More than half of GPs are now women. Practice culture needs to catch up

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By Ruth Abrams

A new evidence review sets out the conditions in which women GPs thrive. Ruth Abrams at the University of Surrey argues that meeting them would help the whole profession, and its patients.

Women now account for 53% of the general practice workforce, yet the culture of general practice was not built with them in mind. Women GPs are hit particularly hard by that culture, because of caring responsibilities, patient expectations and gendered notions of what it means to care. In practice this means a disproportionate share of complex and emotionally demanding consultations, and a working life spent balancing care at home with care at work.

Burnout and work-related stress run higher in general practice than elsewhere in medicine

That is a problem for everyone in general practice, not only for women, because the profession is already losing people. An increasing number of GPs are now leaving, and nearly half of practising GPs are planning to cut their hours or simply depart. Burnout and work-related stress run higher in general practice than elsewhere in medicine.