"I was lucky!" A mixed methods study exploring how practice placements affect F2 doctors' attitudes to a GP career

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• General Practice Training
• Doctoral Career Pathways

Background:

• Increasing workload shift from secondary to primary care in the UK's National Health Service.
• Historically declining proportion of Foundation Year 2 (F2) doctors entering General Practitioner (GP) training.
• Ongoing high competition and a persistent trend of F2 doctors not directly entering GP training.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the characteristics of F2 GP placements that impact career decisions.
• To understand factors influencing F2 doctors' choices regarding GP specialty training.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective mixed methods study involving an online survey and semi-structured interviews.
• Survey of 77 F2 doctors across three Health Education England regions.
• Thematic analysis of qualitative data from 20 interviewed F2 doctors post-placement.

Main Results:

• Significant variation observed in F2 GP placements regarding workload, supervision, support, role models, isolation, educational opportunities, and practice culture.
• F2 doctors found GP placements valuable for learning, but experiences were mixed, attracting and deterring them equally from a GP career.
• Inconsistent placement quality significantly influences F2 doctors' career choices in General Practice.

Conclusions:

• Need for consistently high-quality F2 GP placement experiences to effectively guide career choices.
• F2 doctors provided recommendations to enhance the attractiveness of General Practice as a career.
• Implementing F2 doctor recommendations could potentially increase GP training applications.