@article {Watsone645, author = {Jessica Watson and Alison Humphrey and Frank Peters-Klimm and William Hamilton}, title = {Motivation and satisfaction in GP training: a UK cross-sectional survey}, volume = {61}, number = {591}, pages = {e645--e649}, year = {2011}, doi = {10.3399/bjgp11X601352}, publisher = {Royal College of General Practitioners}, abstract = {Background Recruitment to general practice has had periods of difficulty, but is currently going through a phase of relative popularity in the UK.Aim To explore motivators for career choice and career satisfaction among UK GP trainees and newly qualified GPs.Design and setting Cross-sectional web-based questionnaire of GP trainees and GPs within the first 5 years of qualification in the UK.Method All 9557 UK GP trainees and 8013 GPs who were within the first 5 years of qualification were invited to participate by email. Further publicity was conducted via general practice publications and the internet.Results Overall, there were 2178 responses to the questionnaire (12.4\% response rate, 61.5\% women, 61.8\% trainees). Levels of satisfaction were high, with 83\% of responders stating that they would choose to be a doctor again; of these, 95\% would choose to be a GP again. The most frequently cited reason for choosing general practice was {\textquoteleft}compatibility with family life{\textquoteright}, which was chosen by 76.6\% of women and 63.2\% of men (P\<0.001). Other reasons given were: {\textquoteleft}challenging medically diverse discipline{\textquoteright} (women 59.8\%, men 61.8\%, P = 0.350), {\textquoteleft}the one-to-one care general practice offers{\textquoteright} (women 40.0\%, men 41.2\%, P = 0.570), {\textquoteleft}holistic approach{\textquoteright} (women 41.4\%, men 30.1\%, P\<0.001), {\textquoteleft}autonomy and independence{\textquoteright} (women 18.0\%, men 34.8\%, P\<0.001), {\textquoteleft}communication{\textquoteright} (women 20.6\%, men 12.2\%, P\<0.001), {\textquoteleft}negative experiences in hospital{\textquoteright} (women 12.8\%, men 9.8\%, P= 0.036), and {\textquoteleft}good salary{\textquoteright} (women 7.8\%, men 14.9\%, P\<0.001).Conclusion The most important reason for both women and men choosing general practice as a career in the UK is its compatibility with family life. As such, changes to UK primary care that decrease family compatibility could negatively impact on recruitment.}, issn = {0960-1643}, URL = {https://bjgp.org/content/61/591/e645}, eprint = {https://bjgp.org/content/61/591/e645.full.pdf}, journal = {British Journal of General Practice} }