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Background: General practitioners (GPs) have played an integral role in Australia's coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic response. However, little is known about how GPs themselves have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. This study aimed to increase our understanding of the experiences of GPs working during the COVID-19 pandemic., Methods: A qualitative study was conducted using semi-structured interviews. Using purposive sampling, 15 GPs from South-Eastern Australia were asked to reflect on their experiences during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. Interview transcripts underwent thematic analysis., Results: Five main themes were identified: fear of infection; uncertainty and information overload; impacts on the government-GP relationship; impacts on the patient-doctor relationship; and teamwork within practices and among GPs., Conclusions: The 15 GPs interviewed in this study provided valuable insights into their experiences working during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. From these insights, four recommendations propose what could be done to help support GPs to respond to a pandemic while continuing to deliver primary health care.

Background: The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners' Standards for general practice training require supervisor continuing professional development (PD) to meet the needs of the individual supervisors and develop the supervisory team., Objective: The aim of this article is to explore current supervisor PD and consider how it might better meet the outcomes described in the standards., Discussion: General practitioner supervisor PD delivered by regional training organisations (RTOs) continues to operate without a national curriculum. It is predominantly workshop based and is complemented in some RTOs by online modules. Workshop learning is important for supervisor identity formation and establishing and maintaining communities of practice. Current programs are not structured to deliver individualised supervisor PD or develop the in-practice supervision team. Supervisors may struggle to translate workshop learning into changes in their practice. An in-practice quality improvement intervention facilitated by a visiting medical educator has been developed to address weaknesses in current supervisor PD. This intervention is ready to be trialled and further evaluated.

Background: Recent global increases in medical student numbers and shifts in medical education from teaching hospitals to community settings call for effective strategies to meet the demand for general practice teaching placements. It has been proposed that "multi-level learning" (MLL), in which learning and teaching are shared across different levels of learners, may provide teaching efficiencies and valuable experiences for learners and teachers. Aims: To identify, evaluate and synthesize the evidence related to the types, benefits, challenges, and facilitators of MLL in community-based general practice, and the underlying mechanisms and associated contexts to explain the reported outcomes. Method: A realist synthesis approach guided the systematic review. Results : Fifteen papers were identified, providing primary evaluation data predominantly from interviews with or surveys of key stakeholders. Generally, all levels of learners reported overall satisfaction with their MLL experiences. Medical students appreciated learning from prevocational doctors and registrars due to social and cognitive congruence. Mechanisms and contexts that supported our hypotheses regarding successful MLL outcomes were identified, with "a strong teaching culture" being a major mechanism. Conclusions: The findings can help inform practices considering the implementation or enhancement of MLL initiatives in general practice. Further research should include measuring defined learning outcomes.

Objectives The aim of the present secondary analysis of data collected in a grounded theory study was to explore the perceptions of Registrars and new Fellows to practice ownership and management. Methods Focus groups and interviews with Registrars and recent Fellows were undertaken to explore the desire to become an owner, facilitators and barriers to practice ownership and delivery models for practice ownership education. A secondary thematic analysis was conducted to understand emerging concepts related to perceptions of general practice ownership. Results A surprisingly strong theme of fear was evident across focus group and interview participants. Expressed fear was specifically related to financial concerns, lack of relevant knowledge and skills and concern over balancing different roles. Moderating factors included previous life and educational experiences, as well as role modelling. Conclusions Graduation of a cohort of new general practitioners (GPs) who express fear towards practice ownership is concerning. Creating more positive learning environments and opportunity for open discussion regarding practice management and ownership is an important step in providing adequate support for new GPs to give serious consideration to career options. What is known about the topic? The traditional model of general practice ownership has been for a doctor to own and/or manage the practice. Fewer new GPs are taking on the role of owning a general practice, and disinterest has been presumed to play a significant role in this trend. It has been reported that current curricula provide insufficient focus on providing learning opportunities for general practice trainees on ownership and management models; however, recent research has shown that general practice trainees have a strong interest in receiving this knowledge during their training. What does this paper add? The present qualitative research evaluated the emotional response that general practice trainees (Registrars) expressed when they considered practice ownership. GP Registrars expressed fear when asked about the prospect of owning their own practice. This may be influenced by the role modelling they receive during their training. What are the implications for practitioners? Supervisors involved in general practice training should ensure their trainees have the opportunity to learn about practice ownership during their training. Supervisors should also be aware that their own behaviour and attitudes towards practice ownership is observed by their trainees and it can colour the emotional response the trainee has when considering owning a practice.

Introduction and Aim: The Australian general practitioner (GP) teaching workforce will need to expand in order to provide for the increasing number of medical students and doctors-in-training. Understanding factors that motivate GPs to become involved in teaching in their clinical practice environments is important for developing recruitment and retention strategies., Method: Thirty-one semi-structured interviews were conducted with a cross section of GP teachers and were subjected to thematic analysis. Themes were identified and further classified as motivations and prerequisites for teaching., Results: The desire to update clinical knowledge was the most frequently mentioned motivation for teaching, and was described as a strategy for GP teachers to preserve clinical competence through the opportunity to learn new aspects of medicine from junior colleagues. Other motivations included personal fulfillment and enjoyment of teaching, the opportunity to pass on general practice skills and knowledge, promoting general practice as a career, and fulfilling a sense of responsibility to the profession and community. Peers, students and patients also influenced the decision to teach. Most GPs identified that time, workload, availability of space and adequate financial remuneration were prerequisites for teaching. Practice owners also often determined the GP teachers' capacity to teach., Discussion: To increase the recruitment and retention of GP teachers, it is recommended that teaching organisations give more recognition to teaching as a clinical professional development activity, place more emphasis on GPs' personal enjoyment, professional responsibility and pride in teaching, and increase engagement with practice owners., (© 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

This is occurring despite previous research showing that consumer demand is a driver of unnecessary tests and treatments.[5] This non-contemporaneous doctor-patient interaction exacerbates the demand for fast, convenient health care delivered how and when patients dictate. Keywords: General practice; Physician-patient relations; Telemedicine EN General practice Physician-patient relations Telemedicine 192 192 1 03/08/23 20230301 NES 230301 Competing interests No relevant disclosures. Presumably to preserve the doctor-patient relationship and potentially business interests, we have seen GPs acquiesce to these patient requests, often with little to no consultation. [Extracted from the article]

Background The Prevocational General Practice Placement programme ( PGPPP) aims to provide junior doctors with professional, well-supervised, educational rotations in general practice. There is a paucity of literature evaluating the educational effectiveness of the PGPPP. This study aims to compare general practice rotations with hospital rotations, with respect to teaching and support, acquisition of skills and knowledge, and role autonomy. Methods All junior doctors who participated in a PGPPP rotation were invited to complete a voluntary anonymous online survey using the Postgraduate Hospital Educational Environment Measure ( PHEEM) inventory. The PHEEM presents Likert scales grouped into four subscales for participants to rate statements about their rotations. Surveys were completed at the end of the year in which doctors undertook a PGPPP rotation, and covered all rotations. These survey findings were used to compare general practice and hospital rotations. Results In all four subscales of teaching, clinical skills, social support and role autonomy, the general practice rotation performed as well as, or better than, hospital rotations in the areas of emergency, medicine, and surgery. General practice outperformed all other rotations in 15 out of 20 statements across all subscales. Discussion This study demonstrates the educational value of a general practice placement in comparison with hospital placements. Expansion of the PGPPP should be considered to provide all junior doctors with the benefits of exposure to generalist skills in the community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Medical students, junior hospital doctors on rotation and general practice (GP) registrars are undertaking their training in clinical general practices in increasing numbers in Australia. Some practices have four levels of learner. This study aimed to explore how multi-level teaching (also called vertical integration of GP education and training) is occurring in clinical general practice and the impact of such teaching on the learner. Methods A qualitative research methodology was used with face-to-face, semi-structured interviews of medical students, junior hospital doctors, GP registrars and GP teachers in eight training practices in the region that taught all levels of learners. Interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed. Qualitative analysis was conducted using thematic analysis techniques aided by the use of the software package N-Vivo 9. Primary themes were identified and categorised by the co-investigators. Results 52 interviews were completed and analysed. Themes were identified relating to both the practice learning environment and teaching methods used. A practice environment where there is a strong teaching culture, enjoyment of learning, and flexible learning methods, as well as learning spaces and organised teaching arrangements, all contribute to positive learning from a learners' perspective. Learners identified a number of innovative teaching methods and viewed them as positive. These included multi-level learner group tutorials in the practice, being taught by a team of teachers, including GP registrars and other health professionals, and access to a supernumerary GP supervisor (also termed "GP consultant teacher"). Other teaching methods that were viewed positively were parallel consulting, informal learning and rural hospital context integrated learning. Conclusions Vertical integration of GP education and training generally impacted positively on all levels of learner. This research has provided further evidence about the learning culture, structures and teaching processes that have a positive impact on learners in the clinical general practice setting where there are multiple levels of learners. It has also identified some innovative teaching methods that will need further examination. The findings reinforce the importance of the environment for learning and learner centred approaches and will be important for training organisations developing vertically integrated practices and in their training of GP teachers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on various business models and ideas that are needed for the success of sustainable general practice vocational training supervision in Australia. The role of the general practitioner supervisor is to train people who will form part of the future general practice workforce. The changes to the basic model of training include such approaches as competence-base learning, electronic (e)-learning, and vertical integration.

The article discusses research done on the vertical integration of teaching and clinical training in general practice in Australia. The study procedure included a survey of regional training providers (RTPs). Results indicated the development by 11 RTPs of vertical integration initiatives while others urged registrars to teach medical students and junior doctors.

The article explores resilience and job satisfaction among primary care physicians who work in medically underserved areas in Australia for long periods of time. According to the authors, most of the doctors interviewed for the study revealed distancing themselves from self-sacrifice and altruism concepts. They reveal that the doctors' approach to their work can be classified as prosociality which refers to helping behaviors that are defined more by observable actions rather than motivation.