For the first time since the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) was founded in 1958, there are more female GPs than male. According to the College, women made up 50.2 percent of members of the RACGP in the last financial year, a rise of 47 percent from the 2012/13 financial year.
The position has been confirmed by the Medical Board of Australia which publishes data quarterly on the profile of Australia’s medical workforce and currently has 19,965 registered female GPs versus 18,992 male GPs. Male GPs still outnumber female GPs in the state of Queensland and of those who have no designated principal place of practice.
The trend for more female GPs than males follows that of other western countries. Female GPs outnumbered male GPs in England for the first time in 2014 due to both a rise in female GPs and a decline of male GPs.
Why there are more female GPs
General Practice as a specialty is attractive to those who are looking to achieve a greater work-life balance and more flexibility to meet caring responsibilities – a role still typically undertaken by women in Australia – or pursue other passions outside the clinic without the demands of on-call experienced by some other specialties. Many GPs choose to explore a sub-specialty such as sports medicine or obstetrics.
Doctors are also attracted to working in general practice as they feel it offers a closer relationship with patients and the opportunity to have more meaningful interactions and impact through continuity of care. GPs enjoy working in a team-based environment, peer support and the ability to have greater control over their workload. Both male and female GPs state they chose the specialty because they are interested in holistic care, and seeing a variety of patients and conditions.
GP’s role perception in Australian society
The role of GP is generally well respected in Australian society. Around four in five Australians have a regular GP and Australian women visit their GP seven times a year on average. Female patients often feel more comfortable seeing a female GP, particularly for intimate issues, and the more equitable split among male and female GPs in all states mean female patients have greater opportunity to see a doctor of their choice.
Overall women accounted for 42% of all medical practitioners in Australia in the first quarter of 2017. Female doctors are still under-represented in traditionally male-dominated specialities including general surgery and intensive care but dominated in traineeships in obstetrics and gynaecology, paediatrics and public health medicine. It is expected that there will be a more evenly spread gender balance through all specialties in future as current trainees advance through their career.
If you are interested in working in Australia as a GP, HealthStaff Recruitment currently has a number of roles available across most states and territories. Check out our job board today.