General Practitioner with a Special
Interest
Many of our Newly
Qualified Members are GPs with special interests
There are lots of changes in the
accreditation for GPs with any special interests. Please refer to
the department of health website guidance for the most up to date
advice.
The past
- Nothing structured
- No official title/training
- No minimal standards
- ‘GP with a Special Interest’ can be a misnomer
The present
- Still no minimal standards
- Depends on speciality and location
- Anyone can apply for GPwSI jobs
- Dedicated GP’s have formalised their training and work in
supervised clinics to build up experience
The future
- Changing times in General Practice & NHS
- Formal accreditation
- Nationally agreed frameworks
- Managed locally by Primary Care Organizations (in England:
PCTs)
Structured training:
This should entail the following
1) Qualification
2) Supervision
3) Appraisal
Structured GPwSI service
Consider the following with the service
1) Location
2) Skills mix
3) Equipment
4) Admin support
Opportunities
- Dermatology
- Minor Surgery
- ENT
- Ophthalmology
- Substance Misuse
- Diabetes
- Rheumatology
- Cardiology
- Respiratory
- Endoscopy
- Many others are cropping up according to local need
Qualifications
- Nothing yet set in stone but keep on the look out at the DoH
website
- Focus on quality
- Diplomas
- Masters
- Guidance from Royal Colleges & Primary Care Societies
- Consultant Supervised Clinics
- Mentors
- Medical Defence
- Audit, PDP, Appraisal
The advantages
- Patients welcome local services
- Potential savings for PCTs
- Clinical skills
- Quality
- Personal development
- Prevents burnout
- Can be lucrative
The disadvantages
- Generalist vs specialist debate
- Can be isolating
- Responsibility
- Pressure
- Time-consuming
- Workload
- May not reduce hospital waiting times or be more
cost-effective