Table 2. Lessons Offered.

GPs played a major role in attending to the health and wider support needs of affected populations during the Canterbury earthquake sequence, often working outside their area of accustomed expertise.

All GPs reported significantly increased workloads in the disaster response phase, and through into the recovery period, resulting in increased mental and physical fatigue.

There was a high level of awareness of the risk of compassion fatigue and burnout and a high need for self-care, but this was difficult to balance against increased community needs during the disaster.

A number of effective coping strategies were reported, including time away from the affected disaster area, informal peer and colleague support, and spending time with friends.

An identified gap concerning the coordination and provision of extra staff resource for affected practices (e.g. locum support) may be exacerbated by reluctance on the part of GPs to ask for assistance.