title: Approaching the future of general practice--how systems thinking might help.
abstract: General practice in Australia is facing an uncertain future leaving many general practitioners to wonder if it is still worthwhile to stay in practice. At the 2003 Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) Convention Forum, GPs identified retention of the workforce to be of primary importance to their profession. This article argues that understanding and finding solutions to the complexities inherent in the workforce issue requires a systems approach; simple linear approaches to 'fixing' a particular aspect are dangerous and invariably will lead to unforseen--usually detrimental--consequences.
authors.affiliation: Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria. jp.sturmberg@bigpond.com
authors.forename: Joachim
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Sturmberg
mesh_terms: D005194:Family Practice / Q000639:trends*; D005544:Forecasting / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D018802:Patient-Centered Care; D010560:Personnel Selection; D013598:Systems Theory