Portal de Periódicos da CAPES

A profile of rural surgeons in Australia

1998; Wiley; Volume: 169; Issue: 6 Linguagem: Inglês

10.5694/j.1326-5377.1998.tb140286.x

1326-5377

Martin Bruening, Guy J. Maddern, R. P. Jepson,

Dental Education, Practice, Research

Objectives: To develop a profile of rural surgeons for comparison with profiles of rural general practitioners in the light of shortages in the rural medical workforce. Design: Rural surgeons were surveyed by a postal questionnaire in November 1997. Participants: Members of the Provincial Surgeons of Australia residing in towns with fewer than 50000 inhabitants. Results: 239 questionnaires were sent and 137 surgeons replied, a response rate of 59%. Our survey showed that rural surgeons are predominantly male, middle-aged and married. They work long hours, and nominate as their major concerns difficulty in finding locum cover, continual on-call work, peer isolation, children's schooling, and lack of privacy. Conclusion: Rural surgeons and general practitioners share similar characteristics and concerns.