Tran, MichaelWearne, SusanTapley, AmandaFielding, AlisonDavey, Andrewvan Driel, MiekeHolliday, Elizabeth G.Ball, JeanFitzgerald, KristenSpike, NeilMagin, Parker J2024-03-112024-03-111472-6920http://hdl.handle.net/1885/315863Background General Practice training in Australia is delivered through the apprenticeship model. General Practice supervisors support trainees transitioning from hospital-based work towards competent independent community-based practice. The timing and manner in which support should be provided is still not well understood. This study aimed to establish the variation in clinical and educational experiences and behaviours, and location, of general practice trainees’ consultations by stage of their vocational training. It was hypothesised that change is greater in earlier stages of training. Methods A cross-sectional analysis of data (2010–2018) from the Registrar Clinical Encounters in Training (ReCEnT) study, an ongoing cohort study of Australian GP registrars’ in-consultation clinical and educational experience and behaviours. Multinomial logistic regression assessed the association of demographic, educational, and clinical factors in different stages of training. The outcome factor was the training term. Results Two thousand four hundred sixteen registrars contributed data for 321,414 patient consultations. For several important variables (seeing patients with chronic disease; new patients; seeking in-consultation information or assistance; ordering pathology and imaging; and working in a small or regional practice), odds ratios were considerably greater for comparisons of Term 1 and 3, relative to comparisons of Term 2 and 3. Conclusion Differences experienced in demographic, clinical and educational factors are significantly more pronounced earlier in registrars’ training. This finding has educational and training implications with respect to resource allocation, trainee supervision and curriculum design. Sociocultural learning theory enables an understanding of the impact of transitions on, and how to support, general practice trainees and supervisorsDuring the data collection period 2010 to 2015, funding of the ReCEnT study was by the participating educational organisations: General Practice Training Valley to Coast, the Victorian Metropolitan Alliance, General Practice Training Tasmania, Tropical Medicine Training, and Adelaide to Outback GP Training Program. These organisations were funded by the Australian Government. From 2016–2019, the ReCEnT study was funded by an Australian Government Department of Health Commissioned Research Grant, and supported by GP Synergy, the general practice Regional Training Organization for New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory. GP Synergy is funded by the Australian Government.application/pdfen-AU© 2022 The authorsEducationMedical,GraduateFamily practiceGeneral practicePrimary health careIn-practice experience,Change managementSocial theoryTransitions in general practice training: quantifying epidemiological variation in trainees’ experiences and clinical behaviours202210.1186/s12909-022-03178-02022-10-16