Why are doctors opting out of general practice?

Area of Science:

• Medical research
• Public health policy

Background:

• Sustained focus on general practice recruitment challenges in Norway.
• Limited understanding of physician motivations for opting out of general practice.

Purpose of the Study:

• Investigate the types of doctors who choose not to work in general practice.
• Identify the primary reasons behind doctors opting out of general practice.

Main Methods:

• Survey of 2,195 Medical Panel members (2016/17) with a 73.1% response rate.
• Descriptive analyses and graphical representations to compare groups of doctors.

Main Results:

• 44.1% of non-GPs never considered general practice.
• 39.9% considered but chose other specialties.
• 16.0% previously worked as GPs but quit.
• Key reasons for opting out: administrative burden and small professional community.

Conclusions:

• Administrative burden and limited professional community are significant factors influencing doctors' decisions to leave or avoid general practice.
• Recruitment and retention strategies for general practitioners require a broad, contextual approach beyond individual factors.