Abstract
BackgroundIt is current UK policy to expand the numbers of newly qualified doctors entering training to become GPs, to meet increased demand.Aim To report on trends in young doctors’ views on the attractiveness of general practice as a career, compared with hospital practice.Design and setting Questionnaire surveys in the UK.MethodSurveys of doctors, 3 years after graduation, conducted in successive year-of-qualification cohorts between 1999 and 2015.ResultsThe overall response rate from contactable doctors was 55%. In response to the statement ‘General practice is more attractive than hospital practice for doctors at present’, 59% of doctors agreed in the 1999 survey, 77% in 2005, and only 36% in 2015. One-third of doctors agreed that their exposure to general practice had been insufficient for them to assess it as a career option, but this improved over time: agreement fell from 39% in 1999 to 28% in 2015. As a factor influencing specialty choice, enthusiasm for, and commitment to, the specialty was rated as very important by 65% of intending GPs in 2015, up from 49% in 1999; the corresponding figures for intending hospital doctors were 91% in 2015, up from 61% in 1999.ConclusionOver the 16 years covered by this study, the attractiveness of general practice has fallen relative to hospital practice. This may not necessarily reflect a decline in attractiveness of general practice in absolute terms; rather, it may reflect a greater increase, over time, in the appeal of hospital practice.
Highlights
The UK healthcare system requires that about 50% of new UK-trained graduates in medicine should enter family medicine as GPs.[1]
Over the 16 years covered by this study, the attractiveness of general practice has fallen relative to hospital practice
It was found that the attractiveness of a career in general practice relative to hospital practice has declined substantially in recent years. State their level of agreement with the following statement: ‘General practice is more attractive than hospital practice for doctors at present.’
Summary
The UK healthcare system requires that about 50% of new UK-trained graduates in medicine should enter family medicine as GPs.[1] The percentages of recent medical graduates entering general practice training, have been much lower.[2] General practice has been the first choice of future career specialty of only 20% of medical graduates, and this percentage has been largely unchanged over recent years.[3]. There are retention problems with the GP workforce, with increasing numbers of GPs leaving.[2] Older GPs, in particular, cite high workload, concerns about personal health, domestic factors, and organisational change including the requirement for revalidation as reasons for leaving direct patient care as a GP.[4] Younger GPs account for 46% of leavers: those who leave often report an increasing administrative burden, a rising overall workload, and reduced consultation time with each individual patient as reasons for their decision.[5]. UK policy to expand the numbers of newly qualified doctors entering training to become GPs, to meet increased demand
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