GPSN Evaluation Survey Report 2009

THE GENERAL PRACTICE STUDENTS NETWORK PROGRAM EVALUATION REPORT OCTOBER 2009

GENERAL PRACTICE STUDENTS NETWORK

The GPSN would like to thank our foundation sponsor MDA National for supporting our organisation and in particular the GPSN Schwartz First Wave scholarship program. In addition, we would like to thank General Practice Education and Training (GPET) for their ongoing support of our organisation, enthusiasm for medical students and commitment to the future of Australian General Practice.

Lastly, we acknowledge the Hon. Nicola Roxon MP and theDepartment of Health and Ageing for their support of this initiative.

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1 Overview of the General Practice Students Network 4

2 Research Background & Objectives 5

3 Summary of Key Findings & Recommendations 6

4 Limitations 8

5 Research Methodology 9

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7 Detailed Findings 12

7.1 General Practice 12

7.1.1 Current Preferred Career Choice 12

7.1.2 Attitudes Towards General Practice 12

7.1.3 GP Rotations 20

7.1.4 Awareness of General Practice Training, Colleges and RTPs 24

7.2 The General Practice Students Network (the GPSN) 27

7.2.1 Awareness of the GPSN 27

7.2.2 GPSN Events 30

7.2.3 GPSN Publications 33

7.2.4 Overall Effectiveness of the GPSN 33

8 Appendices 38

Appendix A – Survey Questionnaire 38

Appendix B – Overall Attitude Towards General Practice as a Career Verbatim Responses 47

Table of Contents

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The General Practice Students Network

organization with a focus on General Practice. The GPSN’s primary role is to function as a General Practice interest group,

career in General Practice.

The GPSN provide a range of educational and professional resources of interest to all medical students including academic events, professional development events, social events, an e-newsletter, website, medical students’ guide and a scholarship.

Empower medical students to make informed decisions in choosing their future vocationSeek to correct misconceptions about General Practice

Champion the importance of General Practice’s role in the overall medical landscape

The GPSN was founded by General Practice Registrars Australia (GPRA) and the Australian Medical Students Association (AMSA). The GPSN is administered by GPRA

Training (GPET). The original idea for the GPSN came from medical student and General Practice enthusiast Joe Rotella, who was the GPSN’s founding Chair.

There are active GPSN “clubs” at 20 medical university campuses across Australia. Membership to the organization has grown steadily since it was established in 2007; at the time the survey was conducted, there were a total 3,638 GPSN members.

The GPSN is led by the GPSN Executive. The Executive manages national operations and consists of the Chair, Vice-Chair and National Secretary.

One GP Student Ambassador (GPSA) from each Australian medical school

One Secretary from each Australian medical school

GPSA club for their medical school. General Practice Registrars Australia (GPRA), the peak body for GP Registrars, provides administrative support to the GPSN.

1 Overview of the General Practice Students Network

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As a means of evaluating the effectiveness of the GPSN in promoting General Practice GPRA undertook a survey amongst medical students around Australia.

is that the 2009 survey results will function as a benchmark for future waves of the survey. Comparative results will enable GPRA and GPET to measure any changes in students’ attitudes towards General Practice, and thus the effectiveness of the GPSN, over time.

The 2009 GPSN Student Survey sought to benchmark awareness, knowledge and attitudes towards the GPSN and General Practice amongst medical students. Other factors known to impact on student perceptions of General Practice were also measured.

In relation to General Practice:Current preferred career choice and other specialties consideringKnowledge of General Practice as a specialtyKnowledge of General Practice trainingAttitude towards General Practice Impact of GP rotations or placements on attitudes towards General Practice

hospital staff and family GP) on perceptions of General PracticeAwareness of the Australian General Practice Training program (AGPT), RTPs, the RACGP and ACRRM.

In relation to the GPSN:Awareness of GPSN and how heard about the GPSNGPSN membership status Attendance to GPSN eventsFeedback on the GPSN e-newsletter and medical student guide ‘ASPIRE’ Effectiveness of the GPSN in promoting awareness of General Practice and General Practice training Impact of the GPSN on likelihood of considering General Practice as a career

Demographics:Year of medical trainingPre-clinical or clinicalAge, gender, universityAboriginal or Torres-Strait IslanderHousehold situation

In addition to gathering the views of medical students who were GPSN members, feedback was also sought from medical students who were not members in order that differences in perceptions and attitudes towards General Practice could be compared between the two groups.

Research Background & Objectives2

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As an organization set up to promote the

Practice amongst the medical student

of the 2009 GPSN Student Survey, suggest that the organization is off to a great start.

With as high as 53% of members indicating that they now have a better understanding of what’s involved in becoming a GP since joining the GPSN, the organization appears to be making great inroads in assisting students to make an informed decision with regards to their future vocation. The GPSN’s effectiveness is also evidenced in the fact that as high as one in every three members (34%) stated that they are now ‘more likely’ to consider General Practice as a career since joining the GPSN, with less than 1% saying they are now less likely to consider General Practice.

The GPSN also appears to be doing a great job in promoting awareness of the Australian General Practice Training program (AGPT) and of the Colleges; awareness of the AGPT program is as high as 93% amongst members who are personally involved in the organization and at 67% amongst all other GPSN members, whereas awareness is at 59% amongst non-members. Similarly whilst prompted awareness of the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) is uniformly high across all students (96% total), awareness of the Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine (ACRRM) is

GPSN (95%) and all other GPSN members (76%) as compared to non-GPSN members (61%).

Awareness of most of the Regional Training Providers (RTPs) across the county, however, is an area that could be earmarked for improvement by the GPSN. Provided with a list of all RTPs, as high as 45% of respondents admitted to not having heard of any – members who were personally involved in the GPSN however were by far the least likely group to have not heard of any RTP (7%), with non-members the most likely to have not heard of any (56%). At this point in time awareness of RTPs

appears to be a function of how long students are into their medical training.

When it comes to the channels by which the GPSN employs to engage its members, the survey results suggest that things are indeed moving in the right direction, although some areas for improvement did emerge.

The GPSN appears to be doing a great job promoting itself to medical students across the country, with as high as 58% of non-members also aware of the organization. Further students are hearing about the organization through a breadth of resources, including the local Student Ambassadors (37%), via word of mouth (33%) and at lecture announcements (15%), but particularly through the range of events that local GPSN clubs run on campus (42%). Events such as workshops, (38%), lunches (35%) and GP experience-type events (33%) being the most well-attended GPSN events.

Whilst the GPSN is doing a good job engaging with its members through the various events local clubs organize, there does appear to be a need for more events to be run on campuses. There also appears to be a need for events to focus on certain aspects relating to the profession of General Practice.

Over half of the respondents (52%, which included members, those personally involved in the organization and those not sure if they were members) had attended at least one GPSN event or activity organized by their local GPSN club – a higher proportion should probably be sought in future. Further, whilst around half ‘agreed’ that the GPSN has provided information about General Practice training pathways (56%) and insights into the opportunities available through General Practice (57%) – relatively few ‘strongly agreed’ that this was the case. A similar pattern of results emerged in relation to the GPSN providing opportunities to see presentations from established GPs (48%), to attend clinical workshops (44%) and to network with other

agreeing’ for each).

run on campuses to enable interested students to attend, the

Summary of Key Findings & Recommendations3

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3 | Summary of Key Findings & Recommendations

results also highlighted the need for events to focus on certain aspects about General Practice moving forward.

bring, including the lifestyle and continuity of care with patients, as well of the importance of General Practice in the delivery of healthcare in Australia. However perceptions that it is not as

specialties are common, even amongst those students who feel positive about General Practice as a career choice; this was

the survey.

Integrating more ‘myth-busting’ sessions into GPSN events, a method which has been employed with great success by the GPRA in other forums, could be one option for more

who have pursued diverse special interests, as well as more comprehensive and/or hands-on information about what GPs can earn could also comprise a key component of future GPSN activities. Information such as this may assist in taking General Practice to the next level in the minds of more medical students.

It is important to note that all local GPSN club executives, including the National Executive, are full-time medical students who volunteer their time to the GPSN. Thus the support provided by GPRA in assisting clubs with their event management and coordination, as well as in their relations with stakeholders, will play a vital role in enabling individual clubs to meet the needs of their respective members. Formal procedures which reward and recognize the efforts of local Student Ambassadors and their teams will also be important in sustaining the student network moving forward.

Whilst the GPSN can do much to continue to promote the

be recognized that the GPSN can only play a role in this regard. The results from students who had completed GP rotations point to the fact that negative experiences on GP rotations do

General Practice. Whilst the results indicated that 41% were more likely to pursue a career as a GP following completion of their GP rotation around one in ten (12%) indicated being deterred from the profession following their rotation(s).

Rotations that expose students to the diversity and scope of work that is possible in General Practice, involve positive and enthusiastic Supervisors supervising students and get students involved in some activity as opposed to being passive observers, can do much to dispel misconceptions about General Practice. Opportunities of this nature is the aim of the GPSN Schwartz First Wave Scholarship Program.

In addition to GP rotations, students perceptions of General

by the views of others. Whilst most of the types of people students would speak to about General Practice (e.g. university teaching staff, their family and friends) are either ‘mostly positive’ about General Practice or ambivalent about it, negative perceptions do exist amongst the various groups. Of note is that other medical students (29%) is one of the main groups to have a ‘mostly negative’ view of General Practice, thus there is still work cut out for the GPSN in addressing misconceptions amongst the student population. The results also revealed that not all GP Registrars are positive in their views of General Practice. The fact that only around half (52%) were perceived as having a ‘mostly positive’ view amongst respondents suggests a need for further exploration, particularly given that GPRA, through its various initiatives, encourage students to look to Registrars as positive role models.

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Perhaps the main limitation of the 2009 GPSN Student Survey was the selection bias inherit in the survey sample.

Although effort was made to get as many members and non-members of the GPSN to complete the survey, the methods by which GPRA were able to distribute the survey to medical students (i.e. email invitation to GPSN members, invitation to respond via GPSN eNewsletter and distribution to non-members via GPSN Student Ambassadors) means that there was an obvious selection bias towards non-members.

The channels of distribution employed resulted in the limited sample that was achieved amongst non-members (14% of the total sample). A more even sample would enable comparisons between members and non-members, and thus provide greater insight into the effectiveness of the GPSN’s activities in shifting perceptions and attitudes towards General Practice.

A higher response rate from most universities should also be sought in future to enable reliable comparisons between universities and thus enable insight into the effectiveness of the GPSN at different universities. A strong marketing strategy that promotes the survey to both members and non-members of the GPSN amongst medical students across university campuses will be needed to achieve the robust sample required to make the desired analyses in 2010. Gaining access to the most up-to-date medical student databases (e.g. via medical student societies and/or sponsoring or stakeholder organizations), should form part of this strategy.

GPRA are also currently seeking to document the number of medical students that are studying at each university in order to determine the penetration of GPSN membership by university. This will provide further insight as to the effectiveness of the GPSN and where the most work is needed.

Limitations4

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The research was conducted via an online survey and carried out by GPRA. Students were invited via email to click into a survey link to complete the survey.

The survey instrument was developed by GPRA in consultation with GPET and consisted of a combination of closed and open-ended questions; the survey thus provided both quantitative and

The survey was promoted by a number of means to ensure that a broad scope of medical students completed the survey. Namely;

GPRA sent an email invitation to all GPSN members on its databaseGPRA asked all GPSN Student Ambassadors to distribute the invitation to as many medical students at their respective universities as they could (e.g. by posting a link to the survey from the university’s student forum site)Students were invited to complete the survey via the GPSN monthly e-Newsletter

The survey period ran for a period of 5 weeks, from Friday 29 May to Thursday 2 July 2009, to allow ample opportunity for students to take part in the survey. GPRA also ran a weekly prize draw, with the prize being a $150 Coles Myer gift voucher, to encourage uptake of the survey.

Only medical students enrolled in a medical course in Australia were eligible to complete the survey.

A total of 1,278 medical students from 20 universities

who responded is provided in the next section (Section 6).

Research Methodology5

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The sample included respondents from all 20 medical schools in Australia, thus the survey achieved a good reach. Having said this, greater responses would need to be sought from students at particular universities in future waves of the survey if reliable comparisons between universities are to be made.

There was somewhat of an over-representation from students at the University of Adelaide (14.7% of the total sample) and those from James Cook University (12.4%), whilst only a handful of Bond University students took part in the survey. Universities with large medical student cohorts were also underrepresented, particularly those from the University of Sydney, University of Queensland, University of Melbourne and Monash University.

The majority of the students who responded were in

correspondingly, most were undertaking their pre-clinical studies (59%).

Most of the students who took part in the 2009 GPSN Student

higher proportion of females studying medicine in Australian universities, and most (71%) were aged 18 to 24 years of age.

Aboriginal or Torres-Strait Islander (1%) and some were parents (6%), however most were single with no children (60%).

Whether respondents were GPSN members or not was also captured. Around two-thirds (67%) were GPSN members or members who were also personally involved in the organization. At the time the survey was conducted (from 29 May 2009), there were 3,638 GPSN members. With a total 837

Respondents6

University % n % n

Australian National University 5.6 72 University of New South Wales 5.6 71

Bond University 0.4 5 University of Newcastle 4.9 62

Deakin University Geelong 2.8 36 University of Notre Dame Fremantle 2.4 31

Flinders University 5.1 65 University of Notre Dame Sydney 2.3 30

7.7 98 University of Queensland 3.9 50

James Cook University 12.4 159 University of Sydney 1.4 18

Monash University 4.9 63 University of Tasmania 9 115

University of Adelaide 14.7 188 University of Western Australia 3.7 47

University of Melbourne 2.6 33 University of Western Sydney 2.7 35

University of New England 3.2 41 University of Wollongong 4.6 59

Year of Medical Training

1st year 26.4 337 4th year 11.0 140

2nd year 26.9 344 5th year 7.2 92

3rd year 20.7 265 6th year 7.8 100

Pre-Clinical or Clinical

Pre-clinical 59.2 756 Clinical 40.8 522

Base: All Respondents (n=1,278)

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members completing the survey, a response rate of 23% was achieved amongst GPSN members. The remaining respondents were non-members (14%) or not sure if they had signed up as members (19%).

Of note, is that three-quarter of the GPSN members who

medical school; this is an indicator of the reach of the GPSN to-date. Namely, the GPSN has been most successful in capturing or attracting students in their early years of medical training.

Also of note is that most respondents who indicated being personally involved in the organization (63%) were in either their second or third year of medical training – this indicates, and supports anecdotal observations, that students who have had time to settle into university life are most interested, and probably best-positioned, for GPSN executive positions.

GPSN Membership % n

Yes, I am a member 63.8 794

Yes, I’m a member and personally involved in the organization

3.5 43

No, I’m not a member 14.2 177

Maybe, not sure if I’ve signed up as a member or not

18.6 231

Base: All Respondents. Note: 33 respondents did not provide a response, results based on n=1,245

Gender % n Aboriginal or Torres-Strait Islander % n

Male 32.9 406 Yes 0.9 11

Female 67.1 829 No 99.1 1,224

Age Group Household Situation

Under 18 2.0 25 Single 59.6 733

18 - 24 70.9 875 Single with child/children 0.6 7

25 - 30 18.9 234 In a relationship, not living together 22.7 279

31 - 40 6.4 79 Married or Defacto 12.2 150

41 - 50 1.6 20 Married or Defacto with 4.9 60

Over 50 0.2 2 child/children

Base: All Respondents. Note: 43 respondents did not provide a response, results based on n=1,235, except ‘Household Situation’, n=1,229

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This section of the report presents the detailed

Unless otherwise indicated, the results are based on the responses of all respondents. Noteworthy differences in the results between any groups (e.g. members vs. non-members) are highlighted in the written results.

7.1 General Practice

7.1.1 Current Preferred Career Choice

preferred career choice from a list of specialties; Chart 1 on page 13 presents these results.

consideration, General Practice emerged as the most preferred specialty, with 54% of all respondents choosing General Practice as one of their top three specialties. General Practice was followed by Medicine (Hospital Medicine) (39%) and Emergency Medicine (35%). Of note is that General Practice was considerably more likely to feature amongst GPSN members’ top three preferred career choices as compared to that for non-members (58% members vs. 42% for non-members).

Practice also emerged as the most popular choice amongst all respondents (22%) which was followed by Surgery (15%). Again, members were more likely to indicate General Practice

Surgery (19%).

A considerable proportion of all respondents (18%) stated being undecided as to their career direction which is perhaps not surprising given that most respondents were only in their

7.1.2 Attitudes Towards General PracticeWhen asked how they felt towards General Practice as a career choice (see Chart 2 on page 13), the vast majority (72%) indicated feeling positively towards General Practice –

results from the proceeding question lent some insight into this result. Those personally involved in the GPSN were the most likely to feel ‘very positive’ about General Practice (40%) and non-members the least likely to feel this way (12%).

Respondents were also asked to state in their own words why they felt the way they did about General Practice.

It was clear from a review of the responses that many

career in general practice, such as the lifestyle that can be had, variety of work and continuity of care with patients. However it was also clear that, even amongst those positive about General Practice as a career choice, that the various perceived disadvantages or drawbacks of the profession, such that it is not as challenging as other specialties, is undervalued, and not as well remunerated as other specialties, prevent many medical students from viewing General Practice as a career choice in a ‘very positive’ light.

That suburban General Practice is not as interesting or challenging as rural General Practice was a common perception, as was the view that General Practice may perhaps not suit one’s personality or that it is simply not the profession for them. Negative experiences on GP placements, what they’ve heard from others, as well as what they see occurring across the General Practice landscape, also appear to have shaped some respondents’ less positive perceptions about the profession. The hardships of rural General Practice also featured as a concern for many.

On page 14 is a sample of some of the sort of responses that were provided by rating; Appendix B contains a more extensive list of sample responses by rating.

Detailed Findings7

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7 | Detailed Findings

Q4: Please indicate which of the following (if any) is your current preferred career choice? Base: All Respondents (n=1,278). Note: the results shown in Chart 1 are based on actual values, not percentages

Q5. How would you rate your overall attitude towards General Practice as a career choice? Base: All Respondents (n=1,250)

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Q6. Can you tell us why you gave the above rating?Base: All Respondents (n=1,052)

Respondents who rated their overall attitude towards General Practice as a Career Choice as ‘Very Positive

“Being able to interact with patients, their families and the community on the personal level of their health as they progress through life would be one of the most rewarding jobs I can think of.”

“I grew up in a country town and was exposed to amazingly skilled GPs whom I aspired to be like. I love the variety and

“My impression and experiences of General Practice show it to be a rewarding career, with a large array of presenting problems and patients and a high degree of patient contact and a good lifestyle.”

“I like the idea of being a ‘pillar of the community’ - working long-term in a community, seeing people from all walks of life with a range of problems, and following patients as they grow up. I also believe that preventative health and health education is one of the most important aspects of improving the health of Australians and is best delivered through General Practice.”

Respondents who rated their overall attitude towards General Practice as a Career Choice as ‘Mostly Positive

“I really enjoyed a recent GP placement, so I feel a lot more positive towards General Practice. I have heard that as a female GP particularly, half of what you do is pap smears... I do realise that this is an exaggeration, however it would

“General Practice seems like a good lifestyle choice and the variety would be good. I’m not sure if it would be as challenging intellectually compared to treating multi-variable, complex cases as a hospital physician.”

“It allows you to have a broad range of exposure to different aspects of medicine and I think there is a lot more continuity of care in a GP setting.”

“It’s a good lifestyle, shorter training program, more opportunity to focus on an area of interest (e.g. sporting injuries, OG, sexual health).”

“Over the past few months my perceptions towards General Practice as a career has been changing. I began medicine convinced I did not want to be a GP, but after attending GPSN information nights and clinical placements I’m appreciating positives such as patient relationships, diversity of presenting cases etc. However I chose ‘mostly positive’ because I really have no idea what my ultimate career choice will be.”

“Well I love General Practice – but it lacks procedural work. Becoming a rural Generalist enables me to be a GP with additional procedural skills.”

hours, easy access into training programs, lifestyle. Negatives

and pay (with regards to amount of work vs. pay received).”

Also a good choice for women with child-bearing age.”

there is not much support and you could be the only GP in a single town. This is a little stressful and worrying! However it is a very diverse career path which interests me.”

Respondents who rated their overall attitude towards General Practice as a Career Choice as ‘Neither Positive nor Negative

“I haven’t had much exposure to clinical practice yet, hence can’t make a judgment.”

“It has its pros and cons. While I would love the hours and patient contact, the lack of use of skills I have learned...and challenging procedures/cases I think would get boring...and make doing 4 years of medicine seem almost like a waste.”

“Not sure I want to sit in a tiny room pumping patients

BP and depression all day, every day in an urban GP practice – boring!”

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“Is a good solid career however the scope seems a little small, such that it seems there isn’t quite a lot of variety compared to other specialties.”

“Not enough incentive to be a GP – you’re over-worked. Also less ability to be a small business owner in the current environment. In the past most GPs owned their own practice, but now GPs are fast becoming employees of businesses who happen to own a GP practice.”

“Other specialisations seem to be more interesting. Even though General Practice is not just ‘coughs and colds’, GPs appear as some sort of gatekeeper, who refers the patient to others when it gets too hard. It seems like the ‘real’ science occurs with physicians and surgeons. My parents are GPs, so I also know that GPs have a similar work load to other specialties yet they aren’t as well reimbursed

main motivation, it shows that the GP’s time is not as valuable as other specialties.”

“I am a New Zealand citizen and have to do the 10 year moratorium. If I choose GP, I have to work in a rural or remote area for 10 years otherwise I do not have a provider number.”

to a normal boring day job compared to the hospital environment for most junior medical students.”

Respondents who rated their overall attitude towards General Practice as a Career Choice as ‘Mostly Negative

“I can think of pros and cons but overall there are more suitable options ahead of General Practice on my list. General Practice sounds isolating – less teamwork and interaction with fellow professionals. A lot of aspects of patient care that are not particularly ‘medical’.”

“Enjoy the variety, challenges and patient interaction. On the other hand, many city GPs seem to dislike aspects of their jobs – e.g. bureaucracy, red tape, the whinging well, etc.”

“Managing chronic diseases and forwarding interesting patients onto other people doesn’t interest me.”

“Huge time constraints on care delivery; has become largely a referral service; long hours seeing many patients for relatively poor remuneration.”

“Does not particularly suit my personality. I prefer procedural/surgical modalities of work.”

bored to distraction, probably didn’t help.”

“10 years working in the rural for international student doesn’t seem appealing.”

Respondents who rated their overall attitude towards General Practice as a Career Choice as ‘Very Negative

“Too much promotion and exposure to GP has turned me off it. It’s all we ever hear about and we get sick of it.”

“From own experience with General Practitioners and also family friends that are General Practitioners. Also, I

be rather boring.”

“Seems like a highly stressful job that isn’t adequately remunerated for the effort required.”

“I do not like the job scope of a GP, especially the continuing care aspect.”

Whether medical students consider General Practice a specialty and whether they know if it requires additional, specialist training was measured (see Table 4 on page 16).

There were very few respondents who did not consider General Practice to be a specialty in its own right (<2%) and a similar proportion (2%) were not aware that General Practice requires further training after internship.

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These results suggest that these aspects regarding General Practice have been promoted effectively to medical student audiences to date. It should also be noted however that the prompted nature of these items may have contributed to the overly positive response.

career in General Practice can bring and in its importance in the delivery of healthcare in Australia (see Table 5 on page 17). In particular, it was almost uniformly agreed that General Practice plays an important role in the long-term healthcare of patients (<100% ‘strongly agree/agree’), that it is central to the delivery of quality healthcare in Australia (96% strongly agree/agree) and that one can enjoy the continuity of care with patients that is lacking in other specialties (89% strongly agree/agree).

The majority of respondents also agreed that you can enjoy a healthy work-life balance as a GP (83% strongly agree/agree).

was less total agreement with the statements that General Practice is just as challenging as other specialties (78%), that

a GP (77%) and that General Practice offers the opportunity to pursue diverse special interests (73%) (those personally involved in the GPSN were the most likely to ‘strongly agree’ with these statements).

These results, coupled with respondents’ ratings of General Practice as a career choice and associated comments, suggest that efforts to raise awareness of General Practice

as a rewarding and important profession that provides good lifestyle options have been largely successful. However, perhaps future activities require more focused exposure on aspects which relate to the prestige of a profession, such as the remuneration, complexities and diversity or scope that is possible; greater understanding and/or awareness of these may take General Practice to the next level in the minds of more medical students.

Myth-busting workshops may be a good forum for promoting these aspects of General Practice, as well as more talks from GPs who have pursued diverse special interests; more comprehensive and/or on- hands information about what GPs can earn could also comprise a key component of future GPSN activities.

Some respondents (n=74) provided additional comments in support of their ratings to the presented statements, a sample

“People ask me: ‘So are you going to be only a GP or a specialist?’ I have started to explain to them that it is a specialty in itself and requires 3-4 years training. I would like FRACGP to become more visible and educate people that GPs are specialists who undertake a long training. I would like an effort in changing peoples’ perspectives.”

“It seems to me that the only way to earn a reasonable income as a GP is to see 5 patients an hour every hour

Q7. We’d like to get an idea of what you know about General Practice. From what you understand… Base: All Respondents (n=1,250)

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Q8. Please rate the extent to which you agree with each of the following statements about General Practice. Base: All Respondents (n=1,250)

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and not stop for breaks. If you actually want to spend time with patients and provide good service I don’t think the pay is very good (but not 100% sure).”

“Not sure of income as GP Registrar.”

“We really don’t get any information about income as a student, but perhaps this is a good thing and shouldn’t be guiding students’ career choices.”

“I’ve heard that a healthy work-life balance and high GP income are mutually exclusive...”

“I believe that in an ideal world General Practice is central to delivering quality healthcare in Australia, however, realistically GP’s seem to have very limited time to spend with their patients because of the community GP : patient ratio, and I feel strongly that this prevents GP’s from providing the best quality of care.”

“General Practice is incredibly important, but has inappropriate stigmas attached to it as being ‘the easy way out’ or ‘the only thing women doctors can be’. This is a view that needs to be broken down in the medical schools.”

“General Practice is about improving quality of life for patients rather than ‘saving the life’ of patients.”

“I’m not sure that you can enjoy a healthy work-life balance as a country GP, but apart from that I agree that you can.”

“With the advent of super clinics, continuity of care seems to be becoming a thing of the past...”

“With regards to the third part of question 8, I think it depends on the circumstances of your job. For example, if you are the only GP in a small town, I’m sure this balance would be slightly tipped.”

“Appointments with GPs are often very short and so only deal with one ‘presenting problem’, overall lifestyle factors (i.e. primary healthcare) do not seem to be dealt with.”

“I would like to know how much GPs’ can earn in different areas – rural vs. metro, full time vs. part-time, special interests vs. general.”

“I think there is a common misconception about the pay of GP’s amongst medical students. Most see it also as not a ‘sexy’ specialty, when the reality is that 50% of students will be GPs in the future anyway.”

“All of these things are true, but it’s hard to get all of them

life balance whilst creating a specialty interest and earning a good income.”

“General Practice is most important for the health care system. Without GP’s we’ll turn into the United States and

When respondents were asked how they would rate others’ views on General Practice (see Table 6 on page 19), it would appear that in general, most people medical students speak to are either mostly positive about General Practice or ambivalent; there was no source that was ‘mostly negative’ about General Practice for the most part.

The results suggest that one’s own GP (66%), university teaching staff (63%), family members (54%) and GP Registrars (52%) are the most likely to be ‘mostly positive’ about General Practice. Hospital staff (44%), interns (42%) and doctors not in General Practice (40%) were more likely to be neither positive nor negative. Those most likely to be negative in their views of General Practice were doctors’ not in General Practice (34%), followed by other medical students (29%). The fairly high proportion of respondents (minimum of 23%) who could not comment on the views of hospital staff, interns, GP Registrars and medical mentors, should be noted.

The fact that around one in every four respondent rated other medical students’ views about General Practice as ‘mostly negative’ indicates that much work is still needed by the GPSN to address misconceptions about General Practice amongst the medical student population.

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Q9. We’re interested to hear about what factors have shaped your perceptions about General Practice as a career choice. You may have heard things about General Practice from other people. For each of the following, can you please rate what their views about General Practice have been like? Base: All Respondents (n=1,250)

Started or Completed GP Rotation as Part of Training % n

No, I have not started or completed a GP rotation 58.1 726

Yes, I have started or completed a GP rotation 41.9 524

Location of GP Rotation(s)

Metropolitan 30.9 160

Rural or Remote 34.6 179

I have completed both a metropolitan and a rural or remote rotation 29.0 150

I have not yet completed any rotation 5.4 28

Q10. Have you started or completed a GP rotation or placement as part of your training yet? Base: All Respondents (n=1,250) Q11. If you have completed a GP rotation, in which demographic was it done? Base: Those respondents who had completed a GP rotation (n=517)

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That only 52% of respondents perceived GP Registrars as being ‘mostly positive’ about General Practice, and that a fairly high proportion were perceived as being ambivalent (14%) is also some cause for concern. GP Registrars are one of the main groups that GPRA encourage medical students to look to as role models (e.g. in myth-busting sessions and the GPSN Schwartz First Wave Scholarship Program). Student perceptions of GP Registrar attitudes and how they interact with Registrars, could be one area to be explored further with students in future waves of the survey.

7.1.3 GP RotationsRespondents were asked a series of questions to ascertain their level of involvement in GP rotations or placements and how these experiences have impacted on their attitudes towards General Practice.

Just over 40% of all respondents had either started or completed a GP rotation and there was a fairly even split with regards to where respondents had completed their rotations across metropolitan, rural/remote or both locations (see Table

respondents who had a completed a GP rotation of some nature (81%) enjoyed a mostly positive experience (see Chart 3 on page 21).

Also encouraging is the fact that after having completed their GP rotation, most respondents indicated that they were either now more likely to pursue a career in General Practice (41%) or that they were still interested in pursuing this career path (25%). Of some concern is that around one in ten respondents (12%) indicated being less likely to pursue General Practice following completion of their rotation indicating a negative experience was had (see Chart 4 on page 21).

Respondents were also asked why they felt the way they did with regards to pursuing General Practice as a career following completion of their rotation.

The responses of those who indicated being more likely to pursue a career in General Practice following their rotation highlighted how a rotation that exposes students to the diversity and scope of work that is possible in General Practice

can do much to encourage interest in General Practice; rotations in rural settings in particular appear to do a good job of this.

Responses also highlighted the importance of positive and enthusiastic Supervisors, supportive and encouraging environments, as well as getting students involved in activities as opposed to having them be passive observers on rotations.

Practice also appears to be an important component of a positive and inspiring rotation.

Q14. Can you tell us why gave the above answer?Base: Those respondents who had completed a GP rotation (n=326)

Sample of verbatim responses from respondents who indicated being ‘More Likely’ to pursue a career in General Practice

“The rural GP placement was fantastic and demonstrated that one can be a GP but also work in the hospital as well.”

“The GP I was placed with was very enthusiastic, eager to teach and passionate about General Practice.”

“The GP I worked with was a nice guy who loves his job and explained to me how rewarding it is being a GP.”

obviously as a student, you are sometimes required just to sit and observe, which can be quite boring, however being the GP in the ‘hot seat’ will be quite different to being the student observing. The better experiences were when GPs allowed me to actually see patients and do some minor procedures.”

“Saw a wide variety of complaints from many patients in different demographics; observed the close relationship between the GP and their patients.”

“I saw the real diversity and challenges of General Practice particularly in the more remote areas.”

“I could really imagine myself doing it.”

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Q12. How would you rate your GP rotation experience overall? Please note: if you have completed more than one GP rotation, please provide an overall rating. Base: Those respondents who had completed a GP rotation (n=523)

Q13. Since completing your GP rotation(s), would you say you are now more likely or less likely to pursue a career as a GP? Base: Those respondents who had completed a GP rotation (n=523)

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“First-hand experience has given me a better idea of what the profession entails.”

“Since I did my placement in a rural area – it gave me an idea of the wide range of things GPs are involved in. The GPs were also very enthusiastic and willing to let us try most things.”

“The challenging aspect of having a career in General Practice interests me as well as the opportunity to have a good work-life balance.”

“In my 3 GP placements I’ve seen a wide spectrum of General Practice. One of the GPs I worked with was awful, practicing outdated medicine on very unmotivated patients. One enjoyed her job, but tended to refer on very quickly.

practice with excellent staff. He did theatre lists once a

GP has made me see that work satisfaction can be gained if you practice in a certain way. Also, he played golf twice a week and drove a really nice sports car.”

“Thoroughly enjoyed it – got to do a lot of different activities – not the same thing every day.”

“The GP I was with was a very happy man and enjoyed working with his patients who reciprocated his pleasant nature. In the past I have met GPs that hate their job and in turn their patients do not like them as much.”

the hospital system, and realised the pay was better than initially thought.”

“One of the GPs gave me a real enthusiastic picture of General Practice, always telling me it can be whatever you make it to be, and gave me heaps of hands-on practice at it which I thoroughly enjoyed as I actually felt like I was part of the team rather than a useless tag-along.”

“I liked seeing the relationship the doctors had with their patients, especially when they were looking after a whole family and multiple generations.”

“I worked with several different GPs as part of my year last year. It was interesting to note how different GPs approached similar problems and the different personality types of patients each GP attracted. The experience showed me that General Practice can be a vibrant career that is only as dull as you want it to be.”

“I was involved in all aspects of the practice, I was given the opportunity to follow up patients over a long period of time, and I was exposed and allowed to conduct professional clinical skills in a safe learning environment.”

“I was placed in a large GP practice and was able to sit in with all the doctors in the practice. Whilst they were all GPs they all had different areas of special interest and worked different hours to suit themselves. I really liked the

your interests. The doctors in the practice all worked well together and it was a good learning environment for a student or Registrar to ask questions.”

“I realised that the scope of a GP’s work was a lot wider

The verbatim comments from respondents who gave a ‘About the same, still interested in being a GP’ rating in relation to how likely they would be to pursue a career as a GP following completion of their GP rotation, yielded an array of responses. Some did not necessarily enjoy positive rotations but were still interested in General Practice, whilst others indicated still being interested in General Practice, in addition to wanting to

“I know a little bit more about General Practice now that I am doing a GP rotation. I like what I see, but I still want to experience other areas before I decide.”

“Didn’t really see that much. I would like a bit more hands on exposure rather than watching.”

“I was passionate about this before I did my placement, and my placement did not turn me off the idea.”

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“I have had positive experiences in General Practice but still have not had experience in a wide range of areas to which to compare my General Practice experiences to.”

“My brief rotation was enjoyable as all things were new and interesting, however the GP I was placed with really didn’t feel that he would stay working as a GP for much longer. I

with his reasoning because I experienced the same feelings when I changed career to do medicine. As a fella with a family, I appreciated that General Practice can be a great career in medicine, however I fear that I will reach the same point this gentleman has.”

“Mostly negative experiences where you sit in a corner and fall asleep, however the work-life balance of General Practice is appealing.”

“Depends on who you did General Practice work with. GP rotations aren’t the best indicators.”

“Big variation between fantastic and bad placements.”

“I found rural too isolating but more exciting yet urban quite routine and exhausting.”

“I have seen both positives and negatives with more exposure to General Practice work.”

The verbatim comments from those who indicated being either ‘Less likely’ or ‘About the same, not interested’ with regards to pursuing a career as a GP following their GP rotation, yielded responses around a few core themes; they either had a negative or uninspiring experience during their rotation, the rotation

that the profession was not for them and/or had their mind set on another specialty. Others appeared to be deterred by the issues facing the sector that they witnessed such as the limited time GPs have to see patients. Below is a sample of these

“The GP I had a placement with was very negative about the profession - talked of powerlessness as a doctor and

array of patients presenting. I don’t want my days to be

“I have always been drawn to hospital medicine and acute care medicine.”

“Seems like a very stressful job.”

“GP placements are very varied, depending on the GP you’re with. Most of the time I just sat in the corner. I wasn’t invited to participate in consultations or do anything practical. Students who do, are very lucky.”

however in both my rural and metropolitan GP placements there seems to be a lot of job dissatisfaction, especially relating to the amount of time you can spend with patients who often have multiple or complex issues.”

“I don’t like general medicine at all. I avoid medical rotations like a bad smell. I want to sub-specialise in surgery because I like the practical work and I like doing some things really well.”

“The majority of presentations were not of great interest to me (e.g. depression, hypertension).”

“I was initially interested due to previous experience at

have expected to be given more to do then sit in the corner. I was very bored and discouraged.”

“The barriers to me considering a career in General Practice are the fact that you’re a Generalist about everything but a specialist about nothing, despite some having a ‘special interest’, it isn’t really a specialty hence it’s called GENERAL Practice. The fact that GP consultations are so timed (10mins on average); I like to be very thorough and form good relationships with my patients, not an in-and-out production line. I think working in a specialty or hospital, you and your peers have more exposure to and the expectation of remaining skilled and up-to-date.”

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Q15. The Australian General Practice Training program (AGPT) is the name of the training program that GP Registrars (doctors training to become GPs) are required to complete. Were you aware of this training program prior to today? Base: All Respondents (n=1,246)

Awareness of AGPT ProgramYear of Medical Training Undertaking in Current Year

1st Year 2nd year 3rd year 4th Year 5th Year 6th Year Total

Yes 49.7 % 59.2 % 69.5 % 80.7 % 75.6 % 84.8 % 64.4 %

No 39.8 % 32.8 % 23.6 % 14.3 % 15.1 % 11.1 % 27.7 %

Not Sure 10.5 % 8.0 % 6.9 % 5.0 % 9.3 % 4.0 % 7.9 %

Total No. of Responses 324 338 259 140 86 99 1,246


“I did 6 weeks in the remote Northern Territory where I had great autonomy. I felt I experienced a broad range of medical conditions, got involved in public health and education campaigns and felt very rewarded by the continuity of care and good doctor-patient relationships. In a metropolitan general practice, I sat in the corner for 12 weeks and occasionally measured someone’s blood pressure. Oh, and because I’m female I did pap-smear after pap-smear after pap-smear. I was very disappointed with the passive role I was forced to play and the poverty of learning opportunities when compared with the hospital environment. I don’t believe

on the lack of government support. A bit of money invested would have meant I could see patients in my own room and my GP Supervisor, with a reduced work load, could have ACTUALLY done some teaching.”

“I found that General Practice was pretty much as I expected it; lots of script writing and blood pressure and mole checking, with very little actual substance.”

7.1.4 Awareness of General Practice Training, Colleges and RTPsRespondents were asked a series of questions to ascertain their level of awareness with regards to the General Practice Training program and key stakeholders in General Practice training.

Upon being prompted, almost two-thirds of all respondents (64%) indicated being aware of the Australian General Practice Training program prior to being surveyed, which is quite a positive result (see Chart 5 above).

Breaking the results down by GPSN membership, it is encouraging to note that those who were personally involved in the GPSN (93%) followed by GPSN members (67%) were the most likely groups to be aware of the training program; amongst non-members, awareness was at just over half (59%).

Whilst around two-thirds of GPSN members are aware of the AGPT program, ideally, all GPSN members would become aware of the program in future.

It is good to note that awareness of the training program

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generally increases the further students are into their medical training as shown in Table 8 (page 24).

Compared to that for the AGPT program, prompted awareness of the Regional Training Providers (RTPs) was a lot lower amongst medical students. Given a general, brief description of what RTPs do and provided with a list of all the RTPs in Australia, almost every second respondent (45%) admitted to not having heard of any of the RTPs listed.

Those personally involved in the GPSN were by far the least likely group to have not heard of any RTPs (7%); somewhat disappointingly is that 43% of members had not heard of any whilst non-members (56%) were the most likely to have not of heard of any RTP;

Much work is needed to promote awareness of the various RTPs who deliver General Practice training across Australia amongst medical students, probably most particularly amongst GPSN members.

As shown in Table 9 above, awareness was at less than one in ten respondents for all RTPs (<10%) with the exception of Adelaide to Outback, AOGP (13%), Northern Territory General Practice Education, NTGPE (12%) and Tropical Medical Training, TMT (11%) which enjoyed the highest levels of awareness; it should be noted however that more than half of those aware of AOGP and TMT were from Adelaide and James Cook Universities respectively.

As with awareness of the AGPT program, not having heard of any RTPs decreased the longer students were into their medical training as shown in Table 10 (page 26); awareness by year of medical training for the most well-known RTPs is also shown.

As shown in Chart 6 (page 26), prompted awareness of the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) is at more than nine in every ten medical student (96%), an excellent result. With awareness at almost three-quarters of all students (74%), the Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine (ACRRM), also enjoys fairly good awareness amongst medical students.

RTPs Had Heard Of % n RTPs Had Heard Of % n

None 44.8 558 Institute of General Practice Education 4.2 52

Adelaide to Outback General Practice Training Program

12.9 161 North Coast GP Training 6.4 80

Bogong Regional Training Network 3.4 42 Northern Territory General Practice Education 12.4 154Central & Southern Queensland Training Consortium

5.1 63 Rural & Regional Queensland Consortium 6.8 85

CoastCityCountry Training 4.9 61 Sturt Fleurieu General Practice Education & Training 6.6 82

General Practice Training Tasmania 7.5 94 Tropical Medical Training 10.7 133General Practice Training Valley to Coast 4.5 56 Victoria Felix Medical Education 2.6 33

Gippsland Education & Training for General Practice

5.1 64 Victorian Metropolitan Alliance 3.4 42

GP Synergy 7.3 91 WentWest 2.0 25

GPlogic 4.3 53 Western Australian General Practice Education & Training

7.0 87

Greater Green Triangle 7.8 97

Q16. Regional Training Providers (or RTPs) deliver the Australian General Practice Training program in their designated region of Australia. Which of the following RTPs have you heard of? Please select as many as apply? Base: All Respondents (n=1,246)

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% Year of Medical Training Undertaking in Current Year

Aware of College 1st Year 2nd year 3rd year 4th Year 5th Year 6th Year Total

RACGP 86.1 97.3 100.0 99.3 98.8 100.0 95.5

ACRRM 68.2 69.8 81.9 74.3 80.2 74.7 73.5

Not heard of either 7.1 2.4 0.0 0.7 1.2 0.0 2.6



% Year of Medical Training Undertaking in Current Year

RTPs Had Heard Of 1st Year 2nd year 3rd year 4th Year 5th Year 6th Year Total

None 63.3 53.8 34.4 32.9 25.6 14.1 44.8 (=558)

Adelaide to Outback General Practice Training Program (AOGP)*

9.6 5.0 12.0 15.0 20.9 43.4 12.9(n=161)

Northern Territory General Practice Education (NTGPE)

5.9 9.5 13.9 15.7 25.6 23.2 12.4 (=154)

Tropical Medical Training (TMT)* 7.7 8.9 12.7 7.9 20.9 16.2 10.7 (n=133)

* It should be noted that 60% of all respondents aware of AOGP were University of Adelaide students and 66% of all respondents aware of TMT were James Cook University students. Base: All Respondents (n=1,246)

Q17. There are two Colleges of General Practice in Australia that are responsible for some aspects of GP training, including setting training standards and examinations. Please indicate if you have heard of either or both of these colleges? Base: All Respondents (n=1,246)

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It is good to note that awareness of the RACGP is uniformly high amongst GPSN members and non-members alike. Awareness of ACRRM in contrast varies somewhat by group with those personally involved in the organization being by far the most likely to have heard of ACRRM (95%) followed by all other GPSN members (76%) whilst under two-thirds of non-GPSN members (61%) were aware of the College.

Looking at the awareness levels by year of medical training, (see Table 11 on page 26) RACGP enjoys high awareness across all

and second years (68% and 70% respectively) and the highest amongst third years (82%).

As with the RTPs, the results suggest a need for greater promotion of ACRRM, and likely its purpose and objectives, amongst medical students around Australia; this is of

7.2 The General Practice Students Network (the GPSN)

Respondents were asked a series of direct questions in relation to the GPSN in order to begin to understand the extent to which the organization has been successful in promoting awareness of General Practice to the medical student population.

Provided with a description of what the GPSN is and what its objectives are, nine in every ten respondent (91%) stated having heard of the organization prior to being surveyed (see Chart 7 below).

7.2.1 Awareness of the GPSNAmongst non-members, awareness of the GPSN was at just over half (58%) (see Table 12 on page 28), however amongst those not sure if they had signed up or not, awareness was at nearly nine in every ten respondents (88%).

Just to review, the breakdown of the survey sample by

Members – 64%Members personally involved in the organization – 3%Non-members – 14%Not sure if signed up as a member or not – 19%

It should be noted that the fairly high proportion of respondents who were not sure if they had signed up as

organizations or clubs that vie for medical students’ attention, and thus the competition that the GPSN faces.

The reader should also note that a greater non-member sample in future waves of the survey would enable member vs. non-member comparisons by university, and enable analysis such as why students do/don’t take up GPSN membership by university.

Q18. The General Practice Students Network is a student organisation, which has been established to foster greater awareness of General Practice both as a lifestyle and a career choice amongst medical students. With Student Clubs in every medical school, the GPSN organises events for medical students throughout the year, ranging from academic and professional seminars, clinical workshops, career expos and other GP experience events. Before today, had you heard of the General Practice Students Network (GPSN)? Base: All Respondents (n=1,245)

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Aware of the GPSNYear of Medical Training Undertaking in Current Year


Yes 80.2% 94.4% 96.9% 94.3% 96.5% 93.9% 91.3%

No 16.0% 4.5% 2.3% 5.0% 3.5% 4.0% 7.0%

Not sure 3.7% 1.2% 0.8% 0.7% 0.0% 2.0% 1.7%




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Q19. Where did you initially hear about the General Practice Students Network (GPSN)? Base: All Respondents (n=1,245)

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It is good to note that awareness of the GPSN is at high levels across all years of medical training, with the lowest being

Chart 8 on page 29), the most popular source was at actual events run by local GPSN clubs on campus (42%); this is a good

The results also indicate that local GPSN Student Ambassadors (37%) and the local clubs in general (22%) are doing a good job promoting the organization to medical students around the country.

7.2.2 GPSN EventsAmongst GPSN members and those respondents who were not sure if they were members, just over half (52%) recalled attending at least one GPSN event or activity organized by their local GPSN club, as shown in Chart 9 above.

Whilst this represents a fairly good turnout, getting more members to events (perhaps at least one event a year) will probably be key for the GPSN to most effectively meet its objectives of promoting General Practice and General Practice training amongst students.

Attendance to GPSN organized events or activities varied somewhat by year of medical training, from a high of 66%

Table 14 on page 31).

Amongst those who had attended at least one GPSN event, workshops (38%), lunches (35%) and GP experience events (33%) featured as some of the more popular types of events that were attended (see Chart 10 on page 31).

attended a career event run by the GPSN. Whilst this may

may have occurred by the time of the year this survey was conducted (end of May to early July), this result should probably be earmarked for improvement. It should also be noted that career-type information does form a component of non-career branded events such as during GP experience events when speakers talk about their training and various experiences.

Some of the events noted in ‘Other’ responses (n=21) included Launch events, a Welcome and Information Night, a short presentation in a lecture theatre and a medico-legal event.

The running of events on university campuses is one of the main channels by which the GPSN aims to promote General Practice amongst medical students. Thus, ensuring

to enable all interested students to attend could be a key focus moving forward. Options for attracting more students/members to events, plus what they’d like to see offered at events could also be researched.

Q21. Have you attended any events or activities organized by your local GPSN club?

Base: Respondents who were GPSN members, members personally involved in the organization or who were not sure if they had signed up as a member or not (n=1,061)

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Attended GPSN-Organised Events or ActivitiesYear of Medical Training Undertaking in Current Year


Yes 38.5% 56.1% 66.4% 39.1% 51.4% 58.5% 52.1%

No 54.4% 34.9% 28.3% 48.7% 41.9% 31.7% 39.9%

Not sure 7.1% 9.0% 5.3% 12.2% 6.8% 9.8% 8.0%



Q22. Which of the following GPSN activities or events have you attended or been involved in?

Base: Respondents who were GPSN members, members personally involved in the organization or who were not sure if they had signed up as a member or not, who attended events or activities organized by their local GPSN club (n=552)

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Q26. Have you ever seen or have a copy of the medical students’ guide to General Practice put out by the GPSN called ‘ASPIRE’?


Q23. Do you receive the monthly GPSN eNewsletter?


Q24. Do you read the monthly GPSN eNewsletter?


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Ensuring that local GPSN club executives, all of whom are volunteers and full-time medical students, are well supported by GPRA in their event coordination and management will play a key role in enabling clubs to run more events on campuses; there may be a need for GPRA to explore how it can better support clubs in this regard. There may also be a need to review club structure by university (e.g. some clubs have found the need to have more than 3 club executives, others may require one club per university campus etc) to ensure that they are able to best meet the needs and demands of their respective members. Procedures on rewarding or recognizing the efforts put in by local Student Ambassadors and their teams will also be important in sustaining the network moving forward.

7.2.3 GPSN PublicationsFeedback was sought from respondents with regards to the GPSN’s main publications, namely the monthly GPSN eNewsletter that goes out to all members and the medical students’ guide produced by the GPSN annually, ASPIRE, which is distributed by local GPSN clubs to students.

Taking in the responses of both members and those not sure if they were members, just under three-quarters (71%) recalled receiving the GPSN eNewsletter on a monthly basis (see Chart 11 on page 32.); not surprisingly this is highest amongst those personally involved in the organization (91%) and lowest amongst those unsure about their membership status (26%).

When asked if they actually read the GPSN eNewsletter (Chart

which is not a bad result for an eNewsletter. As with recall, actual readership of the eNewsletter was highest amongst those personally involved in the GPSN (77%). In contrast readership was at just over half (57%) of all other members.

Respondents were also asked for any suggestions they may have had for improving the eNewsletter. Of those who

provided a suggestion.

A review of respondents’ suggestions indicated that many would like to see the eNewsletter made more brief or concise

with less text and the option to read more if interested (e.g. heading links to stories). Other suggestions included adding more fun content, such as jokes and prizes, having more information about General Practice such as a day in the life of a GP, information about training pathways or options, stories about young doctors or GP trainees, practical placement opportunities as well as clinical information such as that which appears in medical periodicals (e.g. ‘how to treat’ sections).

The 2009 edition of ASPIRE was distributed in June 2009, thus the main month during which the Student Survey was

the fact that only one in four respondents (25%) recalled having seen or heard about ASPIRE (Chart 13, page 32). Better timing between the distribution of the next edition of the publication and the conduct of the next wave of the survey should see a much greater awareness of ASPIRE in future.

Of those who had seen or had a copy of ASPIRE the majority

providing useful information about General Practice and the GPSN (Chart 14, page 34). It would however be good to see

helpful as opposed to just ‘quite’ helpful.

receive the publication (Chart 15, page 35).

Interest in the publication was high amongst all respondent groups; those personally involved in the GPSN (93%), amongst all other members (83%), as well as amongst those who were unsure if they had signed up as members or not (73%).

7.2.4 Overall Effectiveness of the GPSNRespondents were asked to rate the extent to which they agreed with a series of statements about the GPSN as a means of gauging the degree to which the GPSN is meeting its core objectives (see Table 15 on page 35).

Whilst more than half of the respondents (which included members, those personally involved in the GPSN and those unsure if they were members) agreed that the organization has

34

provided information about General Practice training pathways and insights into the opportunities available in General Practice (56% and 57% agreement respectively), only around one in ten ‘strongly agreed’ that this was the case. This would suggest that whilst the GPSN has been effectively promoting these aspects of General Practice, further work will be needed for it to be seen as a strong source of this information, particularly amongst its members.

Similarly, whilst almost one in two (48%) agreed that the GPSN has provided them with opportunities to hear talks or presentations from established GPs on their professional and personal experiences, relatively few (17%) felt strongly about this – those personally involved in the GPSN were the most likely to say they ‘strongly agreed’ (54%). Similar

proportions also agreed, that the GPSN had provided them with opportunities to attend clinical workshops (44%) and opportunities to network with other medical students (46%) – with those personally involved in the organization, again the most likely to agree these opportunities are provided.

The area that looks to require the greatest amount of attention would be providing students with the opportunity to network with GPs and stakeholders in the GP sector, with only around a third of all respondents (31%) agreeing that the GPSN has been effective in this regard.

It should be noted that ‘don’t know’ responses for each statement amongst respondents unsure if they were members, ranged from 36% to 41%.

Q27. How helpful have you found the information in ASPIRE, in terms of it providing useful information about General Practice and the GPSN? Base: Respondents who were GPSN members, members personally involved in the organization and those who were not sure if they had signed up as a member or not and who recalled having seen or had a copy of ASPIRE (n=262)

Q28. Would you like to receive the 2009 edition of ASPIRE? Base: Respondents who were GPSN members, members personally involved in the organization or who were not sure if they had signed up as a member or not (n=1,061)

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In all, 44% of respondents could say that they felt that they had gained a better understanding of what’s involved in becoming a GP since joining the GPSN (see Chart 16, page 36). When the responses of those who were unsure if they had signed as members were removed, this proportion increased to 53% (as shown in Table 16 on page 36) which is a great result for the organization and testament to its effectiveness in promoting General Practice.

The fairly high proportion of members who indicated not being able to give a response (23% , see Table 16 on page 36) perhaps

with the GPSN or to attend GPSN events; as suggested in a previous sub-section, ensuring that enough GPSN events are run on university campuses may be key to achieving this.

The overall effectiveness of the GPSN was also measured by asking respondents how likely they now are to consider General Practice as a career since joining the GPSN. Just under

one in three respondents (30%) indicated that the GPSN has successfully inspired them to consider General Practice which is a very positive result (see Chart 17, page 37).

When the responses of those who were unsure if they had signed as members were removed, this proportion increased to 34% (as shown in Table 17, page 37); of note is that just 22% of respondents indicated that they’ve always wanted to be a GP which indicates that the organization is not just attracting students who are already pre-disposed to the General Practice specialty.

Furthermore the fact that 15% of members indicated they still don’t want to be a GP despite their being members, indicates that the GPSN is also attracting students who are not necessarily keen on pursuing a career in General Practice but perhaps are still keen in understanding what General Practice involves; another good result for the GPSN.

Q29. We would like to get an idea of how successful the GPSN has been in promoting awareness of General Practice and General Practice training. Please rate the extent to which you agree that the GPSN has provided you with the following opportunities? Base: Respondents who were GPSN members, members personally involved in the organization or who were not sure if they had signed up as a member or not (n=1,061)

36

Base: Respondents who were GPSN members or members personally involved in the organization (n=834)

Q30. Do you feel you’ve gained a better understanding of what’s involved in becoming a GP since joining the GPSN?


37


Base: Respondents who were GPSN members or members personally involved in the organization (n=834)

Q31. Would you say you are more likely to consider General Practice as a career since joining the GPSN?


8

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Appendix A – Survey Questionnaire

1. General Practice Students Network (GPSN) Survey

We would like to invite you to complete a short survey on the GPSN and your perceptions of General Practice.

Gift Vouchers.

The survey is being conducted by the GPSN to help us understand how Australian medical students feel about General Practice as a specialty and a career choice. All medical students studying in Australia are being invited to take part in the survey. For more information about the GPSN or this survey please email us at [email protected]

Just to start with, we’d like to ask you a few questions about you... 1. What year of your medical training are you undertaking this year?

1st year medical school 2nd year medical school

3rd year medical school 4th year medical school

5th year medical school 6th year medical school

Other (please specify) _______________________________

At which University are you studying?2.


Are you currently undertaking your pre-clinical or clinical studies?3. Pre-clinical Clinical

Please indicate which of the following (if any) is your current preferred career choice.4.

First Choice Second Choice Third Choice

Anaesthetics

Emergency Medicine

General Practice

Surgery

Medicine (i.e. Hospital Medicine)

Obstetrics & Gynaecology

Paediatrics

Pathology

Psychiatry

Radiology

Appendices

8 | Appendices

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First Choice Second Choice Third Choice

Research

I am currently undecided


2. Perceptions About General Practice

How would you rate your overall attitude towards General Practice as a career choice?5. Very positive Mostly positive Neither positive nor negative Mostly negative Very negative Don’t’ know/Can’t say

Can you tell us why you gave the above rating?6.

________________________________________________________________________________________

7.

Yes No Don’t know/Not sure

Is General Practice a specialty in its own right?

Does General Practice require further training after internship/residency?

8.

StronglyAgree Agree

NeitherAgree nor

Disagree DisagreeStronglyDisagree

Don’t know/

Not sure

General Practice plays an important role in the long-term healthcare of patients

You can enjoy the continuity of care with patients in General Practice that is lacking in other specialties

General Practice is just as challenging as other specialties

As a GP, you can enjoy a healthy work-life balance

General Practice offers the opportunity to pursue diverse special interests during training and practice

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StronglyAgree Agree

NeitherAgree nor


Don’t know/

Not sure

You can earn a sufficient income while training and working as a GP

General Practice is central to delivering quality healthcare in Australia

We’re interested to hear about what factors have shaped your perceptions about General Practice as a career choice. 9. You may have heard things about General Practice from other people. For each of the following, can you please rate what their

Mostly positive Mostly negativeNeither Positive

nor Negative N/A

Other medical students

Friends outside of medical school

University teaching staff

Doctors who are not in General Practice

Family member(s)

Hospital staff

Interns

GP Registrars

Medical mentor(s)

Your own GP

Have you started or completed a GP rotation or placement as part of your training yet?10. No, I have not started or completed a GP rotation Yes, I have started or completed a GP rotation

8 | Appendices

41

3. Experience With Rotations

If you have completed a GP rotation, in which demographic was it done?11. Metropolitan Rural or Remote I have completed both a metropolitan and a rural or remote rotation I have not yet completed my rotation

12.

Mostly positive Mostly negative Not positive or negative Not sure Not applicable

Since completing your GP rotation(s), would you say you are now more likely or less likely to pursue a career as a GP?13. More likely Less likely About the same, not interested About the same, still interested in being a GP Don’t know Not applicable

Can you tell us why you gave the above answer?14.

________________________________________________________________________________________

4. About GP Training

The Australian General Practice Training program (AGPT) is the name of the training program that GP Registrars (doctors 15. training to become GPs) are required to complete. Were you aware of this training program prior to today?

Yes No Not sure

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Regional Training Providers (or RTPs) deliver the Australian General Practice Training program in their designated region of 16. Australia. Which of the following RTPs have you heard of? Please select as many as apply.

NONE Adelaide to Outback General Practice Training ProgramBogong Regional Training NetworkCentral & Southern Queensland Training ConsortiumCoastCityCountry Training General Practice Training TasmaniaGeneral Practice Training Valley to Coast

Gippsland Education & Training for General PracticeGP Synergy GPlogic Greater Green Triangle Institute of General Practice EducationNorth Coast GP Training Northern Territory General Practice EducationRural & Regional Queensland Consortium

Sturt Fleurieu General Practice Education & TrainingTropical Medical Training Victoria Felix Medical Education Victorian Metropolitan Alliance WentWest Western Australian General Practice Education & Training

There are two Colleges of General Practice in Australia that are responsible for some aspects of GP training, including setting 17. training standards and examinations.

Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine (ACRRM) Have not heard of either

5. About GPSN

The General Practice Students Network is a student organisation, which has been established to foster greater awareness of 18. General Practice both as a lifestyle and a career choice amongst medical students. With Student Clubs in every medical school, the GPSN organises events for medical students throughout the year, ranging from academic and professional seminars, clinical workshops, career expos and other GP experience events. Before today, had you heard of the General Practice Students Network (GPSN)?

Yes No Not sure

8 | Appendices

43

Where did you initially hear about the General Practice Students Network (GPSN)?19.

My local GPSN Student AmbassadorMy local GPSN club Other student(s) Stall at orientation week

Event at my university (e.g., workshop, seminar, lunch etc)Lecture announcement Facebook Internet search engine

Word of mouth Posters University email/timetable Not Applicable


Are you a GPSN member?20. Yes, I’m a member Yes, I’m a member and personally involved in the organisation No, I’m not a member Maybe - not sure if I’ve signed up as a member or not

6. GPSN Members

Have you attended any events or activities organized by your local GPSN club?21. Yes No Not sure

Which of the following GPSN activities or events have you attended or been involved in?22.

Lunch Orientation week event (e.g., stall) Workshop (e.g., clinical, suture, plastering workshop) GP Experience Event (e.g., seminar) Career event

Cocktail evening event GPSN Schwartz First Wave Scholarship Program Breathing NEWLIFE into General Practice Conference Not Applicable


Do you receive the monthly GPSN eNewsletter?23. Yes No Not sure

Do you read the monthly GPSN eNewsletter?24. Yes No Not applicable

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Do you have any suggestions for what you would like to see in the GPSN eNewsletter or how you think it could be improved? 25.

_______________________________________________________________________________________

Have you ever seen or have a copy of the medical students’ guide to General Practice put out by the GPSN called ‘ASPIRE’?26. Yes No

How helpful have you found the information in ASPIRE, in terms of it providing useful information about General Practice and 27. the GPSN?

Very helpful Quite helpful Not helpful Don’t know Not applicable

Would you like to receive the 2009 edition of ASPIRE?28. Yes No

We would like to get an idea of how successful the GPSN has been in promoting awareness of General Practice and General 29. Practice training.

StronglyAgree Agree

NeitherAgree nor


Don’t know/Not sure

Information about the General Practice training pathways

Insights into the array of opportunities available through a career in General Practice

Talks or presentations from established GPs about their professional and personal experiences

Opportunities to attend clinical workshops (e.g. suturing, plastering)

Opportunities to network with other medical students

Opportunities to network with GPs and stakeholders in the GP sector

8 | Appendices

45

Do you feel you’ve gained a better understanding of what’s involved in becoming a GP since joining the GPSN?30. Yes No Don’t know/Can’t say

Would you say you are more likely to consider General Practice as a career since joining the GPSN?31. Yes, more likely No - no change, I always wanted to be a GP No - no change, I still don’t want to be a GP No - I’m now less likely to become a GP Don’t know/Can’t say

(Optional) If you are interested in knowing more about General Practice Training please provide your email address so that we 32. can send you more information – please note, your email address will be used to send you information and will not be used

__________________________________________________________________________________

7. Notification for Winning

Thank you for your responses. We just have a few more questions about you so that we can understand how different people 33. have responded to the survey. What is your gender?

Male Female

And what age group are you in?34.

Under 18 18 – 24

25 – 30 31 – 40

41 – 50 Over 50

Do you identify yourself as Aboriginal or Torres-Strait Islander?35. Yes No

Which of the following best describes your household situation?36.

Single Single with child/children In a relationship but not living together

Married or Defacto Married or Defacto with child/children

(Optional) If you’re not a GPSN member, please let us know if you’d like to sign up.37. Yes No Already a member

46

email address will only be used to contact you in case you are a winner).

One winner will be drawn every Friday for the next 5 weeks (commencing Friday 5 June, with the last draw on Friday 3 July). All

Thank You & Good Luck!

Your e-mail address _______________________________________________________

Prize Draw Details:All prize draws will be drawn randomly and take place at General Practice Registrars Australia (GPRA) at Level 1, 14 Queens

Entries are limited to one (1) per person.Only medical students currently enrolled in a medical course in Australia are eligible to complete the survey and enter the prize draw.

8 | Appendices

47

Appendix B – Overall Attitude Towards General Practice as a Career Verbatim Responses

Q6. Can you tell us why gave the above rating (initial question being, Q5. How would you rate your overall attitude towards General Practice as a career choice?)

Respondents who rated their overall attitude towards General Practice as a Career Choice as ‘Very Positive

“Being able to interact with patients, their families and the community on the personal level of their health as they progress through life would be one of the most rewarding jobs I can think of.”

“I grew up in a country town and was exposed to amazingly skilled GPs whom I aspired to be like. I love the variety and

“My impression and experiences of General Practice show it to be a rewarding career, with a large array of presenting problems and patients and a high degree of patient contact and a good lifestyle.”

“I like the idea of being a ‘pillar of the community’ - working long-term in a community, seeing people from all walks of life with a range of problems, and following patients as they grow up. I also believe that preventative health and health education is one of the most important aspects of improving the health of Australians and is best delivered through General Practice.”

Respondents who rated their overall attitude towards General Practice as a Career Choice as ‘Mostly Positive

“I really enjoyed a recent GP placement, so I feel a lot more positive towards General Practice. I have heard that as a female GP particularly, half of what you do is pap smears... I do realise that this is an exaggeration, however it would

“I like the concept that rural GPing requires independence in practice and broad up-skilling, but I worry that there may be a lack of support (especially for junior doctors) when it’s required. Being a suburban GP seems boring and doesn’t appear to hold the same challenges as remote GPing, so is not very appealing to me.”

“General Practice seems like a good lifestyle choice and the variety would be good. I’m not sure if it would be as challenging intellectually compared to treating multi-variable, complex cases as a hospital physician.”

“It allows you to have a broad range of exposure to different aspects of medicine and I think there is a lot more continuity of care in a GP setting.”

It’s a good lifestyle, shorter training program, more opportunity to focus on an area of interest (e.g. sporting injuries, OG, sexual health).

care for many people.

“Comments from GPs themselves or older medical students have given a positive view on the better quality lifestyle you can have as a GP as well as the different areas you can focus your interests on.”

interested in it, but at this stage in my studies, I have not had enough clinical exposure to it.”

“Over the past few months my perceptions towards General Practice as a career has been changing. I began medicine convinced I did not want to be a GP, but after attending GPSN information nights and clinical placements I’m appreciating positives such as patient relationships, diversity of presenting cases etc. However I chose ‘mostly positive’ because I really have no idea what my ultimate career choice will be.”

“Well I love General Practice - but it lacks procedural work. Becoming a rural Generalist enables me to be a GP with additional procedural skills.”

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“I enjoy the variety of medicine seen in General Practice, however,

missing. Ideally, I would like a mixture of these two.”

“I think it would be a rewarding job - you would be able to meet a great variety of people and illnesses. The hours would not be unreasonable and you would be able to have great patient-doctor relationships.”

“I like the idea of diversity, working outside the hospital system and getting to know my patients. I don’t like the idea

“I believe that GPs play a crucial role providing the front line medical care for the majority of the population. However I think that I may become bored as a GP because a large role is to manage chronic diseases rather than manage acute life threatening problems.”

“Life as a GP would be easier ; seeing patients with more common problems and referring to others if more serious.”

hours, easy access into training programs, lifestyle. Negatives

and pay (with regards to amount of work vs. pay received).”

“On the whole I have found my GP placements interesting and rewarding, though I have heard General Practitioners complain about the amount of red tape they encounter in day to day practice.”

“General Practice would be my fourth preference at the moment. I’m ‘mostly positive’ because I think it would be

lower stress than other specialties. It isn’t ‘very positive’ due to possible lack of challenge and opportunities.”

Also a good choice for women with child-bearing age.”

a person with an ‘in-demand’ job anywhere in the world. My only hesitations are the sheer breadth of knowledge GPs are responsible for and not earning as much as other specialists.”

“I wouldn’t like to become a GP at the moment, but I can see myself becoming one when I’m older and don’t feel like working in a hospital.”

career path as there is not much support and you could be the only GP in a single town, this is a little stressful and worrying! However it is a very diverse career path which interests me.”

“Favourable lifestyle, ability to work own hours, ability to sub-specialise, relatively short post-graduate study program. However possible lack of variety and procedural work.”

“GPs receive less respect than physicians and surgeons from their colleagues and from patients. GPs have infrequent access to collaborative continuing education with colleagues.”

“I think in certain environments General Practice could be a very rewarding career choice. Getting to know and treat families in a small, independent practice over a long period

rewarding career. Working in a massive medical centre with loads of locums you don’t know, churning through patients you will never see again, would be my idea of hell.”

Respondents who rated their overall attitude towards General Practice as a Career Choice as ‘Neither Positive nor Negative

“I haven’t had much exposure to clinical practice yet hence can’t make a judgment.”

“At the moment, I am not very aware of exactly what a GP does, so I feel that I cannot form an opinion.”

“It has its pros and cons. While I would love the hours and patient contact, the lack of use of skills I have learned...and challenging procedures/cases I think would get boring...and make doing 4 years of medicine seem almost like a waste.”

“Not sure I want to sit in a tiny room pumping patients

BP and depression all day every day in an urban GP practice - boring!”

8 | Appendices

49

“Is a good solid career however the scope seems a little small. Such that it seems there isn’t quite a lot of variety compared to other specialties.”

“Not enough incentive to be a GP; you’re over-worked. Also less ability to be a small business owner in the current environment. In the past most GPs owned their own practice, but now GPs are fast becoming employees of businesses who happen to own a GP practice.”

“Other specialisations seem to be more interesting. Even though General Practice is not just ‘coughs and colds’, GPs appear as some sort of gatekeeper, who refers the patient to others when it gets too hard. It seems like the ‘real’ science occurs with physicians and surgeons. My parents are GPs, so I also know that GPs have a similar work load to other specialties yet they aren’t as well reimbursed

main motivation, it shows that the GP’s time is not as valuable as other specialties.”

“I am a New Zealand citizen and have to do the 10 year moratorium. If I choose GP, I have to work in a rural or remote area for 10 years otherwise I do not have a provider number.”

to a normal boring day job compared to the hospital environment for most junior medical students.”

“I entered medical school with the intention of going into General Practice. I was attracted to the variety and continuity of care available. However, my experience as a medical student was rather negative. We had 18 weeks in General Practice. I spent 6 of these in a remote Aboriginal community which was a fantastic experience. I had great

My exposure to metropolitan General Practice however, was very different. There were not enough rooms or time for me to see patients on my own. I largely spent 12 weeks sat in a corner ‘observing’. Passive learning such as this will never attract students to General Practice.”

“Neutral to the idea, because I am not sure I like the General Practice setting and work. I would like to be in a more dynamic environment of the hospital.”

Respondents who rated their overall attitude towards General Practice as a Career Choice as ‘Mostly Negative

“We keep getting told that it’s so good that ‘all of us’ want

there was apparently that expectation which truthfully turned me off General Practice somewhat.”

“I have been motivated for hospital practice, so have never really considered General Practice.”

“I can think of pros and cons but overall there are more suitable options ahead of General Practice on my list. General Practice sounds isolating – less teamwork and interaction with fellow professionals. A lot of aspects of patient care that are not particularly ‘medical’.”

“Enjoy the variety, challenges and patient interaction. On the other hand, many city GPs seem to dislike aspects of their jobs, e.g. bureaucracy, red tape, the whinging well, etc.”

“From talking to GPs I’ve done experience with it sounds as if they do a lot of hard work for a small salary compared to other specialties.”

“Managing chronic diseases and forwarding interesting patients onto other people doesn’t interest me.”

“I see it as ‘less exciting’ and perhaps a career choice in the later stages of my career... would suit the family lifestyle.”

“Huge time constraints on care delivery; has become largely a referral service; long hours seeing many patients for relatively poor remuneration.”

“Didn’t particularly enjoy my placement last year; mainly dealt with alcohol abuse, depression and diabetes. It was depressing in itself and quite boring.”

“From what I have seen on clinical placements in General Practice (particularly rural general practice) GP’s work extremely long hours. Also, I have seen that in many

50

practices GPs don’t have the time to take a detailed history or perform a proper examination on many of their patients which decreases the quality of care and also decreases

outcomes with preventative medicine. In addition to this, most GP’s have said that their income is poor compared with their work demands. Most GP’s I have been on clinical placements with in metropolitan and rural Australia have expressed dissatisfaction with their work.”

“Does not particularly suit my personality. I prefer procedural/surgical modalities of work.”

“Time-pressured, under-valued, HUGE responsibility. Sitting in the same spot talking to people all day.”

“I’ve talked to GPs about wages and $300k a year max just doesn’t cut it. I would like to earn $550k+ P.A.”

bored to distraction, probably didn’t help.”

“10 years working in the rural for international student doesn’t seem appealing.”

“Seen by others as the easy way out, not a choice but something to settle for.”

“I feel that there are more ‘rewarding’ careers out there in

impact on patients.”

Respondents who rated their overall attitude towards General Practice as a Career Choice as ‘Very Negative

“Too much promotion and exposure to GP has turned me off it. It’s all we ever hear about and we get sick of it.”

“I don’t care for sitting at a desk all day listening to neurotic mothers who bring in their child with a runny nose and think they are dying and listening to people’s problems in general.”

“From own experience with General Practitioners and also family

GP’s do (from minimal exposure) to be rather boring.”

“Seems like a highly stressful job that isn’t adequately remunerated for the effort required.”

“I do not like the job scope of a GP, especially the continuing care aspect.”

“I have felt that General Practice is being run into the ground. All of the GPs that I have been placed with have been fantastic doctors, but I think the system, the community and their peers underrate them. The intrusion of Medicare and increasing paperwork and the paternalistic approach of other avenues of medicine to General Practice do not encourage me to take it up as a specialty.”

Email: [email protected] Fax: (03) 9820 1983Mail: PO Box 7292, St Kilda Rd, Melbourne 8004

GENERAL PRACTICE STUDENTS NETWORK

GPSN Evaluation Survey Report 2009

Documents

Transcript of GPSN Evaluation Survey Report 2009