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Can rural exposure to general practice influence career aspirations? A study with former participants of the ‘Excellent Project’, Germany

Can rural exposure to general practice influence career aspirations? A study with former participants of the ‘Excellent Project’, Germany

  • August 26, 2026
  • Thiel A, Aktürk Z, Roos M, Sporkert A, Blank W.

Germany faces a growing shortage of general practitioners as the GP workforce ages and an older population requires more care, with rural areas particularly underserved. The ‘Excellent Project’ responds by offering medical students a four-week internship in rural general practices in the Bavarian Forest, completed as part of the block internship required under German licensing regulations and open to students at any German university. Participants receive intensive one-to-one supervision from experienced GPs alongside interactive teaching sessions, and the programme deliberately includes exploration and leisure activities in the surrounding countryside, giving students time to build connections with peers and mentors. This cross-sectional study surveyed former participants about their interest in general practice before and after taking part, their willingness to work rurally, and their sense of personal and professional growth. Respondents reported gains on both personal and career fronts. On a scale from −100 to +100, their wish to become a GP shifted from a median of −40 (IQR −70 to 20) before the project to 30 (IQR −12.5 to 52.5) afterwards, and interest in rural work rose with career stage, from a median of 20 (IQR −20 to 50) among students to 35 (IQR 0 to 60) among those in further training. Among respondents already licensed, 24.3% had chosen to pursue general practice training. The authors conclude that structured rural practice experience early in a medical career can durably strengthen students’ motivation to train in general practice and work rurally, with effects still visible years later, and that initiatives of this kind can help address rural GP shortages.

  • Source: Rural and Remote Health

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