Perception and attitude of medical students in UNEC towards Community Medicine as a career choice Nwachukwu Ugwunna NC Ugwunna 1 , AJ Okeke 2 , CP Okeke 2 , CP Okafor 2 , U Ezeoke 1 , J Chinawa 3 , C Anusiem 4 , CN Ibiok 1 , Ak Umeobili 1 , OC Ugwunna 5 1 Community Medicine Department, College of Medicine, University of Nigeria Ituku-Ozalla Campus, Enugu, Nigeria 2 Faculty of Medical Sciences, College of Medicine, University of Nigeria, Enugu, Nigeria 3 Paediatrics, College of Medicine University of Nigeria, Ituku Ozalla Campus, Enugu, Nigeria 4 Pharmacology, College of Medicine University of Nigeria, Ituku Ozalla Campus, Enugu, Nigeria 5 Chemical Pathology, College of Medicine University of Nigeria, Ituku Ozalla Campus, Enugu, Nigeria Contact: nedunwachuks@yahoo.com Community Medicine tends to study health and disease in a population of a defined community and it provides compre- hensive health services ranging from preventive, promotive, curative to rehabilitative services. Understanding the percep- tions and attitude of medical students towards Community Medicine will be a great tool in planning a sound medical labour force for a better healthcare delivery Objective: This study was carried out to ascertain the perception of medical students towards Community Medicine as a specialty. The study was carried out in UNEC with a total of 204 respondents who were in their fifth and final year classes. Data collection was by means of self-administered close ended questionnaire. Two hundred and four medical students returned their questionnaires and they displayed good knowl- edge of the discipline and its role in the society; majority 195(95.6%) perceived Community Medicine as vital part of medicine. While 150(73.5%), disagreed with living and working in rural area. However, only 90(44.1%) would choose Community Medicine as a specialty. Among the 114 who would not specialize in Community Medicine, 101(49.5%) were of the opinion that ’it was not interesting’. Medical students in UNEC showed good knowledge of Community Medicine but majority would not specialize in the discipline mainly because they did not find it interesting. Continuous education of stakeholders, students, parents and general populace as to what really constitutes Community Medicine might be useful. Also curriculum should be redesigned to lay emphasis on the peculiarly interesting rural community-based postings. Key messages:  Continuous education of stakeholders, students, parents and general populace as to what really constitutes Community Medicine might be useful.  Curriculum should be redesigned to lay emphasis on the peculiarly interesting rural community-based postings. Students’ knowledge and attitude towards scientific research at Tbilisi State Medical University Luiza Gabunia L Gabunia 1 , S Khetsuriani 1 , N Gamkreldze 1 , N Antia 1 1 Scientific Research Skills Center, Tbilisi State Medical University, Tbilisi, Georgia Contact: l.gabunia@tsmu.edu Background: Since 2012, Scientific-Research Skills Center (SRSC) of Tbilisi State Medical University (TSMU) conducts ‘‘Basic of scientific research skills’’ course for the students of TSMU. The activities and functions of the center are derived from the competence of basic medical education in the Bologna Process. The center is continuously developing Research-Skills teaching in both, theoretical and practical terms. Objectives: We conducted a survey among medical students of TSMU to assess students’ knowledge about research and attitudes towards the scientific research prior and after completing ‘‘Basics of Scientific Research skills’’course; to evaluate the importance of the course and reveal students’ possible motivation changes towards becoming future researchers. Results: To accomplish this aim, we conducted survey in two phases, before and after completion of the module. 177 students of faculty of Medicine completed the self-administered pre- and post-test anonymously. The possible answers to the questions were graded by 1-5 points (5- maximum). According to the results, 58% of students graded the question about ‘‘impor- tance of research’’ by maximum points in post-tests, as opposed to pre-test (42%). Before undertaking the course, 82% of surveyed students considered research as an integral part of medical science. while, this indicator increased till 92% after the course completion. The survey results also showed that the majority of students (60% pre-test; 74% post-test) are willing to participate in scientific research in future. Conclusions: scientific research skills course has a positive impact on the development and advancing scientific research skills among medical students. The course helps students to understand the importance of scientific research in health care. The course needs further development and more emphasis on practical research skills such as fieldwork, students’ involvement in ongoing research projects etc. Key messages:  Our study showed that Tbilisi State Medical University students consider scientific research as an extremely important course in their curricula.  Based on our survey findings, SRSC will further improve the course and will strengthen scientific research approaches. How do managers and physicians reconcile between financial and clinical considerations in hospitals? Ruth Waitzberg R Waitzberg 1,2,3 , W Quentin 34 , N Gottlieb 3 , R Busse 3,4 , D Greenberg 2 1 Smokler Center for Health Policy Research, Myers-JDC-Brookdale Institute, Jerusalem, Israel 2 Department of Health Systems Management, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer Sheva, Israel 3 Department of Health Care Management, Technical University Berlin, Berlin, Germany 4 European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies, Brussels, Belgium Contact: ruthw@jdc.org Background: Hospital managers and physicians may face dilemmas due to their role as dual agents, committed both to their hospitals and their patients. We aim to pinpoint situations where economic and clinical considerations are aligned or conflicting; and to explore how managers and physicians reconcile different considerations in their decision-making in Germany and Israel. Methods: Qualitative, thematic analysis based on 47 in-depth interviews with managers, ward directors and physicians in five hospitals in Germany and five in Israel. Results: Economic and clinical considerations are aligned when gaps between hospital payments and costs are small, and economic incentives do not distort clinical considerations or when good medicine avoids complications while saving costs. Dilemmas arise when procedures are underpriced, resulting in financial losses to the hospital, and represent barriers for adoption of new, costly, medical equipment. In many instances, managers and ward directors choose one of the principals (hospital or patient), yet sometimes they develop reconciliation strategies that include: (1) improving coding of activities and diagnoses to assure higher payments; (2) reducing costs per case by choosing cheaper supplies with the same quality, bulk purchasing or reducing unnecessary lengths-of-stay; (3) providing clear treatment guidelines that support decision- making. Hospitals in Germany increase efficiency through specialization, and try to find alternative, less costly, care 16 th World Congress on Public Health 2020 2020–01 v771 Downloaded from https://academic.oup.com/eurpub/article/30/Supplement_5/ckaa166.650/5915445 by guest on 22 October 2023