Dr Vanessa Whillier
Dr Vanessa Whillier FRCGP has been a GP Partner at Woodlands Health
Centre in Paddock Wood, Kent, for the past six years. A GP trainer,
she has recently been awarded Fellowship of the RCGP by assessment
alongside her father, who works at the same practice.
“I always wanted to be a GP. It helped that I
had an awareness of the speciality because of my father - I saw the
good bits of general practice, but went into it with my eyes
open.
“Family medicine really appealed to me because
of its breadth and diversity. It takes a long time to build
relationships and a rapport and I’m lucky that we still encourage a
personal list system in our practice. Continuity is the best part
of being a family doctor. It is a privilege to be able follow my
patients’ progress through good and not such good times.
“I’ve been a GP trainer for four years and
it’s something I very much enjoy. Training keeps you on your toes,
and is very rewarding. Even working in a good-sized practice, being
a family doctor can be isolating, but having a registrar with whom
you have daily contact and regular discussion is very stimulating.
I have also enjoyed working with the national WiPP initiative
(Working in Partnership Programme) to develop a toolkit for Health
Care Assistants in General Practice.
“Working towards Fellowship of the College
with my father was great, as he was a real support. Surprisingly,
we didn’t fall out once, even though it was very stressful at
times. As well as allowing us to reflect on our work and the
practice, it also brought us closer together in terms of our
working relationship.
“I’ve always looked up to my father because he
has had such a great career and is a fantastic GP. He’s never
made me feel anything else, but being awarded the Fellowship made
me feel that I was his equal, so it was a very positive experience
for me, both personally and professionally. I’m very proud to be
able to say that I’m a generalist.”