What keeps Melbourne GPs satisfied in their jobs?

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Workforce shortages make it important to promote job satisfaction and career longevity in general practitioners. We aimed to investigate strategies that maintain and improve Melbourne (Victoria) GP job satisfaction. METHODS: A postal survey of a random selection of The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners vocationally recognised GPs (N=860). Open ended answers were coded according to themes and compared between genders. RESULTS: Thirty-eight percent of surveyed GPs responded. The mean satisfaction score was 50 out of 70 (SD 9). Women GPs were more satisfied than men with life-work balance (p<0.01). Most frequently nominated themes for satisfaction were job variety, l..