What is a mid-career GP? Is that me?
Its anyone who has been a GP for at least 5 years.
As a mid-career GP you may have been working as a clinician for a number of years by now.
Maybe when you finished your training as a GP you were not ready to develop your career further at that point, maybe you spent a few years getting to grips with a new role as a GP partner, had family commitments, were travelling or needing to frequently relocate area. Wherever your life path took you, you may be now looking to re-invigorate your career and explore more which direction would work for you.
We know that having a diverse, interesting and stimulating career means you will remain happy, well and engaged in your work. And we all want that.
There are many roles both beyond face to face patient contact and in enhanced roles that you can explore to use all the valuable skills you have developed over the years.
Mid-Career GP’s Webinar
NHS Futures have uploaded a Webinar held on 03/08/2021 targeted at Mid-Career GP’s. The webinar contained lots of useful information and a good summary of support that is available. To access the webinar please click here
Leadership
The NHS leadership academy https://www.leadershipacademy.nhs.uk/ has several courses you can
access, many online and free of charge. Follow the link for more information.
This is a great way to find out more about yourself and how you work in a team as well as a stepping stone to more formal leadership.
For more on leadership training https://www.kingsfund.org.uk/courses Or for fellowships focussing on leadership https://www.health.org.uk/funding-and-partnerships/fellowships/generationq
Education
For general information about becoming a clinical or educational supervisor and the difference between the two please click on the link below
http://www.severndeanery.nhs.uk/about-us/education-and-training/
The local VTS contact details can be found at the link below
http://www.gpvts.org/.phpindex
or maybe you would like to teach medical students, if so please use this link
https://www.bristol.ac.uk/primaryhealthcare/teaching/teaching-in-practice-by-year/
New GP teaching opportunity from September 2020
Would you like to teach fourth year medical students in your practice every Wednesday over the academic year? Please see the info-graphic at the link below for more information and payment details. There is no need to be a GP trainer for this role. All training and course materials etc. are provided by the university.
Contact phc-teaching@bristol.ac.uk for enquiries.
GP Stories
Click on the links below to find out what some of our mid-career GPs in Gloucestershire are up to.
Clinical Specialist Roles
Within General practice there are opportunities to develop enhanced roles such as
Coil and Implant fitting
https://www.fsrh.org/education-and-training/
Minor ops and /or Joint injections
https://www.rcgp.org.uk/learning/minor-surgery-courses.aspx
https://www.medicalskillscourses.com/our-courses/
various other providers exist and can be found with an online search.
There are many other possible roles for enhanced clinical specialists and we will be expanding this area of the website as we go. Please send any suggestions to Olivia.munn@nhs.net.
Fellowships
Some people think fellowships are just for newly qualified GPs but here in Gloucestershire we know that GPs at all stages in their careers can benefit from these schemes and have a huge amount to offer locally. For details of local fellowships opportunities please follow this link https://glosprimarycare.co.uk/gps/gp-fellowship-roles
Nationally there is also the Generation Q fellowship, details of which can be found here https://www.health.org.uk/funding-and-partnerships/fellowships/generationq
Coaching and Mentoring
As an experienced clinician you will already have gained many of the skills required for coaching and mentoring through your usual day to day work. Would you be interested in joining a team of coaches and mentors working to support GPs in the south west?
https://www.southwestleadership.nhs.uk/coaching-mentoring/
For RCGP members their mentorship scheme has now expanded beyond newly qualified GPs. The are opportunities to be a mentor or a mentee (or both!) Follow this link for further information https://www.rcgp.org.uk/rcgp-near-you/faculties/south-west-england-region/severn-faculty.aspx
Appraiser
Local recruitment happens at regular intervals.
Register your interest with the local team and you will be notified when roles are advertised.
In the meantime, have a look at the general link below
https://www.england.nhs.uk/medical-revalidation/appraisers/
LMC
Feeling unsure where to go next or what to do ?
The BMA have some excellent free online modules for BMA members looking at topics ranging from career development to leadership and presentation skills. The also offer reduced price attendance to one day workshops https://learning.bmj.com/learning/info/CME-CPD-for-BMA-members.html
Click here https://www.southwestleadership.nhs.uk/coaching-mentoring/ to register an interest in future opportunities to be coached
And finally if you are not currently working in the south west but are interested in relocating, vacancies within Gloucestershire can be found here https://www.gloslmc.co.uk/
For more information also check out the following link https://www.england.nhs.uk/south/info-professional/medical/gp-recruitment/
Appraisal/ Revalidation
GPs at all stages can worry about appraisal. If possible this should, as well as being part of the revalidation process, be an opportunity for you to review your year and then looking forward formulate on your own learning needs. Have a look at our Appraisal and Revalidation page for support and more information.
A tip for reflection can be to think about each learning event in terms of “What happened , so what does it matter and what now“