Today we introduce our series of weekly articles aimed at helping young GPs who are starting out in their careers. The relatively protected time in training is now over or soon to be completed and you are trying to decide how to commence your career and how to enjoy and benefit from all this hard work going forward.
Just a bit of background on myself. I completed my GP training in Livingston outside Edinburgh and went on to do some locum work before taking an assistants job in a practice and going on to become a partner in that practice. After several years my wife and I decided that we wanted to run our own practice and successfully did that for many years. I am a member of the RCGP and trained young GPs for 15 years on a vocational training scheme.
Ironically, despite Covid and given all the pressures of the job there has never been a better time to be an establishing GP. Job vacancies are plentiful across the UK as older colleagues retire and pursue different interests and rates of pay ( if you choose the right path) are good.
There will be pressure put on you in the area you have trained to take up a job locally and add to the workforce there, but you must always consider your own goals and career aspirations going forward.
The areas we will look at in this series include:
- Career pathway starting out. Do you become a Salaried GP, Salaried GP with a view to Partnership, Part time GP with a Special Interest or Locum GP?
- Day to day issues in practice that expose you medico-legally
- How to structure your day when starting your career
- Dealing with an angry patient
- How to break bad news.
I hope you enjoy and find the series useful.
About the Author
Dr Brendan Woods is a qualified GP and a member of the RCGP. He ran a successful General Practice for many years and was a GP Trainer for 15 years. He is the Managing Partner of a global medical recruitment company Woodston Personnel Ltd and Woodston Personnel UK. The company’s experienced Medical Partners, team of Recruitment Consultants and Personal Relationship Managers provide daily advice and direction to all their GP candidates and assist them in their career objectives.
