to absolutely hate the anti GP/doctor bashing mentality on MN?

[macdoodle]

When most if not all the doctors/GP's I know personally and professionally have a lot of training, and are doing the best they can, despite ridiculous government rules and beuarocracy, and dont get paid a fortune, far from it!

In fact I know IANBU, so much so, that I am taking a break from MN because the lot of you dr bashing makes me feel slightly ill, and some of those calling their GP's twats make me feel so angry I may say something I will regret

YABU! some doctors are terrible and its a wonder how they got through uni. My brothers flat mate is testiment to this, she is a doctor and to be perfectly honest i'd rather ask a vet for medical advice than her!

Because your a doctor does not mean you know everthing and that you are always right. However i take your point that there is no need for name calling.

Macdoodle of course there are good and bad GPs, nobody really thinks otherwise. The bad ones can kill you though.

You should grow a thicker skin, lots of professions have inaccurate and negative stereotypes eg accountancy

Hmm not sure the last time I saw an "accountant bashing thread" on MN

I'll start one

AIBU to think that all accountants are BASTARDS

Accountants do not have people in such vulnerable positions whose health and sometimes life is in their hands. Money is money. One's health and life, or one's child's health/life, or one's frail and elderly parent's health/life, is a very different thing.

GPs really deserve all the bad press and critism they get if they're bad at their jobs.

If they can't handle that, then I'd suggest a career where if they're not that good, it doesn't matter so much if they feck it up.

Health is so important, probably THE single most important thing to most people and understandably they will get upset if their GP, who, let's face it is the first port of call when ill in most cases, doesn't give them the service they deserve.

I'm getting increasingly fed up with the notion that patients are divs who know nothing, quite frankly!

Criticism !

Interesting thread
Speaking as a GP a lot of the profession appear to have sold out, responding to the tick box culture of the new contract and away from trying to provide a holistic and listening service.

North of the border we are lucky to have the luxury of a full ten minutes per appointment - and we do not always get it right.

Advice - ask around and shop around for the GP you like. in most places you are not stuck to the one gp or practice

Yanbu. But IMHO, GPs do generally get paid a fortune. but they deserve it.

I dont think people are GP bashing. But a lot of people now think GPs are way overpaid for what they do, and it makes it even harder to stomach the bad ones. I havent heard people criticise the pay of hospital specialist doctors in the same way.

At the end of the day, most GPs do earn well over £100k (well all the ones I know do and I know a fair few of family and friends). And they do work some long days but most of my friends who are GPs work 4 long days a week. To be honest in most professions earning £100k you would be working 6am - 9pm 6 days a week and be on call at other times.

The GPs I know (and I spoke to one of them about the other thread today) admit they have it easy and that the job fits around their children and pays way better than any other job would for the hours they do.

A lot of jobs require intensive hard training and a lot of hard work - that is another thing about the medical profession - they seem to think that they are in the minority there!

Can't we have more GPs doing shorter hours for less pay?

Oh and another thing - I dont think the 'GP bashing' is restricted to mumsnet!!!

A lack of respect for GPs seems to be very common in the general public these days in my experience. There must be something causing it and dont believe it is simply the media.

I think generally people are less in awe than they were in previous generations, with many people having good degrees, phds and masters etc who feel equal to doctors. They are therefore more inclined to speak up and admit to being unhappy with the service they receive and admit to having a disrespect for other 'professionals' such as GPs, vicars and the police all of whom were deeply respected in previous generations.

Yes I agree. It used to be a highly respected choice. Medicine was harder to get into than law at university (may still be of course).

Now doctors are thought to be overpaid, not caring enough, prescription fillers! It is a down turn in public perception for sure.

Do people really believe that £60k is a lot of money to pay a GP?

Mind boggles. You cannot argue on the one hand that GP's are shit then say they are paid too much. If you want good quality people then you have to pay good salaries and I for on would certainly prefer my GP's were the best of the best.

I doubt many are on £60k nancy, my friend works part time and earns £80k for her 3 days per week and moans about it.
Medicine is not something that you are meant to go into for the money though, indeed one sniff of it being a consideration at interview for university and you wouldn't be offered a place.

I know a number of GPs and they were on £60k long ago before the new contract and when they hadnt been GPs for that long.

Now £60k is a drop in the ocean for them!!!

I was about to start a thread regarding lovely GP's but saw this one.

I have just seen my lovely GP who gave me 20 mins of time and really listened - not only that bit helped me think through a problem too. Yay for the excellent GP's out there and I'm sure mine is not the only one.

Grow a thicker skin GPs. Some of you are grand, some are ok and some are shite. Like any profession. It doesn't do to get knickers twisted about the punters hating one. Just do the best job you can for the people you serve and enjoy your very excellent salary to the full when you get some free time.

I'm a GP and I'm sick of being told what a vast amount of money I earn. I work part-time - about 37 hours per week - and I earn £45K. Yes, it's a good salary, but it's nowhere near the millions the Daily Mail would have you believe.

And I worked bloody hard to become a GP. I did 5 years at university, then 4 years as a junior hospital Dr working 100 hour weeks, alternate weekends etc. So after the best part of a decade of training, I think I'm entitled to a salary of 45 grand.

Yes some GPs are incompetent, and a handful are downright negligent. But the vast majority of us do our best in difficult circumstances.

When I chose to spend my career trying to help people, I didn't expect to need to grow such a thick skin!

macdoodle and Rebecca41 - just think that mn and the dm have something in common, nhs doctor bashing.

Maybe some of the mumsnetters are secret DM journos or editors.

I've worked with doctors for over 30 years and have the utmost respect for them. Please don't be disheartened.

Rebecca41 - you are not exactly hard done by though are you. I presume you earned some kind of salary in the 4 years you were a junior hospital dr (probably £20k or so I would imagine but admit to not knowing) - you didnt do it for free.

Many jobs require 4 or 5 years at university and then continuing training after that. Therefore the best part of a decade of training does actually apply to many professions, particularly where it is necessary to get MSc etc. Not denying doctors train hard but they need to wake up if they dont think many professions have to as well.

It would be interesting to know how many years experience you have - for £45k I presume not too many. The GPs I know earn way way more than that. Sorry.