Key points are not available for this paper at this time.
OBJECTIVE: To obtain a 2005 snapshot of New Zealand (NZ) rural primary health care workforce, specifically GPs, general practice nurses and community pharmacists. DESIGN: Postal questionnaires, November 2005. SETTING: NZ-wide rural general practices and community pharmacies. PARTICIPANTS: Rural general practice managers, GPs, nurses, community pharmacy managers and pharmacists. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Self-reported data: demographics, country of training, years in practice, business ownership, hours worked including on-call, intention to leave rural practice. RESULTS: General practices: response rate 95% (206/217); 70% GP-owned, practice size ranged from one GP/one nurse to 12 GPs/nine nurses. PHARMACIES: Response rate 90% (147/163). Majority had one (33%) or two (32%) pharmacists; 40, 61% full-time, 79% provide on-call, 57% overseas-trained, 78% male and 57% female GPs aged >40; more full-time male GPs (76%) than female (37%) . Nurses: response rate 65% (445/685), 97% female, 72% aged >40, 31% full-time, 28% provide on-call, 84% NZ-trained, 45% consulted independently in 'nurse-clinics' within practice setting. Pharmacists: response rate 96% (248/258), 52% male, 66% aged >40, 71% full-time, 33% provide on-call, 92% NZ-trained, 55% sole/partner pharmacy owners. Many intend to leave NZ rural practice within 5 years: GPs (34%), nurses (25%) and pharmacists (47%). CONCLUSION: This is the first NZ-wide rural workforce survey to include a range of rural primary health care providers (GPs, nurses and pharmacists). Ageing rural primary health care workforce and intentions to leave herald worsening workforce shortages.
Goodyear‐Smith et al. (Mon,) studied this question.