Sustainable rural practice for female general practitioners

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Rural Health
• Women's Health

Background:

• Sustainable rural general practice is crucial for healthcare access in remote areas.
• Attracting and retaining female doctors in rural and remote settings presents unique challenges.
• Existing strategies for supporting rural practitioners may not adequately address the needs of women doctors.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify and prioritize strategies used by female rural and remote doctors to ensure practice sustainability.
• To develop grounded knowledge on structuring rural and remote medical practice to be effective for women.
• To inform workforce agencies and professional bodies in creating sustainable rural medical practice models.

Main Methods:

• Convened an expert panel of female doctors from rural and remote settings.
• Panel members belonged to the Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine (ACRRM).
• Panelists identified and ranked strategies that made rural practice work for them.

Main Results:

• Updating professional skills was nominated as the most important strategy.
• Eight key strategy groups were identified and ranked.
• These groups include structuring practice, personal and professional strategies, boundary setting, rural exposure, and community/women engagement.

Conclusions:

• Continuous professional development is vital for female doctors in rural and remote practice.
• A multi-faceted approach encompassing personal, professional, and community strategies is essential for sustainability.
• The findings provide a foundation for developing targeted support and models for rural women in medicine.