Health Services and Careers

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General Practitioner GP Registrar GP Nurse
General Practitioner GP Registrar GP Nurse

General Practitioner

General Practices, also known as GP surgeries or clinics, are usually the first point of contact for people seeking medical help and guidance, offering 10–15-minute consultations and a range of essential, additional and enhanced healthcare services.

General Practices are community-orientated, providing ‘patient-focused’ services which strengthen ‘continuity of care,’ including management of both acute and chronic health conditions, medication prescription, medical record keeping, and onward referral to specialists, hospitals, and other secondary care and community healthcare providers.

The General Practice workforce contributes enormously to health education and preventative health care, and GP services help to reduce the overall demand for hospital care and resources. With technological advances, government funding, and the ongoing need for comprehensive primary healthcare in the community, the GP sector in the UK will continue to grow and respond, offering rewarding professions and career development opportunities.

General Practitioners are specialist doctors who provide general and family medical services to people of all ages. They have broad medical knowledge and can consult with patients about acute and chronic health conditions. They prescribe medications, create individual management and treatment plans, provide sexual health and other health checks, discuss concerns, give advice, refer patients to specialists, order diagnostic tests, and help their patients navigate the health care system. They receive and keep records of test results and specialist reports to coordinate future and ongoing care. They work in community General Practices, hospitals and out-reach clinics. GPs have undertaken GP Specialty Training (GPST), a 3-year program that leads to registration with the RCGP, a CCT, and entry onto the GMC GP Register. GPs work autonomously and are often responsible for training junior staff and registrars, leading multidisciplinary teams, and running a GP business. Some GP doctors have Special Interest accreditation, whereby they can practice as a generalist in a more clinical/hospital setting and/or have extended scopes of practice in a specialty area of medicine.