Eine qualitative Studie zu den Langzeiteffekten des PJ-Modellprojekts „Ausbildungskonzept Allgemeinmedizin Dillingen“ (AKADemie): „Wäre nicht so ein gutes Netzwerk da gewesen … wäre ich nicht unbedingt hier so geblieben“

Background: The shortage of general practitioners (GPs) is a particularly acute issue in rural regions. It is therefore of great importance to motivate young doctors to work as GPs. Numerous support programs, such as the undergraduate medical education pilot project ’AKADemie Dillingen’ have been implemented in Bavaria. Central to the evaluation of these support programs is whether the participants remain in the region in the long term. As part of this study, former participants of the AKADemie project who decided to remain in the region were interviewed. The aim of this article is to show the long-term effects of the pilot project and the motives for remaining in the region from the participants’ perspective. Methods: Ten narrative interviews were conducted. The interviews focused on the decision to remain in the region and the effects attributed to the pilot project. Results: The results show three central effects: 1) the connection with primary care and the region itself; 2) the high-quality and integrated training program, which enables an intensive experience of medical work; 3) the resultant networking of practices, clinics, and the university structure. From the participants’ point of view, the project is making a great contribution to the next generation of doctors in the region. Conclusion: A complex of professional reasons for working as a GP (primarily mediated via the integrated training program), paired with concrete reasons for remaining in the Dillingen region or retention effects, can be seen. Both aspects were served by the networking effect of the pilot project. The successfully established network between practices, the clinic, and the university structure appears to be of major importance for remaining in the region.