Belgian general practitioners on their vocational training: a postal inquiry.

Vocational training of general practitioners in Belgium consists--among others--of 34 seminars to be followed in small groups during a period of two years. The purpose of this study was to develop an instrument for continuing evaluation of this system, and to gather evaluative data. 58% of 177 young general practitioners responded to our postal inquiry, in which ten open-ended questions were put, and 50 statements were to be rated on a six-point-scale. The inquiry revealed that the Belgian vocational training has a large influence on the evolution from inexperienced young doctor to self-confident general practitioner. Factor analysis on the scores of the 50 statements uncovered three dimensions: (1) working climate, (2) learning results, and (3) identification. The reliability of the scales, constructed for each of these factors, was between 0.80 and .86 (Cronbach's alpha). Mean scores on these scales were all high. The Belgian vocational training seems to be accepted and appreciated by the young GPs, but improvements might be suggested.