Women in rural general practice: the stresses and rewards

There is a shortage of general practitioners (GPs) in New Zealand rural areas, especially women GPs. An exploratory study was undertaken to ascertain why some women become rural GPs and to identify some of the significant stresses and rewards of rural practice for women.

Qualitative interviews were carried out with fourteen rural women GPs from around the North Island during 1999.

Major issues identified from the interviews included on-call duty, locums, isolation, continuing medical education and the difficulty combining a family with the demands of rural practice.

Based on the findings, recommendations are made to aid recruitment and retention of rural GPs, particularly women rural GPs.