Interested in a career in General Practice? Thinking Med School presents a collaboration with GP Dr Kimberley. This post was very kindly written by Dr Kimberley and it looks into her own career path as well as the pros and cons of a career in General Practice! Don’t forget to follow her page @doctorkimberley GP
Hello, my name is Kimberley - I am a GP working in Brent in London. I did a slightly “scenic” route to General Practice after Medical School. I studied at Imperial College London and I found myself drawn to a career in Surgery. Iundertook a BSc in Neuroscience while there, which helped me to decide Neurosurgery wasn’t for me, and made me determined to become a General Surgeon. I enjoyed my time at University and made many friends for life. I felt there was a competitive spirit at times, which I needed to really push me to my full potential - and I graduated in 2010 with my MBBS with a Distinction in Clinical Practice and the Glazer Prize for Surgery. After graduating, I continued down the Surgical path for 5 years until I started to have some career wobbles. I applied to General Practice and never looked back! I don’t regret my time in Surgical Training as it gave me a lot of confidence but switching was the right decision for me. I did all of my training in North-West London (both Surgical and GP) - I love the hospitals and it felt like “home” after Uni. PROS: The variety: you never know what’s next through your door. You can go from Cardiology to Mental Health to Paediatrics in half an hour. This appeals to my (slightly short!) attention span and keeps things interesting. The world is your oyster: You can develop a “specialist interest” in almost any other speciality - for example Dermatology, Sexual / Women’s Health, Sports Medicine, Expedition Medicine, Public Health, Lifestyle Medicine, Paediatrics... I have always been interested in Tech and gadgets - and so now work on this for half a day a week. Some GPs also work in very different areas - Pharma, CCGs (the local governing bodies that decide on NHS spending and structure), Aesthetics. The flexibility: General Practice is tempting to many who want a family or work-life balance. There’s no “on call rota” or annual leave dates forced upon you - you’re in charge! Although you can chose to work in Out of Hours / Urgent Care Centres; the work is generally Monday-Friday 8-6pm(ish!). You can pick which days / half-days you want to work and, with Locum work, move around. If you want to settle somewhere you can take up a Salaried job (like myself), or if you’re interested in the running of a Practice, become a Partner. Practical procedures - most practices offer things like Minor Surgery, joint injections, coil insertions, etc. So if you like doing practical things, this is still possible. Long-term patient care and being part of the Community- often in hospital medicine you will see a patient once, discharge them home and not see them again! In General Practice you get to develop a relationship with patients over time and start getting to know whole families. Patients often feel that they can trust their GPs with their darkest secrets. It’s a privileged position and you feel like part of the Community. CONS: Time pressures - consultations are usually 10 minutes. This disappears quickly if a patient needs examining or has a complex problem (which many do!). The hidden workload - there’s a lot of admin and I often find myself eating lunch at my desk to get it done. The primary care (GP) vs secondary care (hospital) issue: you may find some hospital doctors look down on GP’s -thankfully less so nowdays! I think that it used to be seen as an “easy option” but I can tell you this genuinely isn’t the case. The bulk of patient consultations taking place in the NHS are in GP surgeries. To compare GP to my old career in Surgery: I feel the time pressure more in GP and often work longer days! TRAINING: The training pathway is 3 years after Foundation Training. The last year of this is spent entirely in General Practice to get you ready for life after training! I felt valued and protected as a trainee - my Programme Directors ensured that teaching time was protected and that there were training opportunities and not just “service provision”. SUCCESS: I think the key to success in General Practice is being genuinely interested in people, having good communication skills and being flexible and organised. A lot of “soft skills”, I know, but it’s what patients value - not if you have the highest mark in your exams! Spending time in General Practice, attending Careers Fairs, doing audits in GP - all of these will show to potential employees that you’re committed. The application process CONTACT If you are interested in a career in General Practice, I am happy for you to message me (@doctorkimberley). You can also check out the RCGP website.
Thank you to Dr Kimberley for writing this wonderful post for us! Don’t forget to follow her page @doctorkimberley !
Note: This blog post was written by the writers at Thinking Med School. Check out their instagram and website! @thinkingmedschool
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