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GPs rate postgraduate training experiences
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GPs rate postgraduate training experiences

Research 3 minute read

Postgraduate doctors around Australia have been asked about their satisfaction with the quality of their training, training providers and with their career progression.

GPs rate postgraduate training experiences

The Registrar Satisfaction Survey, designed by ACER with General Practice Education and Training (GPET), collected feedback on training experiences from thousands of General Practice registrars across Australia.

The survey is used for ensuring continuous improvement in the training of doctors in General Practice. It explores issues such as training experiences and impressions, insights into training facilities and the future plans of GP registrars. It also collects important data about the characteristics of registrars so as to build a better understanding of their needs and identify ways to improve training.

Development, reporting and consultation for the Registrar Satisfaction is coordinated by GPET. ACER researchers work closely with GPET and key stakeholders such as the GP Registered Training Providers (RTP), CEOs of RTPs or their representatives, Medical Educators, Australian Medical Association Council of Doctors-in-Training (AMA CDT), and the Australian Medical Council (AMC).

2014 is the second year that ACER has been involved in the Registrar Satisfaction Survey. In 2013, more than 1900 GP registrars participated in the survey, representing a 74 per cent response rate. Key findings from the survey are highlighted in this infographic.

Nationally, registrars were very satisfied with their Australian General Practice Training. Variation of overall satisfaction did occur, declining as the training location moved further from major cities. Similarly, overall satisfaction dropped from the first to second full-time equivalent year in training, increasing again when a registrar had been in the program for longer. Registrar demographics appear to have little link with satisfaction.

In relation to their careers, around 95 per cent of registrars agreed that general practice was the right career for them, and that they had chosen the correct fellowship pathway. These results were uniform across all RTPs and across all training contexts and registrar characteristic with the exception of registrars working in very remote areas.

ACER conducted the 2014 Registrar Satisfaction Survey throughout June and is currently preparing a project report for GPET and detailed reports for each of the 17 RTPs to assist with continuous improvement.

Find out more:
The 2013 AGPT Registrar Satisfaction Survey Report.
Further information about the Registrar Satisfaction Survey.

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