Rural generalism in its own right is almost as popular as general practice as a career goal for final-year medical students, the latest Medical Schools Outcomes Database report shows.

Just 8.8% of students surveyed in 2025 named general practice their first-choice preference, down from 9.4% the year before and 13.6% back in 2021.

But some 6.8% picked rural generalism, up from 5.7% the year before and 4.6% four years ago.

While internal medicine remains the most common first preference — as it has been for at least half a decade — it has slipped slightly, with anaesthesia closing in. Anaesthesia is now second in the rankings, pushing surgery down to third place, the survey of 2084 students by Medical Deans Australia and New Zealand showed.