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.