General practitioner

General practitioners (GP) are doctors who look after people’s health in their local area. You are the first point of contact for most patients. Most of your work is carried out during consultations in the surgery. You will use your extensive knowledge of medical conditions so that you can assess a problem and decide on the appropriate course of action. You must know how and when to intervene, through treatment, prevention and education, to promote the health of your patients.

Also known as:

Family doctor
GP

Work activities

General practitioners form an essential part of medical care throughout the world. As a GP you are the first point of contact for most patients. Most of the work is carried out during consultations in the surgery and during home visits. GP provide a large range of care within the local community. You’ll attend patients in surgery and primary care emergency centres if needed and occasionally visit patients at home. You will need be aware of and take account of physical, psychological and social factors when looking after your patients. You will use your extensive knowledge of medical conditions so that you can assess a problem and decide on the appropriate course of action. You must know how and when to intervene, through treatment, prevention and education, to promote the health of your patients. The wide variety of work that you will experience in general practice is one of the major attractions.

Personal qualities and skills

Personal qualities should include:

The ability to care about patients and their relatives.
A commitment to providing high quality care.
Awareness of your own limitations.
The ability to seek help when appropriate.
Commitment to keeping up to date and improving quality of your own performance.
Appreciation of the value of teamwork.
Clinical competence (being good at dealing with medical situations).
Being organised.

Pay and opportunities

GPs are usually self-employed and contracted by the NHS. They can expect to earn between £70,000 and £114,000.

GPs work around 45-50 hours a week. Hours are usually divided between morning and afternoon/evening surgery. Some GPs choose to have out-of-hours duties.

Opportunities for GPs occur in towns, cities and rural areas throughout the UK. A small number of GPs work in the armed forces. There might be opportunities in other countries, and some work with voluntary organisations in other countries.

Where are vacancies advertised?

Vacancies are advertised on the NHS Jobs website, in professional journals, and on specialist and general job boards.

Entry routes and training

In order to become a GP, you first train to become a doctor, and then choose to specialise in your final stage of training. This is usually through a five-year degree in medicine. After graduating, you will need to complete a further period of training and progression.

You can find further information and advice on the website of the British Medical Association (BMA) about how any serious medical condition you have, such as HIV, hepatitis B or hepatitis C, may restrict the type of work you are allowed to do.

Entry into a medical school is challenging. You will be called for an interview and will face searching questions about your motivation, your work at school, hobbies and personal interests, as well as having to produce evidence of your academic achievements. A key question will be your reasons for wanting to become a doctor. You should also be able to demonstrate relevant paid or voluntary work experience e.g. work as a hospital auxiliary, in nursing or residential care. Students can find the addresses of local hospitals and residential homes online.

Rehabilitation of Offenders Act: This career is an exception to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974. This means that you must supply information to an employer about any spent or unspent convictions, cautions, reprimands or warnings, if they ask you to. This is different from other careers, where you only have to reveal information on unspent convictions if you are asked to.

Qualifications

For entry to a degree course in medicine, the usual requirement is three A-levels at high grades. Chemistry is usually essential, with at least one other science subject or maths. Of these, many universities ask for biology. Competition for entry to medicine degrees is very strong, so you are likely to need high grades in your A-levels. Most university medical schools ask for at least AAA and some for combinations such as A*AA.

You will also need high grades in five GCSEs, including English, maths and science subjects.

You will usually need to sit an admission test, as well as applying through UCAS. Examples are:

UK Clinical Aptitude Test (UKCAT) is used in the selection procedure for most medical schools. It is not a test of knowledge but is instead designed to make sure you have the appropriate mental abilities, attitudes and professional behaviour to be a doctor. You should ideally take the test before you apply to the school through UCAS. Please see the UKCAT website for more information.
BioMedical Admissions Test (BMAT). You will need to take this if you apply for certain universities in the UK and abroad.
Graduate Medical School Admissions Test (GAMSAT UK) if you’re applying for certain four-year graduate-entry medicine courses. For more information, please see the GAMSAT website

Adult opportunities

Age limits: It is illegal for any organisation to set age limits for entry to employment, education or training, unless they can show there is a real need to have these limits.

If you don’t have the usual academic qualifications needed for a degree in medicine, you might be able to enter the course through:

An Access to Medicine course.
A pre-medical or foundation year, if you don’t have science A-levels.
Six-year widening access courses encourage more people to study medicine. These are available at a small number of universities; please contact the British Medical Association for more information.

You can train as a GP (once qualified as a doctor) on a part-time basis. This can be through the NHS Less Than Full-time Training Programme, through which students cover 50-80% of the normal full-time weekly programme.

Medical students may apply for student loans to cover maintenance and tuition fees; however, the final years of their study may be covered by the NHS Bursary Scheme – see Gov.uk for details.

Funding is available from the armed forces, usually for the final years of a medicine degree. Some scholarships and hardship funds from medical schools are also available. Several charities and trusts offer financial support, such as the BMA Charities Trust Fund, which gives grants to students taking medicine as a second degree.

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