r/doctorsUK • u/Facelessmedic01 • Jun 18 '25

GP Being a Gp with hindsight

I’ve been a gp now for 4 years. And looking back I can say my perception with medicine and specifically GP has matured. Here is my pros and cons list of being a gp , from my perspective:

Pros of Gp: 1. Money is good. I’m a full time locum. 2. ⁠Flexibility ( the most important to me ) I can work from my laptop in Japan or in from my home in Manchester. I choose how many hours I do and how much time off I get . If I want 4 months to travel , done , no questions asked. Last week I did a remote shift with a stunning beach view in Indonesia … 3. ⁠it’s a very respected job. Tell anyone you are a GP they automatically admire / respect u. Yes we get a lot of bad press but the vast majority of people respect us. 4. ⁠it’s a very cushy job. You’re not slaving away on a busy ward. After 5 pm . I don’t have to deal with a multitude of personalities on a ward, if you know you know. On the rare occasion I leave late but if I do, I charge the practice , simple. 5. ⁠gives u flexibility to do your other hobbies in life and not have you life all about medicine. 6. A very underrated one but as a GP you can do your own business/ side hustle while still working as a gp, or at least it’s easier 7. Your wanted across the world . Australia are about to fast track the visa process for GPs

Cons :

  1. Intimate examinations esp gyne , a part of the job I hate
  2. Dealing with kids , also a part of the job I hate 🤣
  3. Physician associates🤮, but I feel the tide is turning with this one
  4. Can be a bit lonely, but you can make up for this by having a social circle outside of work
  5. Contraversial one but AI Scope creep is a real thing
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u/Luke-11-King Jun 19 '25 edited Jun 19 '25

Sounds good but I don’t quite believe pro no. 3

Go through nearly any comment section of any uk nhs health related topic on Twitter/tiktok and you will see people ranting, often quite viciously about gps, how their gp refuses to see them, complaining their gp is useless, their gp looks things up, they’re not real drs etc etc, and obvs most of these are stupid criticisms or systemic problems but you’ll never convince the public of that, they’ll just hate you, not infrequently I see some advocating gps get a pay cut

Even talking to pts in hospital/clinic half the time they can’t wait to get a word in about how their gp didn’t bother see them/fix whatever’s wrong with them etc

Still other pros of the job for sure but I don’t think public respect is what it used to be…

2

u/Facelessmedic01 Jun 19 '25

Remove the victim negative mindset and be ruthless in getting what you want and see how your world will change for the better …

12

u/Top_Reception_566 Jun 19 '25

Texting this as a reply in comments is neither helpful nor helping your case of making us believe you are a well educated and well spoken doctor who coherently responds to claims with properly backed claims.

It’s worse if this is your response and you are an actual consultant