Australia will have a shortfall of 11,000 GPs by 2032, while female GPs are leaving the sector 20 years younger than men. Why?
In an honest and challenging Opinion piece in the Sydney Morning Herald (28 August), Dr. Elly Goodsall explained why she is leaving the medical sector after 13 years as a GP.
She explained that research has verified that female GPs become engaged in more complex patient cases requiring more time than the system permits and this has an impact.
She wrote:
“In the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners’ 2024 Health of the Nation survey, nearly eight in 10 female GPs named psychological issues among their three most common patient presentations, compared with just over six in 10 male GPs.
Women’s health appeared in the top three for 52 per cent of female GPs and 3 per cent of male GPs. Male GPs reported more musculoskeletal, respiratory, circulatory and skin presentations”.
Dr Goodsall pointed out that complex consultations take time and that female GPs spend more time with the patient than their male counterparts.
“An analysis by Ochre Health of 511 GPs across its practices found the women billed about $24 an hour less than the men – a gap driven almost entirely by the number of appointments fitted into an hour, not by what women charged. We are not paid less for the same work. We are paid less for more complex work that unavoidably requires more time.”
This has significant consequences for all Australians, particularly women who feel more comfortable and supported by female GPs. In 2025, 56% of all medical graduates were female but women now have a 20-year shorter medical career than men, says Dr Goodsall.
“A longitudinal study of more than 4000 Australian GPs found the median age at which women left clinical practice was 47; for men, most exits came after 67.”
We all should be questioning government on the structure of GP remuneration and regulation, which apparently is driving talented and caring professionals to leave the sector.
We should also be asking who are going to be the GPs that support both young and old patients, if demand exceeds supply. And it is the first baby boomers who are now hitting 80 years of age which increases GP and hospital visits significantly.
(Have you noticed that it is harder to get a GP appointment at short notice in Balmain)?
And we should be caring for ourselves, investing in better health such that we don’t need to call upon GPs and the larger medical system, at Monday Club.
