New alumni EXperiences of Training and independent Unsupervised Practice (NEXT-UP): protocol for a cross-sectional study of early career general practitioners

Parker Magin; Dominica Moad; Amanda Tapley; L Holliday; Andrew Davey; Neil Spike; Kristen FitzGerald; Catherine Kirby; Michael Bentley; Allison Turnock; Mieke L van Driel; Alison Fielding

doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2019-029585

New alumni EXperiences of Training and independent Unsupervised Practice (NEXT-UP): protocol for a cross-sectional study of early career general practitioners

BMJ Open. 2019 May 30;9(5):e029585. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2019-029585.

Authors

Parker Magin^{1

2}, Dominica Moad^{1

2}, Amanda Tapley^{1

2}, L Holliday³, Andrew Davey^{1

2}, Neil Spike^{4

5}, Kristen FitzGerald⁶, Catherine Kirby^{4

7}, Michael Bentley⁶, Allison Turnock^{8

9}, Mieke L van Driel¹⁰, Alison Fielding^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Discipline of General Practice, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Newcastle, Callaghan, New South Wales, Australia.
² NSW and ACT Research and Evaluation Unit, GP Synergy Ltd - Newcastle, Mayfield West, New South Wales, Australia.
³ School of Medicine and Public Health, Faculty of Health and Medicine, University of Newcastle, Callaghan, New South Wales, Australia.
⁴ Eastern Victoria General Practice Training, Churchill, Victoria, Australia.
⁵ Department of General Practice, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia.
⁶ General Practice Training Tasmania, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia.
⁷ School of Rural Health, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria, Australia.
⁸ Department of Health, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia.
⁹ Centre for Rural Health, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia.
¹⁰ Primary Care Clinical Unit, Faculty of Medicine, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.

Abstract

Introduction: General practice in Australia, as in many countries, faces challenges in the areas of workforce capacity and workforce distribution. General practice vocational training in Australia not only addresses the training of competent independent general practitioners (GPs) but also addresses these workforce issues. This study aims to establish the prevalence and associations of early career (within 2 years of completion of vocational training) GPs' practice characteristics; and also to establish their perceptions of utility of their training in preparing them for independent practice.

Methods and analysis: This will be a cross-sectional questionnaire study. Participants will be former registrars ('alumni') of three regional training organisations (RTOs) who achieved general practice Fellowship (qualifying them for independent practice) between January 2016 and July 2018 inclusive. The questionnaire data will be linked to data collected as part of the participants' educational programme with the RTOs. Outcomes will include alumni rurality of practice; socioeconomic status of practice; retention within their RTO's geographic footprint; workload; provision of nursing home care, after-hours care and home visits; and involvement in general practice teaching and supervision. Associations of these outcomes will be established with logistic regression. The utility of RTO-provided training versus in-practice training in preparing the early career GP for unsupervised post-Ffellowship practice in particular aspects of practice will be assessed with χ² tests.

Ethics and dissemination: Ethics approval is by the University of Newcastle Human Research Ethics Committee, approval numbers H-2018-0333 and H-2009-0323. The findings of this study will be widely disseminated via conference presentations and publication in peer-reviewed journals, educational practice translational workshops and the GP Synergy Research subwebsite.

Keywords: primary care.

Publication types

Clinical Trial Protocol
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Attitude of Health Personnel
Australia
Career Choice
Cross-Sectional Studies
General Practice / education*
General Practitioners / education*
Humans
Surveys and Questionnaires
Vocational Education / statistics & numerical data*