• Marie-Louise Dick, Philip Schluter, Catherine Johnston, and Mark Coulthard.
• Centre for General Practice, School of Population Health, University of Queensland. marie-louise.dick@sph.uq.edu.au
• Aust Fam Physician. 2002 Sep 1;31(9):870-5.

IntroductionLittle is known about general practitioners' confidence and competence in managing medical emergencies, yet these qualities are vital to maximise patients' chances of survival.AimTo document the distribution and determinants of GPs' self reported levels of comfort and competence in managing medical emergencies, and GPs' interest in attending an emergency skills update course.MethodsWe conducted a random sample survey of 900 GPs in current clinical practice in southeast Queensland.ResultsFive hundred and twelve (57%) GPs responded to the questionnaire. An association between perceived levels of competence and the amount of training GPs received was demonstrated (P < 00.05 for 14 of 16 listed emergency skills), as was an association between level of comfort in managing emergencies and the frequency with which such emergency types are encountered in practice (P < 0.05 for 8 of 18 listed emergencies). Sixty-nine percent of GPs expressed interest in attending a specifically designed emergency medicine update course.ConclusionPostgraduate training in and experience with medical emergencies is important for GPs' confidence and competence in dealing with such emergencies. A proposed update course designed specifically for GPs was strongly supported.

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