A survey confirms the importance of replacement general practitioners for the proper functioning of our health system. They ensure continuity of care.
Regulars in general practice often complain about it. At each of their meeting, a new face. Replacement physicians are now legion in the world of liberal medicine. But where do they come from and why did they choose this particular mode of exercise? These are the questions the union answers ReAGJIR (1) which published this Monday a new national survey (2) on the activity of substitutes in general medicine during the year 2015. Here are the main results.
Regarding the identity card of the replacement-type, a robot portrait emerges easily. It is often a woman (70% of respondents), 31 years old on average, and having defended her thesis (56% of respondents).
They participate fully in the health system
On the activity side, we can conclude that substitutes participate fully in the health system. They replace, on average, 6.1 doctors per year, thus ensuring continuity of care during their absence. They work an average of 26 weeks a year and are also nearly two-thirds doing evening and / or weekend shifts, thus helping to ensure the continuity of care. In addition, nearly a third of the replacements have a mixed activity. (most often employed) in addition to replacements, “making their desire for a diversified job a reality”, underlines ReAGJIR.
Finally, the union alerts on one point, the aspirations of the replacements are often far removed from the clichés. More than two-thirds of the replacements would be ready to work more. This could involve public health missions (for 73% of them), an exercise in an under-resourced area (for 57% of them), or participation in on-call care (for 55% of them). them). For some of them, the end of the road is obviously an installation project (1 in 10) and for others, the envisaged installation time is between 1 and 3 years on average. One in five, however, does not have a medium-term installation plan.
Doctors in need of recognition
According to ReAGJIR, “cThe data confirms that replacement is most often only a stage in the professional life of the young doctor, making it possible to prepare for his installation. In addition, there are many substitutes who want to take on tasks neglected by our elders: public health, work in under-endowed areas or the permanence of care at night and at weekends, ”he points out.
For all these reasons, the union invites the public authorities “to take cognizance of these realities by recognizing the place of the replacement in our health system from which it is still largely excluded”. The union points out in particular the absence of representation in professional elections (URPS), the absence of agreements and ROSP, as well as the insufficiency of social protection.
(1) Autonomous Group of Young General Practitioners Installed and Replacements
(2) The questionnaire was self-administered electronically, via a website, from May 30 to August 15, 2016. After excluding the questionnaires containing missing data, 284 responses were analyzed.
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