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...General Practice

In the first of our series where we will feature short interviews with Doctors about their chosen profession we interview Dr. Gerry Gormley, a GP

Do enjoy being a GP?

Without a doubt! Choosing medicine as a career has the clear advantage of providing a diversity of jobs that you can choose from. As a GP I am part of the largest medical specialty within the NHS, with over 44,000 GPs in the UK. As a specialist trained doctor I provide comprehensive & continuing care to all patients irrespective of age, gender or illness.

In consultation

What are the positive and negative aspects of the job?

The patients:
The aspect I enjoy most about being a GP are the patients. I find myself in a privileged position as patients share with me their problems and difficulties, and being able to support them through these difficult times and helping them to get on with their lives is incredibly rewarding.
Continuity of care:
Unique to General Practice is the opportunity to provide countunity of care for your patients. Rather than providing transitory care, GPs are involved quite literally from the cradle to the grave. I find it interesting when my patients speak to hospital doctors about their care & come back to me stating 'I would rather speak to my doctor about this!'
Flexible career:
One of the clear advantages about primary care is that you can mould your job around your lifestyle. GPs can decide to be either fulltime, part time, salaried, sessional or job share. Equally you have the opportunity to develop a specialist area that interests you - ranging from sports medicine to medico-journalism - the choice is endless! My own specialist interest includes medical education & clinical research.
Intellectually stimulating:
Increasingly medicine is becoming diagnostically led & relying less on clinical examination. At heart I am a clinician & thankfully General Practice still relies on clinical examination and provides me with enough intellectual stimulation that keeps my 'clinical nose' in tune. Patients can present with a wide range of problems from acute to chronic, common to rare - the challenge is always there. I once heard a Professor of surgery quote at a lecture that 'A considerable amount of General Practice deals with uncertainty and is probably one of the most difficult specialties in medicine!'

Team work

Negative

In a nut shell:-

Difficulty accessing secondary care
Junior hospital doctors who are ignorant of primary care.
Difficulties running a 'small business'

Paper-less practice

What does an average day entail?

No two days are the same. But as a rough rule of thumb:-

8.30 - 9.00 am	- Complete prescript requests; check patient results & emails.
9.00 - 11.30 am	- Morning surgery.
11.30 - 12.00 pm	- Take patient telephone calls / complete prescription requests.
12.00 - 1.00 pm	- House calls.
2.30 - 3.00 pm	- Administration.
3.00 - 5.30 pm	- Afternoon surgery.
5.30 - 6.00 pm	- Tidy up then home.

Some GPs opt to do out of hours work - but again this is entirely optional. Therefore your weekends & nights are entirely free!

Out of hours car

How does GP training work?

Training is life long! I trained for GP in the 'pre Foundation Scheme' era. After completing my PRHO year I entered a 2 yr vocational hospital training scheme - which included 6 month rotations in A+E, Acute medicine, Obs & Gynae and Psychiatry. I decided to extend my training and complete a further 6 months in Pediatrics & 6 months in Rheumatology. Following this I entered a unique research GP training post. This 2 yr post allowed me to complete my training as a GP but also gain research skills (and an MD on the way!) I locumed for ½ year then entered practice as a principal.

PRHO photo Mater hospital 1995

What advice would you give someone wishing to enter GP training?

I think it is essential to gain experience in general practice to see if you like it & it likes you! From my own experience, hospital training in A+E medicine & acute medicine provides a good foundation before you enter your GP registrar training scheme. When choosing a GP training practice select a practice that is well organized & with a good track record in training. Speak to previous GP registrars who have trained in that practice.

More team work

Last Updated ( Thursday, 23 August 2007 )

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