Dr David Whillier, Kent
Dr David Whillier FRCGP has been a GP in Paddock Wood, Kent, since
1973. A GP trainer for 28 years, he has now taken on his
33rd registrar. A father and now a grandfather of four,
David is also an MRCGP examiner and has held other GP educational
and PCT appointments.
Having been made a Fellow of the College by
Nomination in 1993, David was awarded Fellowship by Assessment
after a year’s preparation alongside his daughter Vanessa, who is
one of the other five partners in the practice.
“I have reflected on my continued enthusiasm
for General Practice at a time when many of my peers are
considering retirement. No two days are the same and these new
situations provide regular opportunities for refining skills and
knowledge.
“Early in my career, I was fortunate to be
supported and encouraged by senior colleagues, within the practice
and outside – GPs & specialists. Undoubtedly many have acted as
role models, but I am also very grateful for their stimulus to my
early involvement in GP Training and the South East Thames Faculty
of the college. I have continued to seek out this sort of
professional relationship, and I think that my MRCGP examiner
colleagues have proved to be the most influential since 1990 –
although there have been many others. I hope I have been able to
influence some young doctors in the same way that I was.
“Although I was already a Fellow by
Nomination, I had wanted to prepare for the more rigorous
Fellowship by Assessment since its inception 16 years ago. Learning
it was about to cease after final submissions a year ago, I
suggested that Vanessa and I should prepare together. We thought it
would be useful for both of us to be able to take stock
professionally, at very different stages in our careers. It proved
a very valuable experience, not least because of the support from
the practice, and of course, my daughter. We identified and
utilised each other’s strengths over what seemed a formidable task.
It has enriched our relationship in a way that we hadn’t really
expected.
“During my career I’ve seen many changes in
NHS General Practice. We are now providing many services previously
only provided in hospital, we continue to explore the boundary
between primary and secondary care, we have become slicker with
more sophisticated use of the different members of our Primary
Health Care Teams, now very well supported by GP electronic
records. I think GPs have gained a greater understanding of their
role.
“However, I think the core of general practice
remains fairly constant – we use our skills and knowledge to help
our patients try to regain control of their bodies and their lives.
I still get a tremendous buzz when I see this happening. Mutual
trust between doctor and patient is as important now as it was when
I started.”