GP interest in teaching junior doctors: does practice location, size and infrastructure matter?

Abstract

BACKGROUND: With the influx of Australian medical graduates into the workforce, new clinical prevocational training rotations within general practice need to be developed. This study describes the relationship between general practitioner teachers' interest in hosting junior doctor rotations, and general practice characteristics including rural location, size and infrastructure. METHOD: All GP teachers of registrars and medical students in the Australian Capital Territory and southeast New South Wales were sent a survey. The features of rural location, size and infrastructure of these teachers' general practices were analysed to determine their influence on teacher interest in hosting junior doctor rotations. RESULTS: Factors such as rural location and infrastructure did not influence willingness to host junior doctors significantly. However, those in medium sized practices were less interested than small or large practices. DISCUSSION: Rural location and teaching room infrastructure of practices need not be determinants in junior doctor teaching practice recruitment, while medium practice size is a significant determinant of lack of teacher interest in hosting junior doctors. This requires further investigation.