Working hard but working differently: a qualitative study of the impact of generational change on rural health care.

Working hard but working differently: a qualitative study of the impact of generational change on rural health care. CMAJ Open. 2017 Sep 12;5(3):E710-E716 Authors: Snadden D, Kunzli MA Abstract BACKGROUND: There is limited literature evaluating generational change in the physician workforce and the adjustments required of practices, practitioners and the health care system as a whole. The purpose of this study was to explore rural practitioners' experiences of their current contexts relevant to recruitment and retention and to determine how practices are responding to changing aspirations of new practitioners. METHODS: We used qualitative methods. Participants were selected to ensure diversity of career stage. Semistructured interviews conducted with 39 physicians, 2 nurses and 1 practice administrator from rural northwestern Canada (British Columbia, the Yukon Territory and the Northwest Territories) between June and October 2016 sought participants' views on research, training, recruitment and retention in the rural setting. Interviews lasted 30-50 minutes with the exception of 4 group interviews (45-90 min). Interviews were then conducted with 4 rural practitioners on Vancouver Island to confirm emerging themes. The interviews were recorded and analyzed interpretively. RESULTS: Three themes were identified that showed the interplay among practitioners, patients and resources within a rural health environment: 1) sc...
Source: cmaj - Category: General Medicine Authors: Tags: CMAJ Open Source Type: research