Young general practitioners' professional activities: a survey in the French-speaking part of Belgium.
BACKGROUND
This study described the professional activities of graduates of the Advanced Master of General Practice of the Belgian French-speaking universities from 1999 to 2013 and identified factors influencing their situation.


METHODS
Between November 2014 and June 2015, all graduates were asked to complete a questionnaire concerning their professional activities. The first part of the analysis described the respondent's socio-demographic and professional characteristics. The second part aimed at detecting possible factors influencing GPs' professional situation.


RESULTS
The main results of the study showed that 78.5% of graduates still worked as GPs and 21.5% left and had another activity. The way graduates worked in General Practice was also highly diverse in terms of both working time and types of activities. Only a minority of them were exclusively performing General Practice (8.5%). 45.8% of GPs worked part-time, and were more commonly women and GPs in group practice. This survey confirmed feminisation of the profession and increasing work in associations. Among factors influencing retention in General Practice, preference for specialising in General Practice at time of graduation in medicine and duration of practice influence retention in practice.


CONCLUSIONS
Our survey put the emphasis on the evolution of practice: job and vocational training planning should not be performed based only on previous generations. There is no one predefined way to practise; the blurred boundaries of General Practice activities do not allow for the drafting of a reference frame that could help workforce planning.
a Département de Médecine Générale Université de Liège , CHU du Sart-Tilman , Liège , Belgium.
Anne-Laure
AL
Lenoir
b Département de Médecine Générale Université libre de Bruxelles , Campus facultaire Erasme , Bruxelles , Belgium.
Lou
L
Richelle
a Département de Médecine Générale Université de Liège , CHU du Sart-Tilman , Liège , Belgium.
Frédéric
F
Ketterer
c Centre Académique de Médecine Générale Université Catholique de Louvain , Belgium.
Bénédicte
B
Fraipont
b Département de Médecine Générale Université libre de Bruxelles , Campus facultaire Erasme , Bruxelles , Belgium.
Marion
M
Cayn
a Département de Médecine Générale Université de Liège , CHU du Sart-Tilman , Liège , Belgium.
Christiane
C
Duchesnes
c Centre Académique de Médecine Générale Université Catholique de Louvain , Belgium.
Sophie
S
Leconte
D001530:Belgium; D005260:Female; D058006:General Practice; D058005:General Practitioners / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010561:Personnel Staffing and Scheduling / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
General practitioners; Professional practice; Regional health planning; Young generation