I’m a GP

[WutheringBites]

here’s the thing; I can’t get a job. And lots of us who completed training in the past two years can’t either. It’s a national problem (well, at least across England) and there’s thousands of us in the same boat.
I didn’t expect to earn millions as a doctor, but I did think there would always be work for a nice GP. AIBU?

Those masters degrees aren't 'Micky Mouse' degrees. My friend has one and has 30 years nursing experience in the field. Plus the patients he prescribes to he actually sees day to day, whereas the psychiatrists might only see that patient once for 5 minutes. I'd honestly prefer to see him if I was ill, as he has more hands on experience and more actual knowledge of the patients.

The problem with AHPs/PAs taking over from doctors is that you need to have a proper knowledge of anatomy and physiology in order to be able to work out what's going with patients and make an accurate diagnosis, and they just dont get that from their training.

No. Well. Not yet. I’m nhs to my bones and find it hard to imagine not working within a system that’s free at the point of access to those who need it.

but. I need to be able to pay the bills

Nope. No money in the system and the contract changes just seem to mean that the gaps don’t need to be filled as much (which is really really weird)
so very very few locums

I’m a sandwich generation - children with SEND - older relatives to care for, so I’m stuck.

but even if I wasn’t, how on earth have we got to this? A consultant equivalent expert generalist doctor, trained in the NHS that can’t get a job to look after people when there’s a shortage of doctors?!? It’s bizarre

No. And I’m being very proactive. There’s just no enthusiasm for having locums atm

@zazazooms no, GPs don’t get anything like that much per hour.

No. Twice in three years and one of those times was at the request of the GP!

@Athreedoorwardrobe there are very few nurses/AHPs that go down the physician associate route rather than do an advanced practice masters so the majority are science grads with minimal patient/health experience doing a 2 year course to be able to see patients with undifferentiated ailments.

Absolutely. A choice between being pain a full time wage whilst you under take a funded masters programme part time topping you up to an ACP who can prescribe and order imaging. Or take 2 years unpaid to fund yourself on a PA programme for 2 years and at the end of it not be able to write your own prescriptions (or though this likely will change at some point)…. Nope it just doesn’t make sense.

You just can’t undertake a 2yr programme after completing a chemistry degree and then be expected to safely manage undifferentiated patients in A&E or GP.

The thing that’s really mad is that there probably would be work if you could apply for an ACP role… Seem to be lots about but I’m aware Drs aren’t allowed to apply - (not suggesting this is in anyway a sensible option clearly a GP should be employed as a GP!).

Why can’t you get a job?

I don’t get it… I cannot get seen by my GP for love nor money! The surgery have cited GP shortages as the reason for appointment availability issues…….?

Are you suggesting she leaves her family?

Primary Care Networks can employ newly qualified GPs now within their funding budgets, so OP could go for an ARRS GP role if they wanted to, there are lots of PCNs recruiting now.

OP - would you consider an ARRS GP role within a PCN? If you qualified in the last two years you’d be eligible.

Yes. There are GP shortages.
But the public are misunderstanding this.
The GP shortages are not because there are loads of vacancies and job adverts yet no GPs are applying.
The shortages are because there are a lack of vacancies, a lack of job adverts, due to lack of funding for GP salaries being given to surgeries from the NHS.
The GPs are out there, wanting to work, and the surgeries need and want more GPs, and patient demand certainly needs them. But surgeries are not being given the money by the NHS to be able to employ more GPs. They are being told to employ more nurses and paramedics instead. Purely because they are much cheaper.
That's why there's a GP shortage.
The NHS aren't giving surgeries the money to employ enough of them.
This is a fact, not my opinion. I've worked in primary care for 20 years and I know the ins and outs of it.

Family goes with you on the Mercy ships anyway.

Yes they do.
GPs I work with, whom I am friends with outside of work, tell me they are paid £75 per hour.

Please do go into private care. It's not elite, it's how countless people are now getting the medical care they need because NHS care isn't accessible. Don't let your skills and knowledge rot out of principle.

As a nurse who has advanced clinical skills and prescribing qualification it concerns me you have said that there is not much for GPs to do.
I strongly disagree, minor injury and illness etc yes I can assess, diagnose and treat within my nursing remit. There’s a hell of a lot us nurses cannot do, we haven’t have the extensive training GP (all doctors have). Yes I have been qualified for 15 years…..yes I’ve been a NP for 8 years but at the end of the day we need doctors!!
I hope that our ICB doesn’t have the same vision as yours.

@RosesAndHellebores that's really odd.

I’ve missed the window by a few months (im
now too senior). I was thinking about this yesterday; coz there were never very many of these posts advertised within my area since they created the GP ARRS role. I can only think that either coz the PCNs decided not to employ GPs (they didn’t have to) or coz they recruited their own registrars?

also it’s a weird post - you get rotated between surgeries, so it’s not really like GP. Anyway, no I can’t - which is also weird, they should be open to any GP, I think?

@YellowisMellow if your friend, who you know from outside work, is earning £75/hour they would be getting a year's wages in excess of £140k

Very generous indeed of the NHS - except this is not happening.

A newly qualified General Practitioner (GP) in the UK can expect a starting salary between approximately £69,000 and £77,000

An experienced GP partner may earn £100k or a bit over after several years.

I think my year 11 DC might have views on that

plus how would it pay for my mortgage in the UK?