Doctors who worked for the after hours GP helpline set up an email group dubbed “The League of Extraordinary Generalists” and developed a strong collegial network fostered by an internal instant messaging system that was strengthened rather than reduced by negative perceptions about them from community-based GPs, a new study shows.

The small qualitative study of 12 of the approximately 80 GPs who worked for the helpline between 2011 and 2013 explored their perceptions of professional identity, whether they thought they added value to the nurse-staffed 24-hour helpline and the tensions and negative aspects of the role.

The study, by Rosemary McKenzie and Michelle Williamson from the Centre for Health Policy at the University of Melbourne's School of Population and Global Health and published last week in BMC Health Services Research, found that the GPs who worked on the program enjoyed the freedom and lifestyle benefits and thought they brought real value to the community, particularly for isolated elderly people, but also felt their work was misunderstood by their professional colleagues.