FY2023-24
12 months of researching our members' needs
12 MONTHS OF RESEARCH THEME I
Theme I: Best Practice – Driving innovation, quality improvement, and excellence in GP training
Our best practice research projects tackle contemporary challenges to drive innovation, quality improvement, and excellence in GP training. The translation of evidence-based research into policy is one of the high impact ways that we drive change to ensure best practice GP training.
Evidence-based education
GPSA has begun a formal evaluation of the impact of our education program (including the PQRST and ECTVs) and educational innovations (such as SCENARIO and ScenarioEd). Several approaches to learning are also under evaluation, such joint teaching of GP supervisors/registrars. Outcomes from these evidence-based evaluations validate the quality and value of GPSA’s educational strategies and innovations for the GP training community.
Excellence in GP training: the GPCLE tool
Supported by a competitive RACGP Education Research Grant, GPSA led the development and validation of a consensus-driven, evidence-based quality improvement tool to measure, improve, and monitor the quality of the learning environment in the general practice setting. In the next phase of this project, GPSA will partner with industry stakeholders to translate the GPCLE tool into practice, supporting quality improvement in GP training from medical school to fellowship.
12 MONTHS OF RESEARCH THEME II
Theme II: Capacity Building and Resilience
GPSA is committed to support a thriving and sustainable GP training community by engaging the sector through research that builds capacity and resilience. Projects are designed for translation, such as to drive evidence-based policy changes that will attract GPs-in-training to general practice as their speciality of choice, as well as to develop educational resources to support and retain supervision teams.
Eliminating isolation: virtual communities of practice
GPSA members have free access to a virtual community of practice, which is designed to overcome the isolation of general practice through knowledge sharing, support, and professional development opportunities in a safe, online environment.
GPSA convened a workshop at the 2023 Rural Medicine Australia conference in Hobart, Tasmania to explore key factors associated with engagement in the community. Workshop attendees agreed that virtual communities of practice have value for those in GP training by reducing geographical barriers and improving role effectiveness, such as decision-making. GPSA is partnering with Hivebrite to safely and securely integrate the latest innovations in AI technology to supercharge, engage, and support member connections. Future research will explore the impact of GPSA’s virtual community of practice on fostering member engagement, creating connections, and providing support.
Championing the cause for increased representation of women as GP supervisors
Women outnumber men in Australia general practice, but are under-represented in leadership roles, such as GP supervision. Supported by the RACGP with funding from the Australian Government under the AGPT Program, GPSA is working with women GPs to co-design programs that address the needs, priorities, and solutions to support women in GP supervision now and into the future.
Working together, we’ve co-designed two programs:
| Orientation to supervision for women GPs | Community of Practice for women GP supervisors |
Who | Women contemplating, new or returning to GP supervision | Women GP supervisors (novice, experienced, expert) |
What | Topics designed to foster confidence through understanding the pathways, processes, and responsibilities involved in GP supervision | Small groups of women GP supervisors come together to explore various aspects of GP supervision, contextualised through the lens of women’s lived experiences. |
How | Multi-modal formats (downloadable information sheets, live webinars, video vignettes, podcasts) | Multi-modal (online meetings, supplemented by out-of-session contact) |
Why | Attract women to GP supervision · Knowledge · Skill · Empowerment | Retain women GP supervisors · Supervisor Identity · Confidence · Support |
Fixing the leaky GP training pipeline
High quality vocational GP training is the foundation for a thriving primary care system in Australia. The better the training experience, the more likely medical learners will be to pursue a career in general practice. In this project, GPSA collaborated with RACGP and Monash University to explore the perspectives and experiences of the GP/RG supervision community as training providers. The findings highlight an appetite for the development of educational resources to support the delivery of high-quality training experiences to learners along the training pipeline. GPSA is working with our partners to translate these findings into action to fix the leaky GP training pipeline.
12 MONTHS OF RESEARCH THEME III
Theme III: Wellbeing and satisfaction – Nurturing and supporting the wellbeing and satisfaction of the GP training community
The health and wellbeing of Australians goes hand in hand with the health and wellbeing of GPs: you can’t have one without the other. In this theme, GPSA undertakes projects designed to understand, monitor and improve the wellbeing and satisfaction of the GP training community. We produce the evidence to leverage policy change and advocacy, to ensure that the wellbeing of our GP training community is well supported.
Thriving or just surviving? Monitoring wellbeing in the GP/RG supervision community
For several years, GPSA has been monitoring burnout and selfcare in the GP/RG supervision community. In 2022, we found that over 70% of supervisors had high levels of burnout, which was associated with lower levels of selfcare. In 2023, we delved deeper to understand the connection between wellbeing and satisfaction. Although burnout remains high, GPs who believe in the positive impact of their work in the community are less susceptible to burnout. These findings have important policy implications to ensure that the values that attract medical doctors to general practice and GP supervision are satisfied and supported.
Everyone needs their own GP – including GPs
For GPs living in rural and remote communities, getting access to a GP, let alone one that doesn’t know you personally, can be a significant barrier to proactively engaging with the health system. To address this unmet need, GPSA is partnering with several key organisations to evaluate programs designed to support GP health and wellbeing. Planning is well underway to evaluate the effects of a GP health outreach program – which offers face-to-face access to primary care for GPs in rural and remote locations – on lifestyle, mental and physical health, and safe work practices.
2024 National Supervision Survey
This year, GPSA initiated a new ENGAGE campaign, designed to empower our members to influence the future of general practice in Australia.
As well as monitoring wellbeing, we put the spotlight on the GP training pipeline and invited special interest contributions from our membership. A detailed report is available here – the findings speaking to the importance of GPSA’s efforts to energise the supervisors and practice teams training the next generation of GPs and RGs, attract more like-minded champions to this community, and advocate for improvements. We found that together we can build a better future.
12 MONTHS OF RESEARCH TRANSLATION
| A balancing act: Exploring how medical educators model vulnerability whilst maintaining credibility. | This workshop explored the findings of GPSA's research into the willingness of GP supervisors and registrars to share their vulnerability with one another through the lens of the medical educator. | June 2024 | |
| The PQRST framework for case discussion: a pilot evaluation. | This paper, presented at the 2024 conference of the European General Practice Research Network, examined the value of GPSA's PQRST (“Problem, Question, Reason, Solution, Teach”) model for case discussion outside the Australian GP training context. | May 2024 | |
| Brave enough: the benefits of reciprocity in the GP supervisor-registrar relationship | This short video outlines the findings of GPSA's research into the willingness of GP supervisors and registrars to share their vulnerability with one another, and the impact this has on teaching/ learning. | October 2023 | |
| Reveal or conceal? Self-disclosures build trust in the GP supervisor-registrar relationship | This short video outlines the findings of GPSA's research into the value of reciprocal vulnerability in the supervisor-registrar relationship. | October 2023 | |
| Reveal or conceal? Self-disclosures build trust in the GP supervisor-registrar relationship | This poster outlines the findings of GPSA's research into the value of reciprocal vulnerability in the supervisor-registrar relationship. | October 2023 | |
| Wellbeing support for GP registrars: misaligned perspectives and experiences of GP supervisors and GP registrars | This short video outlines the findings of GPSA's research into the provision of pastoral care for GP registrars. | October 2023 | |
| Wellbeing support for GP registrars: misaligned perspectives and experiences of GP supervisors and GP registrars | This poster outlines the findings of GPSA's research into the provision of pastoral care for GP registrars. | October 2023 | |
| Supervision intentions: identifying and activating enablers | This poster outlines the findings of GPSA's 2023 annual national survey with respect to future intentions to supervise GP trainees. | October 2023 | |
| Eliminating isolation: GPSA's virtual community of practice | This paper outlines the findings of GPSA's evaluation of the value of virtual communities of practice to GP and RG supervision teams, examined through a research workshop at the ACRRM/RDAA RMA conference in October 2023. | October 2023 |
12 MONTHS OF CONFERENCE PRESENTATIONS
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Date reviewed: 08 November 2024