Research & Policy

GPSA’s research mission is to support quality GP training through evidence-based resources that in turn support member wellbeing and satisfaction by building workforce capacity and resilience.

Our research agenda is nimble and responsive to the priorities of our members and the GP training sector, enabling us to pivot our focus across evidence-based advocacy, policy, education and a broad range of resources as the environmental context changes.
Alongside our members, we also partner with universities, sector stakeholders and policy makers to expand our work in the GP / RG training space.

Research Themes

Assess * Support * Connect * Improve

Research Snapshot

On behalf of our valued collaborators, GPSA Director of Research and Policy, Dr Samia Toukhsati, presented three research papers at conferences during October and November 2023. They are summarised in these short videos.

Wellbeing support for GP registrars: misaligned perspectives and experiences of GP supervisors and GP registrars

In this paper, presented at WONCA 2023, we reported on the misalignment in expectations and experiences between GP supervisors and GP registrars as providers and recipients of wellbeing support in GP training. We found that although GP supervisors are willing to provide wellbeing support, GP registrars are often reluctant to seek it from them. Building on these findings, research is now underway to bridge this gap and ensure that high quality support is available in GP training.

Brave enough to be vulnerable in GP Training

A fascinating paper on GP supervisors’ and GP registrars’ willingness to disclose areas of professional or personal uncertainty within the alliance. We found that if GP supervisors share their vulnerability – such as uncertainty – GP registrars will reciprocate.

Reveal or conceal - Self-disclosures build trust in the GP supervisor-registrar relationship

This paper focussed on the benefits of mutual sharing, or ‘reciprocal vulnerability’, on building trust in the GP supervisor-registrar alliance. These findings have significant implications for nurturing the GP supervisor-registrar relationship and improving learning outcomes in GP training; planning is underway to translate these findings into guidelines to help supervisors and registrars navigate this difficult space.

National Supervision Survey

National Supervision Survey 2023GPSA 2023 National Supervision Survey Report​This report summarises the perspectives of GPSA members about their experiences
in GP training, wellbeing over the past 12 months, and intentions for the future.

View

Oct 2023

Manuscript Repository

Women GP SupervisorsGPSA 2022 National Supervisor Survey Report​This report summarises the perspectives of GPSA members about their wellbeing and self-care experiences over the past 12 months.DownloadJuly 2022
Women GP SupervisorsEnabling uptake and sustainability of supervision roles by women GPs in Australia: a narrative analysis of interviewsThis narrative inquiry aimed to explore the uptake and sustainability of supervision roles for women GPs in the Australian context.DownloadMay 2022
Training Rural Generalists using Blended Supervision ModelsBlended supervision models for post-graduate rural generalist medical training in Australia: an interview studyThis study explored factors which support the use of blended supervision models (consisting of on- and offsite components) for postgraduate rural generalist medical training (broad scope of work) in small rural communities.PDF DownloadFebruary 2022
CoT research reportThe financial costs and revenue associated with teaching and supervision in General PracticeThis project aimed to better understand the sustainability of GP supervision by determining the associated financial costs and revenue. This study included: interviews with supervisors (n=9) and practice managers (n=9); a survey of supervisors (n=238) and practice managers (n=142), and; a cost-revenue analysis.Executive Summary

Full Report

May 2022
Mandatory Bulk Billing researchMandatory bulk billing policies may have differential rural effects: an exploration of Australian dataThis study aimed to understand the patterns of bulk billing nationally and explore the characteristics of practices more or less likely to bulk bill patients, to identify the potential impact of a rapid shift to bulk billing only policies.Web version

PDF Download

March 2022
Women Supervisors Summary FindingsMore women supervisors for teaching the next generation of GPsThis research project explored the barriers and enablers to increasing the participation of women GPs in the supervsiion of GP and RG registrars.Summary of FindingsNovember 2021
Rural Generalist ReportSupervision Roadmap: Rural Generalist Training in VictoriaThis collaborative research project lead by GPSA aimed to explore and expand on existing evidence about rural supervision to meet the learning needs of the RG2 group across the Victorian Rural Generalist Program curriculum. It specifically focused on three rural regions of Victoria: Hume, Loddon Mallee, and Barwon South West. Further, this project aimed to use this information to develop a Supervision Roadmap to guide the implementation of high-quality supervised learning across the core generalist curriculum in regional Victoria.Executive Summary

Full Report

October 2021
Developing supervision capacity for training rural generalist doctors in small towns in Victoria This project aimed to explore enablers and barriers to the supervision of RG2 learners across a core generalist curriculum in distributed towns in three rural Victorian regions.DownloadOctober 2021
Exploring Attributes high quality GP SupervisionExploring attributes of high-quality clinical supervision in general practice through interviews with peer-recognised GP supervisorsThis research undertaken in 2019-20 interviewed 22 peer-recognised GP Supervisors and identified 7 key areas associated with quality supervision. These included reflecting and learning from other supervisors, structuring learning, caring relationships, involving the whole practice, learner centred approaches, building independence and encouraging reflection. This research was undertaken by GPSA with the support of the Australian Government’s General Practice Training Program. DownloadAugust 2021
2021 GPSA National SurveyReport on 2021 GPSA supervisor survey: The future of GP trainingThe 2021 GP Supervisors Australia (GPSA) Annual Survey revealed 70% of GP supervisor respondents were satisfied or very satisfied with their Regional Training Organisation (RTO).DownloadMay 2021
GPCLE FrameworkGP Clinical Learning Environment Framework researchThe GPCLE is a new framework to guide continuous quality improvement of the practice learning environment. The GPCLE has been adapted for general practice training environments from the Best Practice Clinical Learning Environment (BPCLE) Framework as part of a research project funded by the Australian Government via the Australian General Practice Training (AGPT) Program.ViewFebruary 2021
Best practice clinical learning environmentsA framework to guide the implementation of best practice clinical learning environments in community general practice: AustraliaWe aimed to develop a consensus-based framework to guide the implementation of high-quality learning environments suitable for the range of general practices and clinical learnersDownloadJanuary 2021
COVID ResearchChallenges in General Practice during initial COVID 19 responseThis study involved a national online survey of Australian GPs and was conducted in April and May 2020, with 572 respondents. We found that the response to the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia has resulted in major changes to general practice business models.Download

November 2020
COVID responsesA national survey of COVID-19 challenges, responses and effects in Australian general practiceThe objective of this study was to explore challenges, responses and effects of COVID-19 in Australian general practice in the early stages of the pandemicDownloadNovember 2020
Rural communities researchAn exploration of the experiences of GP registrar supervisors in small rural communities: a qualitative studyExploring what makes rural GPs’ based outside of major regional centres, participate in supervising or not, their experiences of supervising, and impact of their practice context.DownloadSeptember 2020
Measure Educational Alliance Supervisor PerspectiveAdaptation and initial examination of the psychometric properties of the Short Supervisory Relationship Questionnaire (SSRQ) for use with general practice registrarsThis paper presents an adaptation and initial validation of the clinical psychology supervisory relationship measure for GP registrars in an Australian context.DownloadAugust 2020
GPCLE FrameworkFactors related to rural general practitioners supervising general practice registrars in Australia:’A national cross-sectional study’This research aimed to use nationalscale data to explore the factors related
to rural GPs participating in registrar
supervision.
DownloadJan-Feb 2019
Educational Alliance Registrars ResearchMeasuring the educational alliance with supervisors from the registrar perspective (GP-SRMR)Following on from the successful work of GPTT, GPSA and Monash University to develop the GP Supervisory Relationship Measure for Supervisors (GP-SRMS), the GP Supervisory Relationship Measure for Registrars (GP-SRMR) project has successfully adapted and validated a complementary tool to explore the relationship from the registrar’s perspective. DownloadNovember 2018

Research Contact Form

Please contact us if you wish to discuss a potential research proposal or contribute to a current GPSA-led project:

Date reviewed: 21 February 2024

Please note that while reasonable care is taken to provide accurate information at the time of creation, we frequently update content and links as needed. If you identify any inconsistencies or broken links, please let us know by email.
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