![]() ![]() ‘There are pressures on the health system in terms of time and money. a pragmatic focus on outcomes for the patientīut while this approach is intrinsic to sound general practice, it is difficult to achieve a healthcare landscape that is leaving GPs feeling unsatisfied with the level of care, and time, they can give to patients.a thorough approach to information gathering.She says this comes down to ‘whole-person care’, the idea of looking at a patient as a whole person, rather than treating them as fragments. However, Dr Lynch believes promoting the ‘generalist philosophy’ can assist the ‘ongoing effort to help GPs value, hone and protect the often-misunderstood complexity of their work’. The college’s Health of the Nation report last year described general practice as being ‘in crisis’, with less than half of GPs surveyed intending to be practising in 10 years, and 73% saying they feel burnt out. ![]() ‘Understanding the sophisticated craft and practical skills of generalist care could help both GPs and health policy makers value, respect and navigate the challenges of this complex and important work, especially at this time of change for Australian general practice.’ ‘In order to protect GPs from doubting the value of their work, it is important to understand generalism as so much more than biomedical service provision: it requires philosophical attitudes, overarching priorities and practical skills that are often unnamed and unnoticed. ‘Clinical decision making in the face of uncertainty, undifferentiated symptoms, conflicted goals or chronic disease and grief is … cognitively, emotionally and morally difficult,’ they wrote. ![]() It is also why they are championing the ‘Craft of Generalism’, the acknowledgement of which is put forward as both a solution to poor healthcare policy and a way of improving morale among the general practice community. ‘Generalist care is undermined by systemic and bureaucratic devaluing of GP time and expertise, primary care policy that fragments care and encourages short transactional encounters, and an excessive focus on disease or procedures,’ they wrote. ‘There’s something that’s such a privilege in our practice, I have patients that I’ve seen for 25 years, but it also is demoralising when you continue to give and nobody’s noticing that you’re giving.’ĭr Lynch and her co-authors delve further into the issues in their article, explaining how Australia’s healthcare system is contributing to the problems, rather than helping to resolve them. ‘It’s really very gratifying, but it’s often done in a hurry and underpaid,’ she told newsGP. The lead author of a newly published article in the Australian Journal of General Practice told newsGP that their growing list of responsibilities now includes innovative care, political advocacy, financial and personal generosity, and countless examples of unpaid work – but without much additional support. The causes of these issues are complex and varied, but for University of Queensland Senior Lecturer and GP Dr Johanna Lynch, they can be partly explained by a healthcare system that has continually failed to understand the value and expertise of generalists. A prominent general practice academic says there is an urgent need to clarify the value and expertise of generalist approaches in healthcare.Ī greater understanding of the complexity of general practice could help health policy makers value and respect the challenges GPs face every day.ĭespite this year’s Federal Budget bringing some relief to a chronically underfunded general practice and primary healthcare system, it is no secret that many GPs are still struggling.īusiness sustainability and work-life balance remain chief concerns among the profession, while excessive red tape, workforce maldistribution, the lingering fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic and an ageing population are adding pressure on an already demanding job.
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