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Huisartsgeneeskunde: aantrekkingskracht en beroepstrouw ... - Lirias

Huisartsgeneeskunde: aantrekkingskracht en beroepstrouw ... - Lirias

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124 Making G<strong>en</strong>eral Practice Attractive: Encouraging GP attraction and Ret<strong>en</strong>tion KCE Reports 90<br />

delegation of some tasks (mainly administrative tasks). Their opinion about the GP role<br />

relative to other health actors, such as the second line and the multidisciplinary<br />

coordination (mainly for frail elderly and chronic pati<strong>en</strong>ts) was, however, less clear-cut.<br />

The stakeholders as well as both groups of stud<strong>en</strong>ts supported the idea to discourage<br />

the excessive use of the 2nd line (known as soft gate keeping) and they supported an<br />

increased role in the managem<strong>en</strong>t of the multidisciplinary team. Such <strong>en</strong>hanced role<br />

would pave the way for more delegation of clinical tasks, which also seems to be<br />

supported. However, the stakeholders fell short of recognizing that this would require a<br />

new health professional role such as the advanced-nurse practitioner.<br />

Two radical policies such as scrapping the numerus clausus (resulting in higher influx of<br />

doctors in g<strong>en</strong>eral) and the creation of regional resource ag<strong>en</strong>cies improving local<br />

working conditions for GPs (inspired by the Alberta Rural Physician Action Plan) were<br />

clearly discarded by the stakeholders.<br />

7.6 PUTTING ALL TOGETHER<br />

Improving the GP career will not work just by adding up policies. A pinch of capitation,<br />

with a “soupçon” of early GP teaching and a bit of group practice will not necessarily<br />

make the good meal GPs and Belgian pati<strong>en</strong>ts are waiting for. The coher<strong>en</strong>ce betwe<strong>en</strong><br />

policies is as much important as their individual excell<strong>en</strong>ce. How to get this coher<strong>en</strong>ce?<br />

7.6.1 Tackling the issue over the whole life cycle: attraction, recruitm<strong>en</strong>t and<br />

ret<strong>en</strong>tion.<br />

Attraction, recruitm<strong>en</strong>t and ret<strong>en</strong>tion strategies are all important. As stated in the<br />

literature review, attraction and recruitm<strong>en</strong>t strategies are important because low<br />

recruitm<strong>en</strong>t is g<strong>en</strong>erally the reason why shortages arise. Ret<strong>en</strong>tion strategies are also<br />

important because a strong ret<strong>en</strong>tion can offset poor recruitm<strong>en</strong>t. Attraction occurs all<br />

over the 7 years medical curriculum: that should lead to teaching strategies focusing on<br />

the whole master and not only at the <strong>en</strong>d of the curriculum. Strategies should focus on<br />

a better integration of GP and other specialties’ teaching. As suggested by Geyman 153 , a<br />

"pipeline education continuum" strategy may be more relevant: starting with high<br />

school, and progressing into medical school until after graduation. This has two<br />

important consequ<strong>en</strong>ces.<br />

First, because attraction and recruitm<strong>en</strong>t strategies are community-level policies<br />

whereas ret<strong>en</strong>tion strategies are much more linked to federal responsibilities, it could<br />

be necessary to improve the coher<strong>en</strong>ce betwe<strong>en</strong> the Community-level and the federal<br />

decisions to avoid a lack of coordination betwe<strong>en</strong> the policies. A gap is already visible in<br />

manpower planning: betwe<strong>en</strong> 2004 and 2006, 230 GP training posts remained unfilled<br />

and were replaced by specialist posts. The issue of GP clerkship is another domain in<br />

which such coordination could be useful.<br />

Second, strategies should focus on the whole curriculum. Strategies leading to an<br />

increased division of GP training from specialist training should probably be avoided,<br />

and, instead, better integration of these teaching should be searched. As suggested by<br />

Geyman 153 , a "pipeline education continuum" strategy may be more relevant: starting<br />

with high school, and progressing into medical school until after graduation.<br />

7.6.2 Taking a reform perspective<br />

This study has shown that it will be impossible to resolve the issues GPs are facing<br />

without taking a broader perspective on the health care system. The differ<strong>en</strong>t policies<br />

reviewed and chos<strong>en</strong> must be thus integrated. Team-working and the improved role of<br />

the GP in the health system are two instrum<strong>en</strong>ts allowing for care coordination. Many<br />

types of GP networks and collaborations are powerful instrum<strong>en</strong>ts to <strong>en</strong>hance the role<br />

of the GP. For example, <strong>en</strong>couraging the GPs to work in group will allow them to get a<br />

bigger say in a multidisciplinary team, to get funding for supporting staff; but that would<br />

require the delegation of some tasks in order to focus on their core-business. The<br />

redefinition of the GPs’ role within and outside the primary care line is the key reform

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