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4: Mean and rank order of severity of general practice stressors

RankStressor rankStressorMean severity95% CI
1
25
Threat of litigation
1.89
1.76-2.02
2
4
Too much work to do in a limited time
1.87
1.77-1.96
3
8
Earning enough money in general practice
1.79
1.67-1.90
4
6
Patients who are difficult to manage
1.77
1.68-1.85
5
2
Paperwork in general practice
1.77
1.66-1.86
6
5
Intrusion of work on family life
1.71
1.60-1.81
7
18
The cost of practice overheads
1.70
1.56-1.83
8
1
Time pressure to see patients
1.64
1.55-1.72
9
10
Unrealistic community expectations of the medical profession
1.59
1.47-1.70
10
11
Negative media comments about general practice
1.56
1.44-1.67
11
14
Emergency calls during surgery hours
1.52
1.41-1.62
12
13
Excessive clinical responsibility
1.42
1.31-1.52
13
20
The pressure to bulk bill
1.41
1.26-1.55
14
19
Dealing with death and dying
1.38
1.28-1.48
15
28
Conflict with practice partners, associates or assistants
1.36
1.18-1.52
16
16
Dealing with friends and relatives as patients
1.35
1.23-1.45
17
22
Competition from "super" clinics or extended-hours practices
1.33
1.17-1.47
18
9
Intrusion of work on social life
1.31
1.20-1.42
19
24
Competition through oversupply of general practitioners
1.29
1.14-1.44
20
3
Phone interruptions during consultations
1.28
1.19-1.37
21
12
Having to make too many decisions
1.28
1.19-1.36
22
21
Administration of practice and staff
1.26
1.14-1.38
23
15
Lack of appreciation by patients
1.25
1.14-1.35
24
17
Keeping current on new advances in treatments and procedures
1.12
1.02-1.21
25
27
Obtaining payments from patients (non-bulk-billed)
1.10
0.97-1.21
26
26
Not enough input into the way the practice runs
1.04
0.90-1.16
27
7
Home visits (during surgery hours)
1.01
0.91-1.10
28
23
Continuing medical education points acquisition
0.99
0.87-1.11
A four-point Likert-like scale ranging from 0 to 3 was used to assess stress severity for each item, with 0 representing "no stress"; 1, "mild stress"; 2, "moderate stress"; and 3, "severe stress". CI=confidence interval. Bulk-bill=charge only the amount rebated by the government.

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