Factors associated with early-career GP's retention as independent specialists in former training practices

• Published in: Rural and remote health 2024-09, Vol.24 (3), p.1-10
• Main Authors: Tran, Michael, Fielding, Alison, Moad, Dominica, Tapley, Amanda, Holliday, Elizabeth, Ball, Jean, Davey, Andrew, van Driel, Mieke, FitzGerald, Kristen, Spike, Neil, Bentley, Michael, Kirby, Catherine, Turnock, Allison, Magin, Parker
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Australia; Australia; education; Career Choice; Cross-Sectional Studies; Education; Evaluation; Family medicine; Female; General Practitioners - education; Humans; Male; Medical care; medical; family practice; general practice; rural health services; Middle Aged; Personnel Turnover - statistics & numerical data; Practice; Professional Practice Location - statistics & numerical data; Rural health services; Rural Health Services - organization & administration; Surveys and Questionnaires
• ISSN: 1445-6354; 1445-6354
• DOI: 10.22605/RRH8808

Introduction: Retention of general practice registrars in their training practices is important for addressing the GP workforce deficit and maldistribution of GPs. Given that rural and remote general practices are disproportionately affected by low retention, identifying the factors that promote retention May be as important as developing recruitment strategies in these areas. Quantifying the impact of relevant factors on registrar retention will enable a better understanding of how to incentivise retention and attenuate the loss of the rural workforce to other areas. We sought to establish the prevalence and associations of retention of general practice registrars in their training practices. Methods: This analysis was a component of the New alumni Experience of Training and independent Unsupervised Practice (NEXT-UP) study: a cross-sectional questionnaire-based study of early-career GPs in conjunction with evaluation of data contemporaneously recorded as part of vocational training. Participants were former registrars of three regional training organisations delivering general practice training in New South Wales, Tasmania, the Australian Capital Territory and Eastern Victoria, who had attained Fellowship of the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners or the Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine between January 2016 and July 2018. The outcome measured was whether the registrar had previously worked at their current practice during vocational training. Multivariable logistic regression was used to estimate the association between relevant explanatory variables and the outcome. Results: A total of 354 alumni responded (response rate 28%), of whom provided data regarding previous training practice retention, with 190 (59%) having previously worked at their current practice as registrars. Among respondents who reported currently working in a regional-rural practice location (nequivalent100), 69% reported having previously worked at their current practice during training. GPs were more likely to be retained by a practice they had trained at if it was of lower socioeconomic status (adjusted odds ratio (aOR) 0.82 (95% confidence interval (CI) 0.73-0.91), p