Exploring the lived experiences of early/mid-career female academic GPs in the UK: a qualitative study

BACKGROUND: Women are under-represented within academic general practice, particularly after mid-career. AIM: To explore the lived experiences of early/mid-career female academic GPs and inform ways to reduce attrition through the GP academic career path. METHOD: Adapted Biographical Narrative Interpretive Method, which uses multiple interviews with each participant to build a nuanced picture of how their life has unfolded over time. 32 interviews were conducted with a diverse sample of 13 female academic GPs recruited through UK departmental mailing lists and via snowball sampling. Interviews were transcribed verbatim, analysed in two ways: thematically using Braun & Clarke's method, and interpretively to identify biographical storylines - key narratives and 'plots' that characterised the participant's journey into, through and (in some cases) away from academia. RESULTS: Thematic analysis surfaced decision making and career trajectories, challenges of balancing the separate spheres, impact on personal life and support strategies. These themes gained meaning within key biographical storylines including: 'negotiating entry to, and thriving in, academia'; 'becoming'; 'turbulence and uncertainty in the academic career path'; 'navigating motherhood and societal expectations'; and 'academia as respite?'. Participants described their efforts (sometimes successful, sometimes not) to weave together these storylines into a unifying biographical narrative and manage practical and ethical tensions between their clinical, academic and personal responsibilities. CONCLUSION: Women academic GPs live complex and demanding lives. Different strands of their unfolding life narratives -as clinicians, academics and partners/carers - generate recurrent tensions and conflicting pressures. Academic support structures should address (among other things) the career-limiting impact of short-term contracts.