Successful Australian general practitioner doctoral candidates 2005-14

Aims/objectives: Appointment to higher academic positions and success in high prestige research grants In Australia requires the possession of a research based doctorate. With the expanding Needs of general practice can we meet the need for suitably qualified applicants? Using a variety of public domain databases Australian GPs who lodged a doctoral thesis in a University library from 1 Jan 2005 to 31 Dec 2014 were identified. Content: In this time 73 of the current 32,000 registered general practitioners had doctoral thesis accepted; 48 of these were in the first five years. Median time for thesis submission is around 25 years after the primary medical qualification. Relevance/impact: The capability to expand GP academic departments and research output in Australia is hampered by low GP doctoral completion rates. Doctorates are achieved in a late stage of a professional career limiting the research career lifespan. More research opportunities have been identified as attracting younger graduates to general practice. Discussion: There is an urgent need to provide more practical and financial support to younger GPs to enable them to undertake academic career development. A clear career pathway with some stability of income is also needed.