Want to be a general practitioner (Gp)? What are the benefits of GP in the UK?
What are the benefits of a GP in the UK?
Practicing in the U.K. as a general practitioner (family physician) has made me realise again why I became a doctor.
I’ll explain 7 exciting reasons for becoming a GP.
PSA: This is not to elevate one specialty over the other.
What are the benefits of a General Practitioner in the UK?
1.CARE CO-ORDINATOR
The Family Physician is central to patient care.
He is the coordinator and bridge between the patient and all other care givers including hospitalists. He knows your health needs more than any consultant.
2.SERVICE DELIVERY
If you’re easily bored with monotony that comes with sub-specialisation, then here is variety for you.
A typical day might have you attending to a central chest pain patient with ACS scare or sorting out a girl who’s been heart broken by her man and thinks she needs antidepressant, or a child with distressing cough, a young girl who’s worried about her acne & appearance, even a 30+ man asking for a vasectomy.
You can finish your day working at Urgent Care or Out-of -hours attending to medical emergencies.
3.SHORT RESIDENCY TRAINING YEARS.
It takes 3 to 4 years to become a U.K-trained GP after you’ve graduated from medical school. Though the training is short but it is very intense and has 2 very difficult in-training exams to qualify for CCT and get your MRCGP status.
4.THE REAL FAMILY DOCTOR
To enjoy the British culture you need to be integrated into their way of life. GPs do home visits.
Home visits bring you closer to the lifestyle, culture and orientation of Brits.
In fact, a typical Brit gets excited when you tell them you’re a GP.
They just know they have more hands that will lighten the burden in their local surgery.
5.SUB-SPECIALISATION
As a GP, if you have background qualifications or extra interests, you can incorporate that into your practice.
You can be a GP with sub specialisation in Women’s Health(like me), Occupational Health, Minor Surgeries, Cardiology, Dermatology etc.
6.WORK LIFE BALANCE
This is the major attraction. You can pick & choose how and when you want to work and how much you want to earn. You can decide not to work night shifts all your life and you can even decide on working from home. You can be balling every month end in Greece or Maldives if you want.
That’s the flexibility this specialty offers.
7.ROLES & RENUMERATION
I haven’t seen any financially struggling Family physician yet. Your salary places you at top 5% earners in the U.K. for the enormous job you do. It can be better anyways.
Even as a trainee, you may be lucky to get £20k free money if you choose to train in some remote & deprived areas in the country.
GP specialty also gives you liberty to function in different roles as Salaried GP, Locum GP, Partner GP, Portfolio GP, Education GP, Mentor GP, Private GP or even Celebrity GP.
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Dr Pepple is a practicing General Practitioner in the UK
