RACGP Chair: ‘I hope we don’t see general practice as being in crisis’

Alongside the many rewards that come with the profession, a general practice ‘crisis’ narrative has been playing out in recent years. 

But Sydney GP and the RACGP’s newly appointed NSW&ACT Chair, Dr Rebekah Hoffman, wants that narrative to shift.

‘General practice is the best career there is and I hope more medical students and more junior doctors consider it,’ she told newsGP. 

‘I really hope that over the next two years people don’t look to general practice as being in crisis, but they look to it as being an excellent career option.’

Having previously conducted research on junior doctor burnout when she was herself a registrar, Dr Hoffman continues to strive for improved training conditions to support attraction and retention of students in to the general practice profession – something she aims to achieve as an RACGP Board member. 

‘We can focus more on recruitment, but also on retention, on making sure that the GPs we currently have in the workforce remain engaged in the workforce and don’t burn out,’ she said.

Dr Hoffman is a senior lecturer of medical education at the University of Wollongong, and regularly mentors medical students from a number of universities in NSW. She is also a practice owner at Kirrawee Family Medical Practice in outer Sydney, and loves being part of the community where she grew up and her young children go to school.

Dr Hoffman got into general practice because she wanted the flexibility that would allow her to ‘do everything’. 

‘To allow me the diversity in practice, because I really found that I liked lots of things, and I didn't want to narrow my scope down to one single thing as I thought I would get bored easily,’ she said. 

‘With general practice, we have the lovely option of being able to do everything, and you never know what’s going to walk through the door – it might be a six-week-old baby or it might be a toddler, and I’m just off to a nursing home now to see all of my lovely older patients. 

‘Every day is different.’ 

Having the flexibility to be able to do other things such as taking her kids to sport or attending local events, as well as be a doctor, is a priority for Dr Hoffman’s wellbeing.

‘That’s really important for sustainability, as I point out in my burnout research’, she said.

‘Having a medical career, regardless of which specialty you’re in, is really high risk for burnout … so being able to promote and encourage and have work–life balance is so important.’ 

As a practice owner, Dr Hoffman can relate to the challenges that can accompany ownership such as administrative red tape, payroll tax, and MBS changes and compliance, and addressing this issue is one of her priorities as NSW&ACT Chair.

The RACGP’s 2023 General Practice: Health of the Nation report shows that almost half (43%) of practice owners surveyed are unable to maintain a good work–life balance, with two in five indicating they have experienced burnout in relation to their job over the past year.

Additionally, the report found rates of future interest in practice ownership among non-owners has steadily dropped since 2017.

‘One of our biggest challenges is around the additional stuff that comes with general practice – practice ownership – and that is far more exhausting and tedious than being a GP itself,’ she said. 

‘As well as the patients, the mental load of running a practice, it’s all of the extra things that get thrown at you, which is the challenge behind general practice and running a quality practice. 

‘But I am absolutely passionate that GPs should be practice owners because … we know what [general practice] is and we know what we can provide for our doctors and for our patients.’

When asked how recruitment and retention in to practice ownership can be improved, Dr Hoffman says the college is well placed.

‘We currently have a passionate President [Dr Nicole Higgins] who is also a young female practice owner who lives and works locally, and walks exactly what she talks – she gets how hard it is, and she backs the states and backs the Chairs entirely.

‘That’s an incredible opportunity to then look at us hopefully having more streamlined national-based advocacy, particularly around payroll tax … and knowing that anything we suggest at a state level will be heard and hopefully taken up. 

‘And if it’s not, then we will always have the discussion of why not or when.’

By and large, Dr Hoffman loves being a GP and practice owner, and hopes her example can help to encourage the next generation.

‘One thing I’m really passionate about is if young female practice owners can inspire the medical students coming through to say “Hey, if Bek can do it then I can do it”,’ she said.

‘Because I’m no special or different than anybody else and hopefully I have a different voice to what’s been heard before.’

Dr Rebekah Hoffman officially assumed the role of RACGP NSW&ACT Chair, replacing Professor Charlotte Hespe following the RACGP’s 66th Annual General Meeting on 23 November 2023.

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