Practices
Due to the combination of the increasing number of GP’s choosing early retirement and the lack of Medical students choosing to embark upon a career in general practice, the current number of active GP’s is incredibly low.
Following a drive to combat this, focus has steered towards inspiring the next generation of GP’s through work experience. Students wishing to embark on a career in medicine are able to gain clinical experience working in a community healthcare setting allowing candidates to see how intellectually stimulating, challenging and diverse a career in primary care actually is.
Workforce Transformation and Education, together with the Royal College of GPs and the Medical Schools Council, has produced the GP Work Experience Toolkit aimed at aiding surgeries in the successful running of a work experience program. The Toolkit covers every aspect of the process from the initial offer to risk and confidentiality advice.
This toolkit guide from WT&E will help guide you through the process, with handy ‘how to’ processes, document templates, guidance and FAQs
School Students
Primary Care is an exciting & fast paced environment that is changing rapidly.
If you are thinking about a career in Medicine as a GP, please speak to your local careers adviser, local Medical School Bristol Medical School , (Coming soon)- Worcester Medical School , or your local GP Practice.
The British Medical Association is a Trade union for UK Doctors. It’s website has a great page on how to become a Doctor in the UK. Click Here > to visit it.
If you are thinking about a career in Primary Care outside of the Medical route (GP), as an Allied Health Professional, please have a look at the variety of career pathways available. There may be more than you think!
Allied Health Professions (AHP)
The AHP resource pages contain guides, case studies, & national & local information, showcasing the different professionals, (such as Pharmacists and Paramedics); who can make up a multidisciplinary team within general practice, to help you deliver high quality services to patients and potentially take pressure off GP’s.
(You can find these under the main menu at the top of the page)
You can also consider looking at the Apprenticeship route as an alternative to the traditional career routes, (see below).
Apprenticeships
Apprenticeships offer an exciting opportunity to help employers recruit and develop new staff and support the development and progression of existing staff.
Since the introduction of the new Apprenticeship Levy in April 2017, apprenticeships have been undergoing an overhaul and we are now seeing qualifications such as the Registered Nurse Degree being converted into apprenticeships. Smaller employers (those who pay less than £3 million per annum in staff salaries) will be able to use Government funding to fund up to 90% of the costs of these apprenticeships and larger employers will be able to use their Apprenticeship Levy funds.
Find out more about apprenticeships in Primary Care on the WT&E website Click here >
A Career in Pharmacy
Are you considering a career in pharmacy? Would you like to know more? Below are a selection of resources which may be of interest to you!!!