GPs, violence and work performance - 'just part of the job?'.

Background: This study explored the impact of work related violence on general practitioners' work performance.

Method: A postal survey of 1000 randomly selected GPs about work related violence. Those GPs reporting incidents of work related violence in the past 12 months were asked to write about its effect on them in response to an open question.

Results: Eighty-five GPs responded. Seventy-three percent of GPs who had experienced work related violence answered an open question about its effect on their work performance. The effect was negative for most, respondents citing poor concentration, difficulty listening to patients, rumination and intrusive thoughts when in an enclosed space in subsequent consultations, particularly in consultations with the patient who had perpetrated the violence, or their families or coworkers, or with similar patients.

Discussion: General practitioners have reported that work related violence has a continuing impact on their work performance. Future research should include psychometric testing of cognitive functioning and mental health testing to quantify this.