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Queensland's Rural Practitioners: Background and Motivations
Author(s) -
Colditz Graham A.,
Elliott Charles J. P.
Publication year - 1978
Publication title -
medical journal of australia
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.904
H-Index - 131
eISSN - 1326-5377
pISSN - 0025-729X
DOI - 10.5694/j.1326-5377.1978.tb131347.x
Subject(s) - variety (cybernetics) , continuing education , isolation (microbiology) , order (exchange) , rural area , medical education , medical practice , continuing medical education , work (physics) , continuing professional development , medicine , nursing , professional development , business , engineering , mechanical engineering , finance , pathology , artificial intelligence , computer science , microbiology and biotechnology , biology
In view of the continuing maldistribution of medical manpower, this study was undertaken in order to delineate the backgrounds and motivating factors influencing choice of practice by rural practitioners in Queensland. Of those doctors in rural practice 38% had spent more than 10 years of their childhood in a rural environment. Interest of work and variety of practice were most consistently designated as attractions of rural practice, while the factor designated as the greatest attraction of rural practice was the variety of practice. The major disadvantages of rural practice were: (i) restricted opportunities for continuing education; (ii) difficulty obtaining adequate locum assistance for holidays and continuing education; and (iii) professional isolation. The prime reasons doctors had for choosing their present practice were the practice conditions (31.3%), and geographical location (20.9%).