‘It’s so rich, you know, what they could be experiencing’: rural places for general practitioner learning

ABSTRACT

Globally there is an urban/rural divide in relation to health and healthcare access. A key strategy for addressing general practitioner shortages in rural areas is GP vocational training in rural places, as this may aid in developing practitioners’ scope, values and community orientation, and increase propensity for rural practice. This creates a need for deeper understanding of the nature and quality of this training. Rural GPs are well-positioned to reflect on vocational learning in ‘place’. We aimed to explore rural GPs’ perceptions and experiences of GP vocational learning in relation to rural places. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 25 GPs based in smaller rural communities in Tasmania. Inductive and theoretical thematic analysis was undertaken. Rural places provide learning opportunities for GP registrars, which shape the relationships between GPs and registrars and their communities. Rural GPs are committed to developing the next generation and improving access to primary care for their communities. Rural places provide unique learning environments for general practice, including rich learning, relationships and community commitment.

KEYWORDS:

• Australia
• rural
• place
• general practice
• community
• registrars

Acknowledgements

We would like to acknowledge the support from GP Supervisors Australia and General Practice Training Tasmania for assistance in promoting the project to potential participants and assisting with the sampling. We would also like to thank the rural GPs who took the time to talk with us about their experiences.

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Data availability

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author, [DC], upon reasonable request.

ORCID

Danielle Couch http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5206-9072

Additional information

Funding

This research was supported by The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners with funding from the Australian Government under the Australian General Practice Training Program Education Research Grants.