Does health policy matter to future doctors? a survey of medical students’ policy awareness and career intentions

Medical students encounter healthcare policy topics that may shape their training and practice environments. This study described self-reported awareness of selected policy topics and whether students perceived them as relevant to specialty choice, residency location, primary care, and rural practice. A cross-sectional electronic survey was conducted between October and November 2025 among medical students at the University of Colorado School of Medicine and Rocky Vista University College of Osteopathic Medicine in Colorado, United States. Students from all training years were eligible, with no age restriction. Items measured awareness, information sources, perceived relevance of six policy topics—reproductive health, research funding, student loans/forgiveness, scope of practice, vaccination, and prescription drugs—to career decisions, and ranked career factors. Frequencies, percentages, and median ranks were calculated. Exploratory comparisons examined reproductive health policy relevance by training year and gender. Of 215 students who reported a school, 188 finished the survey; item denominators varied. Awareness was reported by 91% of respondents for student loan and reproductive health policy changes. Among 195 respondents to the information-source item, 72% selected word of mouth from friends, family, or colleagues and 50% selected Instagram. Among respondents to the corresponding items, 54% reported reproductive health policy as relevant to specialty choice and 74% to residency location; the survey did not establish the direction of these yes/no responses. Reproductive health policy relevance differed between cisgender women and men in exploratory comparisons, but not across training years. Autonomy, family considerations, salary, job availability, and rural versus urban location were among the higher-priority factors across specialty and residency rankings. Students reported awareness of selected policy topics and perceived some as relevant to career planning, alongside established personal and professional factors. Because policy terms were undefined and career outcomes were self-reported intentions, these results should not be interpreted as evidence that policies changed students’ choices.