to think that all GP's (Doctors) work part-time?

[popcornwizard]

Based on my tiny personal knowledge of 4 GP's that are friends, and a couple of others that are friends of friends etc, I'm coming to the conclusion that they all work part-time hours. Is this real? Or is it just the ones that I know. I have no idea whether any of the GP's at 'my' practice work full-time or not, but at least 3 of them work only two days/week.

So AIBU to think that they're a bunch of part-timers? And what causes this? Stress or lucrative locum contracts?

Loads of (most?) hospital consultants are part time in the NHS. They work in the private sector the other days.

It's totally normal. Is everyone angry about GPs being part time equally annoyed at that?

GPs who own the practice are self employed. Even those who are employees presumably like all other employees in the country (unless the NHS is different?) have absolutely no legal right to work part time. you can ask if you are an employee but in most cases the employer is lawfully allowed to say no.

They don’t work part time. They do their minimum sessions (10 or 11) in the NHS and use their accrued on call hours to be able to work elsewhere during their other free sessions. Doctors are contracted per session. NHS does not have unlimited money to pay doctors of consultant level all the time, therefore using the less costly alternatives of registrars who are also continuing their training. And frankly if I was a 50yo consultant who had trained for 15 years to become one and all the hard slog it took I am not sure I would want to spend all my working hours in the NHS either. NHS doctors are not public property. They have paid their tuition fees and worked hundreds of unpaid hours, sacrificed family time and dedicated their lives to learning and helping. The attitudes I see towards doctors is mind boggling.

I have GP friends. They mostly work 12-14 days. When they’re not seeing patients in the middle bit of the day it’s becuase they’re out seeing patients. Their workload is unbelievable because of the number of people they see in the day. The ones who are partners in their practice also have all the management stuff to do. They also mentor new doctors. And go on training courses themselves either to keep skills up or learn about the new ‘threats’ like chemsex. None of them want their kids to be GPs. Not one. The one ‘parting Gp I know works as a locum choosing his own hours but still works 40 ish hours, just not always the same days or sometimes compacted hours.

12-14 hours that should be!

Oh yawn here we go again.

Could I just point out that a 'full time' (11PA) hospital consultant is contracted for 44 hours a week so will not be in the hospital every day either- they will do some long days and some short days.

The old 'full time' GP doesn't exist any more because the DAYS ARE LONGER AND MORE INTENSE. So today's part time GPs do THE SAME HOURS AS AN OLD FULL TIME GP AND WITH MUCH HIGHER WORK INTENSITY.

It just depends on how you (and the Daily Mail) define full time.

Understand?

@Xenia

It makes no business sense for a GP practice to tell the contracted GP’s they cannot have ‘part time’ or compressed hours and then seeing how many GP’s you manage to attract to your practice. None

I work across 5 practices and they all share GP’s, self employed and contracted. We also share with GP’s from out of county. It works fine. It’s a nice mix of specialisms

70% of our UK GPs now work part time hours and 80% of trainee GPs also intend to and I'm not at all surprised given

1. that they have ten minutes per patient. It must be super stressful and difficult and a likely recipe for burnout if full time

2. part time salary for a GP is more than a full time salary for most of us so it's very affordable to be part time

Personally I would pay GPs half of their current salary but double the total number of GPs so that the job became easier and less stressful with half the patients numbers per GP and longer appointment times. More job satisfaction for doctors and more patient satisfaction too.

I think we would still get plenty of high calibre applicants as conditions of work would be much better - although ok not the ones who are good at exams but primarily in it for the money. No great loss there then.

Everyone wins.

So you propose the solution is to train sub standard medical students who aren’t very good at medicine or exams to look after the health of the population, oh and pay everyone less. Ok then

I don't care how many hours, I merely wanted to know if it was full or part time.

But it's your total hours that mean you are full or part time, not how many days you are spread over.

will repeat, it seems economic nonsense to spend so much money training 2 GPs to such a high level for 1 position

They are often working full time hours over compressed days.

@notpostedherebefore

I think this is a lost cause. People do not have one tiny clue. I mean unless you stalk your GP’s every waking move all of this is based on a ridiculous amount of assumption as to what hours doctors actually work. The words ‘full time’ seem to only mean 37.5 hours to everyone and it doesn’t matter how many doctors or people who work in the NHS come along and correct the assumptions I also like the amateur Jeremy Hunts who come along and resdesign the NHS as if it is Asda

How on earth would you double the number of GPs if you’re offering half the current salary?!
And actually, I’d kind of like to know my GP has a solid medical knowledge which has been tested by exams and practised by experience.

Double the number of GPs by halving their pay?! Pmsl!

The recruitment crisis isn't about pay, actually. It's because it's becoming a shittier and shittier job due to patients undervaluing how difficult it is to decide if your headache is a tumour or not.

So much nasty sneering at so-called part time work. It's how the market works. They try to force them into more because it doesn't fit some sneery twats' paradigm they can't recuit. Get over it.

@snog so a full time GP who has trained for a minimum of 8 years and has likely £30k student loan should work full time making continual life or death decisions for £35k?

@Walkingdeadfangirl I hope that your 'full time only rule as tax payers paid for your training' also extends to nurses, midwifes and social workers (all of whom usually get bursaries during their training) and police officers (who get paid a full time salary for the duration of their training!!). Then there's the teachers too.

Hmm, looks like there is going to be recruitment issues for quite a lot of our essential jobs now doesn't it 🤔

How many hours a week do you work OP?

We have two friends who are GPs. Both work part time - 37 hours per week, which is 60% of the full time equivalent.

Why judge what your friends I am sure as GPs they have stressful jobs and need supportive mates not one who would try to upset them on social media

Any GP's reading this - thank you - I think you are amazing to do such a difficult, high pressured job.

How many hours a week do you work OP?

If you could be bothered to read the thread or even just to skim read through my posts then you'd already know. Though to be fair it really has absolutely no relevance to the question does it?

Nope, not judging, just asking.

@popcornwizard it does because my follow up was going to be whether you visit yourself to be part time. Someone who works 37-40 hours a week, to me isn't part time regardless of how navy days they work it over. I skimmed a few pages because I got bored of the goady (or maybe simply dense) nature of some posters

I know nothing about GP's except that mine are nice.

But surely everyone who has ever worked in business has used the "such a bunch of part-timers ine" as a sneer for people who go home on time.

I have never heard it used in any except an offensive way implying someone who doesn't pull their weight.

OP is you aren't aware of this it might explain to you why people have taken umbrage at that phrase.

OP works part time