When should I do rural general practice? A qualitative study of job/life satisfaction of male rural GPs of differing ages in New Zealand.

AIMS: There is a shortage of rural general practitioners in New Zealand (NZ), and many are approaching retirement. This qualitative study was undertaken to investigate the perceived advantages and disadvantages of rural general practice at various stages of family life of male NZ-trained GPs. METHODS: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 12 male NZ-trained rural GPs from the Waikato and Northland regions during December 2006. Major themes relating to rural general practice as a career were identified and analysed with respect to the family life cycle: no children yet, pre-school children, high school children, or 'empty nest'. RESULTS: Trends in the frequency of themes, and changes in the sentiments within each theme across different stages of family life were noted. CONCLUSION: Based on the frequency of themes and sentiments, a conceptual picture of the influences of stages of a male rural GP's family life on the GP are discussed.