What Are the Main Types of General Practitioners?

To become a general practitioners (GPs) means to be doctors who provide primary care (medical care) to various patients for different health conditions. They are generally the first person the patient contacts for medical advice or treatment. Although GPs are trained typically to treat a range of medical conditions, some may specialise in certain areas of care. Here are the main types of GPs:

• Family GP: Family GPs provide continued and comprehensive care for patients and families, including health maintenance, counselling, and prevention. They treat various health issues in patients of all ages, including acute and chronic conditions.
• Paediatric GP: Paediatric GPs are primary care practitioners who deal with children and teenagers, in particular, emphasising growth and development, as well as conditions prevalent in younger patients.
• Geriatric GP: These GPs care for older adults. They are specially trained for the problems that come with ageing, including dementia, arthritis, and other age-related issues.
• Sports Medicine GP: A sports medicine GP specialises in sports injury medicine. This type of GP deals with injuries related to sports and exercise. It assists athletes and active people with recovery, pain management, and the prevention of injuries.
• Women’s Health GP: Women’s health GPs work with conditions and health concerns of women, such as reproductive health, pregnancy, menopause, and gynaecological issues.
• Mental Health GP (for general practitioner): mental health GPs are experts in identifying and treating mental health illnesses such as depression, anxiety, and stress. They work alongside other mental health professionals to manage the total care of a patient.
• Occupational Health GP: Occupational health GPs work with workplace health issues in conjunction with employees and employers to ensure health and safety in the workplace, as well as the management of injuries from work and other issues, including stress and ergonomic injuries.
• Travel Medicine GP: Travel medicine GPs provide advice and care for patients planning to travel abroad. We provide vaccinations, advice regarding travel illnesses, and general health advice based on region.

What Does a General Practitioner Do?

GPs are responsible for diagnosing and treating various medical conditions and diseases in patients of all ages. They are often the first stop for patients seeking a diagnosis and advice, and they provide significant preventative care. Here’s a breakdown of what they do.

• Diagnose and Manage Medical Conditions: When a GP sees a patient, they diagnose illnesses and develop a treatment plan for an extensive range of conditions, including acute (such as an infection) and chronic (such as diabetes or asthma).
• Preventive Care: GPs deliver preventive health services, such as immunizations, health screenings, and lifestyle counselling, to help patients prevent illness. They help patients prevent disease by advising them to live healthy lives with proper nutrition, exercise, and smoking cessation.
• Perform Health Assessment: GPs perform routine check-ups and health assessments. We take a history, perform a physical exam, and sometimes order lab tests to assess our patient’s health.
• Prescribe Drugs: GPs write prescriptions for all kinds of conditions, alter doses as required, and ensure that patients know how to take their medications, overseeing them for side effects and then reviewing the effectiveness of the treatment.
• Refer the patient to a specialist: when the patient’s condition needs specialist care, the GP refers them to the appropriate cardiologist, a dermatologist, a surgeon, etc. GPs usually work in close collaboration with specialists to ensure continuity of care.
• Manage chronic conditions: GPs manage long-term conditions such as high blood pressure, diabetes, and heart disease, reviewing them regularly and adjusting treatment plans to keep patients well.
• Refer patients to mental health professionals: while GPs are the starting point for mental health problems, they aren’t mental health experts. They’re trained to identify issues and refer patients to a mental health professional when necessary or prescribe medication if appropriate.
• Provide Health Education: GPs give patients information about how to stay healthy, understand their medical condition, and manage a treatment plan. They often educate patients on how they can avoid or stop illnesses through lifestyle changes.
• Minor Procedures: Become more proficient in carrying out minor medical procedures (e.g., injections, removal of moles or cysts, and stitching wounds) to prevent patients from going to a specialist or hospital when routine treatment is required.

Average General Practitioner Salary

The salary of a general practitioner in the U.K. depends upon their experience, location, and whether they work for the NHS or in private practice. The GPs working in the NHS usually are on a structured salary system, while the GPs working in private practice are paid higher. The income of NHS-based GPs is fixed, while the private ones may earn higher. Here’s an overview of the General Practitioner salary:

• Entry-Level GP (Newly Qualified): A newly qualified General Practitioner in the UK usually earns between £60,000 and £70,000 per year in the NHS. This is the starting salary for GPs who have just completed their training and entered the workforce.
• Mid-Level GP: GPs with several years of experience can expect to earn between £70,000 and £90,000 per year. This salary range applies to GPs who have gained more experience and may have taken on additional responsibilities, such as managing a practice.
• Senior GP (experienced/partner): £90,000-£120,000 or more per annum, including GP partners, who are senior doctors who become partners in a practice and share in the profits of the practice and often do administrative work in addition to their clinical work.
• Locum General Practitioner (GP): A locum GP is a GP working freelance or temporarily. They earn anything between £80 and £120 an hour, depending on how many hours they work and the level of demand for GPs in the area they are working in.

GP Skills

To achieve this, GPs must juggle medical knowledge, interpersonal skills, and the capacity to manage various medical conditions. Great GPs are, therefore, empathetic, detail-oriented, and able to work quickly and efficiently. Here are some core skills you will need to become a GP.

• Clinical Knowledge: Knowledge of multiple medical conditions from all specialties (cardiology, dermatology, psychiatry, paediatrics, etc.) and keeping up-to-date with new medical advances, treatments, therapies, etc.
• Communication skills: General Practitioners must communicate well with patients to explain complicated medical situations and treatment plans in an easy-to-understand way. Good communication can also lead to trust between the two parties, enhancing the doctor-patient relationship.
• Empathy and compassion: GPs must be empathetic and compassionate towards patients’ experiences of pain, anxiety, and chronic illnesses. Patients need to be listened to and seen by their GP
• Problem-solving skills: GPs are often required to make decisions based on limited information, and they need to make sure that they are applying the correct diagnosis and treatment and altering their approach when a patient’s condition changes.
• Time Management: A General Practitioner has to balance their time between 10 to 15 patients each day and work on different daily tasks, such as consultations, making notes, writing prescriptions, and following up calls.
• Collaboration and Teamwork: GPs often work within a multidisciplinary team consisting of a nursing team, a specialist team, and an administrative team. To provide good quality care, GPs must be able to work as a team to ensure that patient care is coordinated and that the healthcare team works efficiently.
• Attention to Detail: GPs need to be able to pay attention to detail when examining patients’ symptoms, medical history, and test results. It is essential to be accurate when diagnosing conditions, prescribing the proper medication, and following up on treatment plans.

GP Tips

Here is some advice for aspiring GPs wishing to succeed in their careers:

• Build your clinical skills: Get your basics right in medical school and GP training, as general practice requires a broad range of skills. Enjoy the opportunities to experience different specialties along the way.
• Communicate well: As a GP, you must communicate well with your patients. Cultivate good listening skills and practice explaining medical matters understandably and compassionately.
• Update yourself on medical advances: Medicine is constantly evolving, so it’s essential to keep up-to-date on medical research, treatment guidelines, and healthcare technologies to serve your patients best.
• Work on a Patient-Centred Relationship: A GP builds trust with their patients because of their shared history. Get to know your patients. A strong relationship will increase patient satisfaction and adherence to treatment plans.
• Spend your time wisely. GPs are often required to see many patients quickly. Learn to manage your time effectively to ensure patient care is of a high standard but that you don’t run behind schedule.
• Become a GP Partner: If you want to run your practice, consider becoming a GP partner, where you can share in the profits of the practice and take on additional responsibilities such as practice management and becoming a member of the business side of the practice.

GP Requirements

It usually takes several years of medical training to become aGP in the U.K. This involves undergraduate study followed by postgraduate training and further specialist training at the General Practitioner Training Programme. The path to becoming a GP is outlined below.

• Obtain a Medical Degree: You will need to obtain a Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS), or an equivalent medical degree from a recognized university before you can become a General Practitioner Medical school lasts for five to six years, during which time you will study in lectures and tutorials, as well as complete clinical training.
• Do foundation training: After completing your degree, you will need to do a further two years of training called foundation training (FY1 and FY2). This means you rotate through the different medical specialties, such as surgery, internal medicine, emergency care, etc. This is called foundation training because doctors who just finished university need this broad experience in different parts of medicine to develop their clinical skills.
• Apply for GP Specialty Training: Following Foundation Training, you can apply for GP Specialty Training, which usually lasts three years and focuses on the practical and medical skills required for general practice, including managing common medical conditions, patient communication, and preventive medicine.
• Achieve the MRCGP Qualification: To become a GP, you have to pass the Membership of the Royal College of General Practitioners (MRCGP) examination. This examination assesses your clinical knowledge, communication skills, and ability to deliver effective primary care. The MRCGP consists of three parts: the Applied Knowledge Test (AKT), the Clinical Skills Assessment (CSA), and the Workplace Based Assessment (WPBA).
• Register with the General Medical Council (GMC): When you complete your GP training and pass the MRCGP exam, you’ll need to register with the General Medical Council (similar to the licensing body in the U.S.) to legally practise as a GP in the U.K. You must get a Certificate of Completion of Training (CCT) from the GMC to work independently.
• Consider Further Specialisation: Some GPs choose to specialise further than in general practice—for instance, to work as a dermatologist, a sports medicine doctor, or a mental health professional, often through additional training or qualification, enabling them to focus on a particular group of patients or condition within general practice.

How to Become a GP

To become a GP, you must complete educational and training steps. Together, these steps ensure you have the knowledge needed to manage the medical conditions that GPs often see. Here’s a step-by-step guide to becoming a GP in the UK.

• Obtain a Medical Degree: Obtain a Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS), or equivalent degree. Degree programs last five to six years, with an additional year of schooling if you wish to become a specialist.
• Finish Foundation Training: After medical school, spend two years (FY1 and FY2) on Foundation Training rotations in various specialties, getting experience in different clinical services.
• Apply for GP Specialty Training: After completing Foundation Training, apply for GP Specialty Training. This three-year training program focuses on the skills and knowledge needed to practise as a general practitioner.
• Pass the MRCGP Exam: The Membership of the Royal College of General Practitioners (MRCGP) exam is required for practising as a qualified GP in the U.K. The MRCGP is a three-part exam that assesses a GP’s knowledge, clinical skills, and performance in primary care.
• Register with the GMC: After you pass the MRCGP and complete your GP training, you can now register with the General Medical Council (GMC) and receive your Certificate of Completion of Training (CCT), which allows you to be a fully independent GP
• Continue Professional Development: After becoming a GP, continue professional development through regular training courses, workshops, and seminars. This will help you keep abreast of the latest medical research, treatments, and technologies.

Get Qualified as a GP

Essential Skills for Child Care Practitioners, Advanced Holistic Wellness Practitioner Certification, Mental Health Practice Law and Ethics, Legal Training in Mental Health Practices

Frequently Asked Questions

Why Should You Become a GP?

Becoming a GP is an advantageous path to help people, providing an excellent long-term career opportunity for all medical graduates with clinical, sociable, and patient-centric skills. The role of aGP is to provide person-centred healthcare through a long-term, trusting relationship with patients. This involves managing generalist clinical work and surgical procedures and having the option to achieve expertise in general paediatrics, adolescent medicine, mental health, sports medicine, addiction medicine, sexual health, and women’s health.

Is Being a GP a Good Career Choice for You?

If you like to work with a wide variety of medical problems, like communicating with and helping people, and want to be a central cog in patient care, then perhaps you should think about becoming a GP. GPs provide holistic care to a wide variety of patients and have control over how they spend their time.

GP Salaries

GP salaries vary in the U.K. depending on your experience level, location, and whether you’re a salaried GP, a partner in a practice, or a locum GP. Brand new GPs can earn £60,000-£70,000 per year, and senior GPs and partners can earn £90,000 per year or more.

Which Qualifications Can Help with a Career as a General Practitioner?

To become a GP in the U.K., you must pass the MRCGP qualification. However, if you want to specialise further, you can work towards becoming an expert in women’s health, sports medicine, or geriatrics, to name just a few.

Do I Need Experience to Get Started as a GP?

Yes, you will need lots of medical training to become a GP. You will need to complete your medical degree and then do two years of foundation training and then three years of GP specialty training.

General Practitioner Career Outlook

The demand for GPs will remain strong, mainly due to an increasing emphasis on preventative care and managing long-term conditions. As the population ages and patient needs grow, GPs will continue to be pivotal in providing primary care services. Good prospects are predicted for GPs, with opportunities stable and career development set to continue.

GP Hierarchy and Progressing Within the Role

Most GPs begin as salaried doctors who progress to become senior partners or practice managers. Some GPs start to specialise in areas such as paediatrics, geriatrics, or sports medicine where further career opportunities may develop. More experienced GPs can become leaders within medical organisations or lecturers at universities.

GP Exit Options and Opportunities

Some GPs might then go into medical research or teaching in public health. Others may find roles in the health administration or leadership track in the NHS or the private healthcare sector. With their broad range of medical knowledge, GPs can also go overseas to work with international NGOs or in global health.