‘We are not invincible’: a qualitative study of self-care practices by Australian general practice registrars
Nadia Khan A B and Tim Usherwood AA Department of General Practice, Westmead Clinical School, Faculty of Health and Medicine, The University of Sydney, Acacia House, Westmead Hospital, NSW 2145, Australia.
B Corresponding author. Email: nadia.khan@sydney.edu.au
Australian Journal of Primary Health 25(4) 380-386 https://doi.org/10.1071/PY18169
Submitted: 24 October 2018 Accepted: 27 May 2019 Published: 2 September 2019
Abstract
Doctors are not well known to look after their own health. The barriers and enablers that doctors face in staying healthy and managing ill health are not fully understood. This study aimed to explore these issues among general practice registrars (trainee general practitioners (GPs)). Semistructured interviews conducted with 14 GP registrars were audio-recorded, transcribed and analysed thematically. Participants noted the benefits of healthy lifestyle and the major barrier of competing priorities. Barriers to having their own GP included uncertainty about colleagues’ clinical abilities and about their respect for professional boundaries. Nearly all the participants had self-prescribed and many reported informal consultations with colleagues, although they noted the limitations of these. The participants identified their professional responsibility to maintain a healthy lifestyle and need for a regular GP, the importance of support for these responsibilities by training practices and regional training organisations and the value of training organisations incorporating such support into curriculum and policies.
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