The experiences of general practitioner partners living with distress: An interpretative phenomenological analysis

Spiers, Johanna; Buszewicz, Marta; Chew-Graham, Carolyn A.; Riley, Ruth

Abstract

Doctors, including general practitioners, experience higher levels of mental illness than the general population. General practitioners who are partners in their practices may face heightened stress. In total, 10 general practitioner partners living with work-related distress were interviewed, and transcripts were analysed using interpretative phenomenological analysis. Three major themes arose: (1) extreme distress, (2) conflicted doctor identity and (3) toxic versus supportive workplace relationships. Participants detailed symptoms of depression, anxiety and burnout; reported conflicted identities; and discussed the impact of bullying partnerships. We recommend that organisational interventions tackling issues such as bullying be implemented and opportunities to debrief be offered as protected time activities to general practitioner partners.

Citation

Spiers, J., Buszewicz, M., Chew-Graham, C. A., & Riley, R. (2020). The experiences of general practitioner partners living with distress: An interpretative phenomenological analysis. Journal of Health Psychology, 25(10-11), 1439-1449. https://doi.org/10.1177/1359105318758860

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Publication Date: 2020-09
• Deposit Date: Jun 28, 2023
• Journal: JOURNAL OF HEALTH PSYCHOLOGY
• Print ISSN: 1359-1053
• Publisher: SAGE Publications
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 25
• Issue: 10-11
• Pages: 1439-1449
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/1359105318758860