Full-time women general practitioners--an invaluable asset

Area of Science:

• General Practice
• Medical Workforce Studies
• Health Services Research

Background:

• Previous studies on general practice workload may be skewed by not differentiating between full-time and part-time female principals.
• The role and workload of women doctors in general practice are often debated.
• Understanding workload parity is crucial for equitable resource allocation and professional development.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate and compare the workload of full-time women general practitioners (GPs) with their full-time male colleagues.
• To determine if women GPs fulfill an equal role in general practice concerning workload metrics.
• To identify any unique contributions or roles undertaken by women GPs.

Main Methods:

• A postal questionnaire was distributed to 501 women principals in general practice.
• Data on workload (surgeries, home visits, on-call duties) were collected over a four-week period.
• Responses from 308 women principals (62% response rate), including 143 full-time GPs, were analyzed and compared with data from their male partners.

Main Results:

• Full-time women GPs undertook an equal number of surgeries, similar surgery lengths, and a comparable number of home visits to full-time male GPs.
• Rates of out-of-hours work, nights on-call, weekends on-call, and use of deputies were similar between full-time men and women GPs.
• Full-time women GPs conducted more specialized clinics than their male counterparts, indicating a distinct role in preventive care.

Conclusions:

• Full-time women general practitioners (GPs) demonstrate workload parity with full-time male GPs across key performance indicators.
• Women GPs play a significant role in preventive care through their leadership in specialized clinics.
• This study refutes the notion that women doctors do not fulfill the same role as men doctors in general practice, particularly when considering full-time practitioners.