GP training

I would like to thank Dr Brettell for eloquently raising the demoralising discrimination we face as GP trainees within hospital.1 It is all too frequent that the moment a senior member of the team realises that we are GP trainees, after a sigh, we are relegated to service monkey role to the extent that even our weekly teaching is often not protected.

In view of this I would also like to mention that our GP trainers should be more understanding of our reduced clinical exposure and for many of the trainees that I have spoken to, the service element of our training is not unique to hospital medicine. In two separate GP placements, both small practices, I have felt pressured to reduce my consulting time before I was ready, and met with brusque ‘I’m busy’ replies during times that I have requested my trainer to help me with a clinical question. This is despite clear trainee supervision slots marked out, and they have been busy either because of managing their own personal administration or that of the practice, hardly ever because they are consulting from their own list. Meanwhile, I have struggled as I have been given patients from other lists, all as an FY2 and ST1, which you will agree is quite early on in my training.

Luckily this has not been a deterrent, and when I have struggled I have asked for help no matter what the ‘mood’ of the trainer has been, but I can imagine this being a problem for the less confident or timid GP trainee and potentially compromising patient safety.

I feel that the extended training can only be a good thing given the difficulty in changing historical attitudes and egos faced both in hospital and GP settings and the increasing pressures on GPs leading to greater administrative duties that appear to take precedence over effective training that they are remunerated for.

• © British Journal of General Practice 2013