Doctors can be involved in the media in many
different ways. Medico-journalism can involve writing columns
for medical or non-medical papers; others appear on
television or radio to discuss clinical topics or
politics affecting their field; some act as medical advisers
for fictional programmes. Television appearances are not for
the faint-hearted!
College member, Dr Jarvis, is a GP with regular slots on Radio
2 programmes, television and Good Housekeeping magazine amongst
others.
What made you decide to become a
GP?
I’ve wanted to be a GP since I was 8 years old! I
love the holistic approach and the sense of being part of the
community in which I work
What are your current roles? Please
list.
- I have been a GP trainer for 11 years, training other doctors
GP vocational training
- I am the Women’s Health spokesperson for the RCGP, answering
press queries on behalf of the RCGP relating to women’s health
- I am the radio 2 doctor with a regular 1 hour phone in show on
radio 2
- I am the doctor to Good Housekeeping and Pregnancy magazines,
with columns answering readers’ queries
- I appear regularly on a health slot on The Wright Stuff on
Channel 5
- I appear occasionally on ITN lunchtime news, radio 5, GMTV, BBC
breakfast news, Sky news and BBC news 24
- I respond to press queries on many subjects relating to primary
care on behalf of the RCGP
- I am the women’s Health tutor for the RCGP/University of Bath
distance learning package
- I have published 4 books (A younger woman’s D-I-Y guide to
health, Diabetes for Dummies, Pregnancy for Dummies and Children’s
Health for Dummies) and am researching a book on the ethics of
dying, which I am co-authoring with John Humphrys
What other roles have you had (in
general practice and beyond)?
- I was the GP trainee representative on the Council of the RCGP
from 1989-1991
- I was a founder member of, and later chair of, the Women’s
Taskforce at the RCGP, looking at issues relating to female
GPs
- From 1996-2004 I was the ITN lunchtime news doctor, appearing
about once a week on ITN news in response to medical stories
How many hours would you say are in
your average working week?
About 55
How do you spend those
hours?
|
Activity
|
Time as (rough) percentage or
expressed in hours
|
|
Seeing patients in surgery
|
20
|
|
Seeing patient in home visits
|
4
|
|
Seeing patients out of hours
|
0
|
|
Team meetings
|
2
|
|
Doing paperwork
|
3
|
|
Teaching / Training
|
5
|
|
Continuing Professional Development
|
Almost all my CPD needs are accounted for in
my medical journalism work
|
|
RCGP Activities (please specify)
|
2 (see above)
|
|
Medico-Journalism
|
15 (see below for how divided)
|
|
Writing for publications
|
5
|
|
Doing research
|
5
|
|
Public Speaking
|
8
|
|
Telephone consultation
|
2
|
Do you have any special clinical
interests?
CVD ad diabetes, women’s health
What is your involvement with the
College (if any)?
See above.
I have also represented RCGP on a number of
other committees including workforce subcommittee, Improving
Working Lives Committee, JCPTGP etc
Are you involved in any other
professional organisations or committees?
From
1993-2003 I was a member of the medical Practices committee, which
until this time determined GP workforce in England and Wales
What has been your career high point
so far? / What do you enjoy most about general
practice?
Becoming a fellow of the Royal College of
GPs was a huge honour.
I love the ongoing contact with patients and
teasing out the psycho-social ‘hidden agendas’ which affect their
health
Low points? / What do you enjoy
least?
Bureaucracy and getting to grips with
ever-changing technology!
What three words would you use to
describe General Practice?
Rewarding, stimulating,
challenging
What do you know about general
practice now that you wish you had known when you
started?
What hard work it was when I was doing my
hospital jobs (in the late 1980s, all my jobs involved working for
at least 70 hours a week and for one year I worked for 110 hours a
week in Obs and Gynae/general medicine)
If you were making your career choice
now, what would you choose?
General practice – no
question!
Prison doctor | Police Surgeon | Football stadium doctor | GP
trainer | Armed Forces GP | GP with a Special
Interest | Roles within the College