General practice research and research skill needs--attitudes of GP supervisors.

BACKGROUND

General practice research is an important learning area in general practice registrar training. General practitioner supervisors have a central role in registrar training. Registrar training in Tasmania has the added component of a research project. Little is known about supervisors' research attitudes, confidence to support registrar research projects, and research skill needs.

METHOD

A postal survey was sent to all 40 GP supervisors with General Practice Training Tasmania.

RESULTS

Response rate was 90% (n=36): 33% were interested in becoming involved in general practice research; 53% wanted to improve their research skills; and 55% did not feel confident supporting a registrar with a research project. Those supervisors who were confident were more likely to have previous research involvement.

DISCUSSION

There is potential for increasing research capacity in GP supervisors. It is important to build the confidence of supervisors in their support of general practice registrars engaged in research projects.