General practice is one of the most rewarding areas of medicine. Building long term relationships with patients, families and communities, along with covering all possible medical and surgical conditions, makes it stand apart from the rest of the medical world.
The breadth of general practice has been challenged in the last 20 years with specialist colleges taking work previously performed by GPs. Other health practitioners compete for the primary care work and society has changed in its attitude and expectations towards GPs, leading to increasing challenges.
While a long career in general practice is a still a rewarding and unique career, the above changes are seeing GPs work differently. A really full time GP is a rarity now. GPs blend their clinical work with practice ownership, teaching, research, surgical assisting, GP liaison work, political or college work, and other pursuits.
As most GPs reach Fellowship level around 30 -35 years old, another 30-40 years in a consulting room without career change or progression is a big ask. For me, it was a call out of the blue that changed everything.
I have spent the last 4 years moving away from clinical practice into the corporate world. It has taken humility, courage and a little madness to enter a world where I have no experience, and leave one where I have just completed 20 years. However, it is a world where I believe I can make a difference to people’s lives on a population basis far larger than I ever would as GP. The depth of my care has stepped back. I hope that my new breadth will make that depth easier for my colleagues, and better for our patients.
I will share my story with you and talk about the opportunities and timings that open up places you never dreamed of visiting.