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Background: General practitioner (GP) care close to home is endangered by various factors. In Bavaria, the Beste Landpartie Allgemeinmedizin (BeLA) program aims to motivate students to work as (GPs) in rural areas. This study investigates the motives driving students to apply for the BeLA program and explores whether overarching factors influencing medical work in rural areas can be identified and used for recruitment. Methods: Eighteen guided exploration interviews were conducted. Fromthe individual motivations, positive expectations and a negative counter-image of medical work in the countryside were individually developed, and an ideal image (positive counterhorizon) of the assumed own medical professional activity in rural areas was drawn. Results: The aspects of country life mentioned by the students in the interviews can be divided into four categories: the quiet country life, the proximity to the patients, the family in the countryside, and the comparability with the city. The interviewees envision an ideal scenario ofmedical work in the countryside. The motivation is already so strong that the individual positive counter-horizon weakly weights negative aspects of the perfect image. The country is often idealized as a natural idyll. Conclusion: Upon entering the program, respondents strongly desire to become rural practitioners. To recruit undecided students considering rural practice, alternative strategies may be necessary for such programs. The strong personal connection shown by those motivated to work in rural areas provides potential avenues for adjusting medical study admission criteria, especially regarding the rural doctor quota. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Starting in 2013, a five-year, competence-based postgraduate programme, the "Seminartage Weiterbildung Allgemeinmedizin" (SemiWAM®) for continuing education in general practice, was developed and offered in Bavaria. This evaluation reports on the experiences of SemiWAM® after a first cycle. Material and methods: Process reflection based on the cycle of Kern: In addition to qualitative findings, results of the evaluation forms (mean values with standard deviation) are presented. The evaluation form contained questions on organisational issues, content of presentation, didactic preparation of the supervisor, transfer to real life practice as well as demographic variables. All questions were voted on a six-point Likert scale from "1=very satisfied" to "6=very dissatisfied". Results: The reflection showed three crucial entry points: Choosing "reason for encounter" as a content precondition to ensure target audience needs, the close didactic supervision of supervisor, and the continuous growth of supervisor team with newly qualified GP. The evaluation results for the overall assessment (MW 1.11-1.60), the didactic concept (MW 1.30-1.87), as well as the transfer into daily life practice (MW 1.48-2.35) reflect the high quality of the SemiWAM®. Discussion: The SemiWAM® curriculum presented can be easily transferred to comparable structures in Germany that accompany specialty training, such as the competence centres for residency training in general practice. The process evaluation based on the core cycle also provides important support for the agile implementation of these or similar programmes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]