ArticleBMJ open2017
'Just a GP': a mixed method study of undermining of general practice as a career choice in the UK.
Article in BMJ open, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 34 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
34 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 61 citations in OpenAlex.
- The impact of role modelling on the future general practitioner workforce: a systematic review.Education for primary care : an official publication of the Association of Course Organisers, National Association of GP Tutors, World Organisation of Family Doctors · 2022Pooled it
- Theories and theoretical frameworks used in general practice career choice research: a scoping review.BMC primary care · 2026Article
- Interprofessional teams and capacity in collaborative primary care: a rapid scoping review.Systematic reviews · 2026Article
- Strengthening integration of pathways into general practice in Australia: a virtual workshop study with stakeholders.BJGP open · 2026Article
- General practice specialty decision making: a system-level Australian qualitative study.BJGP open · 2025Article
- Crossing the Rubicon: assisted dying in general practice.The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners · 2025Article
- Balint groups' possible role in self-care and job satisfaction of general practitioners-A qualitative study.Wiener klinische Wochenschrift · 2025Article
- The Golden Ticket? Widening Access in UK Medicine and the Making of an Emotional Proletariat.Sociology of health & illness · 2025Article
- Practical tips to fostering positive perceptions of and interest in general practice across medical training phases.MedEdPublish (2016) · 2025Article
- The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on students' views of a career in general practice: a focus group study.BJGP open · 2024Article
- Article
- What influences on their professional development do general practice trainees report from their hospital placements? A qualitative study.The European journal of general practice · 2023Article
- Radical solutions are needed to meet the challenge of medical student placement capacity in primary care.The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners · 2023Article
- Article
- Benefits of Mentoring in Oncology Education for Mentors and Mentees: Pre-Post Interventional Study of the British Oncology Network for Undergraduate Societies' National Oncology Mentorship Scheme.JMIR medical education · 2023Article
- How do foundation year and internship experience shape doctors' career intentions and decisions? A meta-ethnography.Medical teacher · 2023Article
- Medical students' attitudes towards and views of general practice careers in Singapore: a cross-sectional survey and qualitative analysis.BMC medical education · 2022Article
- Attitudes of German GP trainees regarding add-on training programs differ if in office or hospital training phase.BMC medical education · 2022Article
- Responsive policies needed to secure rural supply from increasing female doctors: A perspective.The International journal of health planning and management · 2022Article
- The "General practitioner learning stations"-development, implementation and optimization of an innovative format for sustainable teaching in general practice.BMC medical education · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectivesFailure to recruit sufficient applicants to general practice (GP) training has been a problem both nationally and internationally for many years and undermining of GP is one possible contributing factor. The aim of our study was to ascertain what comments, both negative and positive, are being made in UK clinical settings to GP trainees about GP and to further explore these comments and their influence on career choice. METHODOLOGY: We conducted a mixed methods study. We surveyed all foundation doctors and GP trainees within one region of Health Education England regarding any comments they experienced relating to a career in GP. We also conducted six focus groups with early GP trainees to discuss any comments that they experienced and whether these comments had any influence on their or others career choice.
resultsPositive comments reported by trainees centred around the concept that choosing GP is a positive, family-focused choice which facilities a good work-life balance. Workload was the most common negative comment, alongside the notion of being 'just a GP'; the belief that GP is boring, a waste of training and a second-class career choice. The reasons for and origin of the comments are multifactorial in nature. Thematic analysis of the focus groups identified key factors such as previous exposure to and experience of GP, family members who were GPs, GP role models, demographics of the clinician and referral behaviour. Trainees perceived that negative comments may be discouraging others from choosing GP as a career.
conclusionOur study demonstrates that negative comments towards GP as a career do exist within clinical settings and are having a potential impact on poor recruitment rates to GP training. We have identified areas in which further negative comments could be prevented by changing perceptions of GP as a career. Additional time spent in GP as undergraduates and postgraduates, and positive GP role models, could particularly benefit recruitment. We recommend that undermining of GP as a career choice be approached with a zero-tolerance policy.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.