Researchers surveyed 1,949 general practitioner principals in England about their intentions to quit direct patient care and the factors that could be associated with this (790 were surveyed in 1998 and 1,159 in 2001).
The proportion of general practitioners who were under 65 years of age and intending to quit direct patient care within the next five years rose from 14% in 1998 to 22% in 2001. This rise was due mainly to a decline in job satisfaction (mean of 4.64 in 1998 to 3.96 in 2001) together with a slight increase in the proportion of doctors from ethnic minorities and in the mean age of doctors.
This finding is likely to be a source for concern to the NHS but at least partly reflects wider societal trends, say the authors. The organisation and governance of general practice has greatly changed in recent years, and doctors may be experiencing difficulty in adapting to these changes. Job dissatisfaction among general practitioners may additionally reflect a more global discontent of doctors with their changing role in society, they suggest.
The results need to be treated cautiously as doctors' intentions to quit may not translate into action, they add. However, if as few as half of those reported here actually leave, this would still be cause for concern given the current shortage of general practitioners.
Given that job satisfaction is an important factor underlying intention to quit, improving this aspect of doctors' working lives might help improve retention, they conclude.