(Re)creating spaces within rural general practice : Women as agents of change at the organisational and practitioner levels
- Authors: Schwarz, Imogen
- Date: 2005
- Type: Text , Thesis , PhD
- Full Text:
- Description: This thesis examines how women, as agents of change, contest the male-dominated structures at the organisational and practitioner levels of rural medicine in Australia. The premises for this study are that females now outnumber males as medical graduates and general practice trainees, yet women are significantly less likely than men to occupy rural and remote practice positions in Australia. Furthermore, the organisation of medicine remains strongly patriarchal. A feminist qualitative design underpins this empirical study involving: in-depth interviews with seventeen women activists and thirteen rural women general practitioners; grounded theory analysis of transcribed interviews; and interpretation of findings through a feminist poststructural lens. Findings uncover the gendered organisational and practitioner environment through which change is negotiated. At the organisational level, male exclusionary practices – played out through the ‘male as norm’ and the ‘problem is women’ discourses – position women in highly contradictory ways and marginalise their voices. Yet simultaneously, activists are challenging entrenched interests through individual and collective strategies of change which include: initiating gender-awareness projects; claiming legitimacy by using male-centred tactics and women-defined discourses; developing female-friendly initiatives; and mentoring of and building alliances between women. At the practitioner level, results reveal how women’s everyday lives as rural general practitioners are shaped by oppositional tensions. However, beyond the struggle of ‘fitting in’, women are altering rural medicine by (re)shaping meanings and (re)constructing work practices. Furthermore, their narratives suggest that rural spaces are integral to ways women carve out women-defined practice. A key innovation of this thesis is analysis of change at dual levels, both organisational and practitioner. This thesis marks a significant advancement upon the usual themes that attend only to the marginalisation of women and rural areas. It highlights the transformative process through which women (re)create the discursive spaces of rural general practice.
- Description: Doctor of Philosophy
- Authors: Schwarz, Imogen
- Date: 2005
- Type: Text , Thesis , PhD
- Full Text:
- Description: This thesis examines how women, as agents of change, contest the male-dominated structures at the organisational and practitioner levels of rural medicine in Australia. The premises for this study are that females now outnumber males as medical graduates and general practice trainees, yet women are significantly less likely than men to occupy rural and remote practice positions in Australia. Furthermore, the organisation of medicine remains strongly patriarchal. A feminist qualitative design underpins this empirical study involving: in-depth interviews with seventeen women activists and thirteen rural women general practitioners; grounded theory analysis of transcribed interviews; and interpretation of findings through a feminist poststructural lens. Findings uncover the gendered organisational and practitioner environment through which change is negotiated. At the organisational level, male exclusionary practices – played out through the ‘male as norm’ and the ‘problem is women’ discourses – position women in highly contradictory ways and marginalise their voices. Yet simultaneously, activists are challenging entrenched interests through individual and collective strategies of change which include: initiating gender-awareness projects; claiming legitimacy by using male-centred tactics and women-defined discourses; developing female-friendly initiatives; and mentoring of and building alliances between women. At the practitioner level, results reveal how women’s everyday lives as rural general practitioners are shaped by oppositional tensions. However, beyond the struggle of ‘fitting in’, women are altering rural medicine by (re)shaping meanings and (re)constructing work practices. Furthermore, their narratives suggest that rural spaces are integral to ways women carve out women-defined practice. A key innovation of this thesis is analysis of change at dual levels, both organisational and practitioner. This thesis marks a significant advancement upon the usual themes that attend only to the marginalisation of women and rural areas. It highlights the transformative process through which women (re)create the discursive spaces of rural general practice.
- Description: Doctor of Philosophy
Closing the loop between research and sustainable regional development
- Schwarz, Imogen, McRae-Williams, Pamela
- Authors: Schwarz, Imogen , McRae-Williams, Pamela
- Date: 2008
- Type: Text , Conference paper
- Relation: Paper presented at 12th SEGRA Conference 2008 : Creative Solutions - expect them to be different, Albury, New South Wales : 18th-20th August 2008
- Full Text:
- Description: There is continued debate between researchers, policy makers and regional communities on the effectiveness of research in identifying and engaging with regional issues and transferring this research to facilitate polices and initiatives that are adaptive and relevant. This paper reviews these current trends in thinking and describes a model of regional engagement where researchers, decision makers and community are beginning to work together to establish an effective framework to facilitate adaptive decision making, social learning and participatory research initiatives at a regional scale. The paper describes the evolution of the Water in Drylands Collaborative Research Program (WIDCORP) in Western Victoria. The model provides insights and highlights difficulties in converting research into creative solutions for sustainable regional development. Co-location, bridging partnerships across disciplines to deliver regional research needs, and developing good communication are key elements of this model. It also suggests that models of this type may be a stepping stone to integrate research into regional development decision making.
- Description: 2003006872
- Authors: Schwarz, Imogen , McRae-Williams, Pamela
- Date: 2008
- Type: Text , Conference paper
- Relation: Paper presented at 12th SEGRA Conference 2008 : Creative Solutions - expect them to be different, Albury, New South Wales : 18th-20th August 2008
- Full Text:
- Description: There is continued debate between researchers, policy makers and regional communities on the effectiveness of research in identifying and engaging with regional issues and transferring this research to facilitate polices and initiatives that are adaptive and relevant. This paper reviews these current trends in thinking and describes a model of regional engagement where researchers, decision makers and community are beginning to work together to establish an effective framework to facilitate adaptive decision making, social learning and participatory research initiatives at a regional scale. The paper describes the evolution of the Water in Drylands Collaborative Research Program (WIDCORP) in Western Victoria. The model provides insights and highlights difficulties in converting research into creative solutions for sustainable regional development. Co-location, bridging partnerships across disciplines to deliver regional research needs, and developing good communication are key elements of this model. It also suggests that models of this type may be a stepping stone to integrate research into regional development decision making.
- Description: 2003006872
Does major regional infrastructure influence the resilience of a rural community?
- Schwarz, Imogen, McRae-Williams, Pamela
- Authors: Schwarz, Imogen , McRae-Williams, Pamela
- Date: 2009
- Type: Text , Conference paper
- Relation: Paper presented at 10th National Rural Health Conference: Rural health, the place to be, Cairns, Queensland : 17th-20th May 2009
- Full Text:
- Description: 2003006931
- Authors: Schwarz, Imogen , McRae-Williams, Pamela
- Date: 2009
- Type: Text , Conference paper
- Relation: Paper presented at 10th National Rural Health Conference: Rural health, the place to be, Cairns, Queensland : 17th-20th May 2009
- Full Text:
- Description: 2003006931
Place matters! Rural as an ‘enabling culture’ for female GPs
- Schwarz, Imogen, McDonald, John
- Authors: Schwarz, Imogen , McDonald, John
- Date: 2007
- Type: Text , Conference paper
- Relation: Paper presented at 9th National rural health conference: Standing up for rural health., Albury, Australia : March, 2007 p. 1-9
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: E1
- Description: 2003005837
- Authors: Schwarz, Imogen , McDonald, John
- Date: 2007
- Type: Text , Conference paper
- Relation: Paper presented at 9th National rural health conference: Standing up for rural health., Albury, Australia : March, 2007 p. 1-9
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: E1
- Description: 2003005837
The agenda for change among female rural general practitioners
- Authors: Schwarz, Imogen
- Date: 2003
- Type: Text , Conference paper
- Relation: Paper presented at the 7th National Rural Health Conference, Canberra : 1st - 4th March, 2003
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: This paper presents the preliminary results of a qualitative study examining the agenda for change being pursued by key influential women in Australia to address male-centred rural general practitioner (GP) workforce policies. Many current recruitment and retention programs do not reflect the needs of female GPs as they are based on the traditional notions of a country GP — that is a full-time, on call doctor with a supporting spouse. As women become the majority in medicine, key women influentials in the rural general practice field are advocating for the restructuring of medicine so that women GPs can be part of the solution to rural health care issues. Previous empirical research and theoretical analyses have suggested that medicine and rural communities are patriarchal. To date data collection for this explorative study consists of 5 in-depth interviews with a purposive sample of key women activists across the spectrum of organised medicine. Preliminary results show how women are pressuring for change but also the sources of resistance they encounter from the dominant medical culture. Key women players use particular collective and individual strategies to advocate for female GP issues. These results reflect some research findings on women leaders and female rural GPs. In conclusion, it is important that women are given equal access to decision-making positions to enable their input into the structure and culture of rural general practice. The recommendation put forward is to build inclusive recruitment and retention rural workforce strategies for female rural GPs.
- Description: E1
- Description: 2003000514
- Authors: Schwarz, Imogen
- Date: 2003
- Type: Text , Conference paper
- Relation: Paper presented at the 7th National Rural Health Conference, Canberra : 1st - 4th March, 2003
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: This paper presents the preliminary results of a qualitative study examining the agenda for change being pursued by key influential women in Australia to address male-centred rural general practitioner (GP) workforce policies. Many current recruitment and retention programs do not reflect the needs of female GPs as they are based on the traditional notions of a country GP — that is a full-time, on call doctor with a supporting spouse. As women become the majority in medicine, key women influentials in the rural general practice field are advocating for the restructuring of medicine so that women GPs can be part of the solution to rural health care issues. Previous empirical research and theoretical analyses have suggested that medicine and rural communities are patriarchal. To date data collection for this explorative study consists of 5 in-depth interviews with a purposive sample of key women activists across the spectrum of organised medicine. Preliminary results show how women are pressuring for change but also the sources of resistance they encounter from the dominant medical culture. Key women players use particular collective and individual strategies to advocate for female GP issues. These results reflect some research findings on women leaders and female rural GPs. In conclusion, it is important that women are given equal access to decision-making positions to enable their input into the structure and culture of rural general practice. The recommendation put forward is to build inclusive recruitment and retention rural workforce strategies for female rural GPs.
- Description: E1
- Description: 2003000514
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