Fewer medical graduates are choosing general practice: a comparison of four cohorts, 1980-1995

Abstract

Objective: To compare general practice career choices of four cohorts of medical graduates.

Design and setting: Retrospective longitudinal study of medical graduates. Data on employment since graduation, nature of current employment, and postgraduate qualifications were collected by postal survey in 2003.

Participants: Four cohorts of Monash University Medical School graduates who completed their degrees in 1980, 1985, 1990 and 1995 (n = 386).

Main outcome measure: Proportion of each cohort pursuing a general practice career.

Results: At 8 years after graduation, half of the graduates in the 1980 and 1985 cohorts were working in general practice, compared with 38% of 1990 graduates and 33% of 1995 graduates. Differences were mainly attributable to fewer female graduates working as GPs: female GPs comprised 62% of the 1980 cohort compared with 31% of the 1995 cohort. Graduates in more recent cohorts also entered the general practice workforce at a later stage than those in earlier cohorts.

Conclusion: A rapidly declining proportion of new graduates from Monash University Medical School, particularly female graduates, are choosing general practice as a career. This will exacerbate future shortages in the general practice workforce.