As my A-levels loom ahead and I prepare to narrow my science choices down to chemistry and biology, my wish to become a GP seems to dwindle as I hear my parents discussing how their job is becoming decreasingly centred on actually practising medicine. It appears that the computerisation of the consultation, relinquishing of the doctor's role to others in the team and the many hoop jumping, target-reaching hours are now part and parcel of a generalist's work. I realise that doctors being checked is in the interest of the patient's health and safety, and certainly as a patient I'd be happier knowing my GP was unlikely to make fatal mistakes. I also realise that it's not just primary care doctors who have hoop jumping to face. Currently I have to hoop jump to access the top marks of various GCSE coursework assignments. For example, in physics I have to state my findings ‘in the simplest way possible,’ before I can go back and describe it all again in greater detail. (Why not just explain in detail in the first place?)
I'd be willing to accept the devolution of the GP role if it meant practising would entail less responsibility; however it seems practitioners must now bear the brunt of nurses', pharmacists' and a host of other people's medical mistakes. So is it worth the 2 years of A levels, many years of medical school and then the good old MRCGP for a job with less medicine and more responsibility? (Or perhaps the late-home, tired-parent views aren't representative!)
- © British Journal of General Practice, 2006.
