent spending time on popular networking sites - primarily Facebook - for a reprieve and social interaction. While most spend less than five hours a week, six percent of medical students spend between 24 - 40 hours a month on Facebook.

The Future Physicians of America survey is conducted on an annual basis. Survey participants are opted-in to participate in market research surveys through the Epocrates Honors® Panel.

Editor's note: Contact pr@epocrates.com for comprehensive survey results. View two video shorts of practicing physicians (Dr. Gish and Dr. Selle) giving medical students the advice they wish they received in training.

About Epocrates, Inc.

Epocrates is a leading provider of clinical information and decision support tools to healthcare professionals. Epocrates currently has more than 500,000 active subscribers worldwide, including more than one in four U.S. physicians and more than one in three U.S. medical students. The company's subscription-based services enable healthcare professionals to make more informed medical decisions, reduce medical errors and practice more efficiently. For more information about Epocrates, please visit http://www.epocrates.com/company.

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