Who needs Gregory House? The RACGP’s Become a GP campaign encourages doctors in training to discover their inner sleuth.
GP shortage? Elementary, my dear patient.
The Royal College has launched a new campaign titled Become a GP in an effort to bolster numbers of graduating GPs.
The proportion of medical students applying to study general practice has been steadily declining for several years, falling to a low of 1908 applicants in 2020.
While there was a slight rebound in 2021, applicant levels are still low compared to historical figures.
A 2019 Deloitte report projected a shortfall of about 9000 GPs – or a quarter of the workforce – by 2030.
In rural and remote areas, which are already under pressure, the projected GP shortfall is closer to one-third by 2030.
The RACGP’s campaign comes just less than a year before training is handed back to the colleges.
Become a GP “aims to inspire” medical students and junior doctors to view general practice as a rewarding career choice.
“Medical students often simply aren’t aware of the rewards of a career in general practice,” according to RACGP President Dr Karen Price.
The campaign itself gives three reasons to become a GP. These are: mastery, autonomy and purpose.
General practice, it says, is a profession that tests all the skills of a doctor.
“Some days, you find yourself immersed in your community, helping out with all of the things that make life happen,” it says.
“Other days, you feel like Sherlock Holmes, investigating and noticing the little things other people don’t and piecing together signs to get to the right diagnosis.”
An accompanying video runs through a hypothetical scenario in which a male patient presents claiming he has an iron deficiency.
The sleuthing GP suspects that the real reason for their patient’s symptoms relate back to his recent divorce, eventually uncovering an underlying alcohol consumption problem.
“We are the best bang for buck in the health system, and I always say we are the most magnificent of all the medical specialties,” Dr Price told Seven’s Sunrise this morning. “We diagnose everything and we coordinate everybody’s care across all specialties, so it is a very challenging career.”
The Become a GP campaign is accompanied by a career guide and testimonials from medical students, GP registrars and new fellows.
