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GPs

Thinking about general practice?

A good source of information about GP training is this page which has links to all fourteen deanery websites - but straight to their GP pages.

If you are uncertain whether general practice is the right route for you or you want a clearer vision of where your GP training could take you longer term - then our Career Review would be the place to start.

 

GP registrars

Some people love their GP training and others can't wait to get to the end of it (for all sorts of reasons). If you have opted for GP training without a clear idea of what you are going to do "with" it - this can sometimes lead to ambivalence and a lack of enjoymnet of the training.

But with a clear "vision" of how GP training can be a launchpad for achieving all sorts of other career dreams and plans - you will find that any more routine or less inspiring aspects to the work can take on a new aura. Even if you thought you wanted to be a GP partner - if you haven't worked out in your own mind the type of partnership you would truly be happiest in - you may feel daunted by the prospect of having to find one. These situations are normal for career guidance consultations. If you would like to gain a more focused picture and plan of "what and where next" - our Career Review is the ideal starting point.

 

GP (salaried or partners)

Sometimes a role as a GP in a partnership brings career satisfaction for a lifetime. And sometimes it doesn't. It is OK to want more or to need new challenges or different ways of working.  If this sounds like you - don't rush off to tell your family and partners that you are leaving!. Sometimes it is possible and entirely appropriate to find new avenues and new ways of working within or around core GP work and at other times what is needed is something a bit more radical. But either way - both need to be well researched and planned.

 

For example after working within general practice for a while (for some this may be three months for others it may be thirty years  it may be that there emerges a...

Personality clash

Cultural mismatch

A desire to work less than full time (where this seems impossible given the location or practice structures)

A sense that other skills and career interests are itching to be pursued

A desire for some new challenge/s

 

GP locums

It is usually a positive choice to do locums - offering a more flexible workstyle either temporarily or permanently. But over a long period of time it can be easy to lose focus on a career plan.

Also - some people do locums by default because they can't seem to get fired up by anything career wise and yet still need to earn some money.

For some people the latter may seem ok but if doing locums has been as a result of not knowing what else to do or being fearful of getting more settled - and this feels uncomfortable - then some career planning support will almost certainly help to provide some longer temr motivational career goals rather than just drifting. This is not to say all locums are drifting of course!

 

GP assistants/associates/ retainers

These posts generally offer more flexibility and less responsibility of a partnership/practice management nature. This way of working suits some people longer term and is an ideal career plan for them. For others it is a temporary situation whilst for example there are other commitments to attend to.

Occasionally retainers start to feel very lacking in confidence due to having reduced hours to the bare minimum - feeling everyone around them is more knowledgeable. Thus a return to more full on working hours can seem very daunting. Here, some career planning support can help to identify weaker areas or provide some new challenges to aim for rather than merely increasing the hours to what they were before.