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This work aims to explore medical students\u2019 perceptions of General Practice, experiences which lead to the development of these perceptions, and the ultimate impact of these on career intention.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Design<\/jats:title><jats:p>This mixed-methods, qualitative study used focus groups, semistructured interviews, longitudinal audio diary data and debrief interviews to explore and capture the experiences and perceptions of students in their first and penultimate years of university.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Setting<\/jats:title><jats:p>Three English medical schools.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Participants<\/jats:title><jats:p>Twenty students were recruited to focus groups from first and fourth\/fifth year of study. All students in these years of study were invited to attend. Six students were recruited into the longitudinal diary study to further explore their experiences.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Results<\/jats:title><jats:p>This work identified that external factors, internal driving force and the \u2018they say\u2019 phenomenon were all influential on the development of perceptions and ultimately career intention. External factors may be split into human or non-human influences, for example, aspirational\/inspirational seniors, family, peers (human), placements and \u2018the push\u2019 of GP promotion (non-human). Driving force refers to internal factors, to which the student compares their experiences in an ongoing process of reflection, to understand if they feel General Practice is a career they wish to pursue. The \u2018they say\u2019 phenomenon refers to a passive and pervasive perception, without a known source, whereby usually negative perceptions circulate around the undergraduate community.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Conclusion<\/jats:title><jats:p>Future strategies to recruit graduates to General Practice need to consider factors at an undergraduate level. Positive placement experiences should be maximised, while avoiding overtly \u2018pushing\u2019 GP onto students.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1136\/bmjopen-2023-073429","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2023,11,10]],"date-time":"2023-11-10T17:06:58Z","timestamp":1699636018000},"page":"e073429","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1136\/crossmarkpolicy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":10,"title":["\u2018They say\u2019: medical students\u2019 perceptions of General Practice, experiences informing these perceptions, and their impact on career intention\u2014a qualitative study among medical students in England"],"prefix":"10.1136","volume":"13","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-5962-3419","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Kimberley","family":"Banner","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Hugh","family":"Alberti","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Shehleen Arbab","family":"Khan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-8766-7443","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Melvyn Mark","family":"Jones","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-0899-9616","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Lindsey Margaret","family":"Pope","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"239","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2023,11,10]]},"reference":[{"key":"2023111009051682000_13.11.e073429.1","unstructured":"The King\u2019s Fund . 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