To own or not to own--how can we best educate general practice registrars about practice ownership?

BACKGROUND: Despite low uptake of practice ownership by recent trainees, research has shown that registrars are interested in learning about practice ownership. We aimed to determine how registrars would prefer to learn these skills during general practice training. METHODS: A qualitative study using focus groups and semi-structured interviews. Participants were registrars and fellows from the CoastCityCountry General Practice training program. Data was analysed for themes until thematic saturation was achieved. RESULTS: Registrars are interested in learning more about practice ownership in the later stages of training. They need more than just information - they are requesting opportunities to learn from current doctor-owners. Mentorship from doctor-owners was seen to be valuable and could be facilitated through a number of avenues. DISCUSSION: Registrars are keen to learn more about practice ownership. Establishing a mentor relationship with an experienced doctor-owner is essential for this education to succeed.