May's free article
A Snapshot of general practice in Europe
Amidst all the hard work and concentration required while
training to be a GP in the UK, we rarely get the chance to think
about how our colleagues in Europe are faring, or, indeed, how they
qualify to become a GP. This gap in knowledge was filled by a lucky
group of us who participated in an excellent exchange programme in
the Netherlands organised by the hospitable Dutch
trainees.
The aim of the visit was to assemble nearly 40 aspiring or newly
qualified GPs from all over Europe to participate in a busy
educational programme while staying with a Dutch trainee. This
allowed us to learn from each other about general practice in other
countries, while also giving us a special insight into the Dutch
system.
Training in the Netherlands consists of 2 years at a general
practice, fulfilling a role similar to the GP registrar, and a year
of posts in acute medicine, general medicine, and psychiatry. It
was interesting to note the obvious importance of communication
skills in the Dutch training, much the same as in ours.
Multidisciplinary involvement also plays a major role, and our
lasting impression was of the similarities between the Dutch and
the UK medical systems.
As well as spending time at a general practice, we attended the
weekly education day for trainee GPs at the local university; here,
time is spent discussing guidelines, difficult cases encountered
that week, and general issues around training. That particular week
there was an opportunity for us all to explain how general practice
training worked in our respective countries, including any problems
and how people were striving to overcome them. The German and
Italian trainees were notable in their current enthusiasm for
setting up organisations and events for their trainees, as until
now there has been little central focus for aspiring GPs during
their training. The Portuguese trainees defended the fact that
their system still had a single named GP to care for a patient and
his or her family, arguing that this was the essence of being a
‘family doctor’. The Greek trainee was impressed by the
computerised records we have available in the UK and in the
Netherlands.
With regards to consultation length, most trainees were envious
to hear that the Swedish have a minimum of 15 minutes per patient
and up to 1 hour for mental health issues. However, Croatian and
Slovenian GPs see up to 60 patients per day. It was also
interesting to learn that Dutch GP trainees now have the
opportunity to complete a 6-year combined PhD and vocational
training scheme. Although there are still only 40 posts like these
available in the Netherlands, already around 20% of their recent
international publications have come from trainees in these
posts.
The exchange was a great success, both educationally and also in
helping to build professional and social links between European GP
trainees. There are, in fact, other formal opportunities to become
involved in such ventures, which have perhaps eluded UK trainees
for too long. There is a programme called Hippokrates,1
which arranges exchanges between foreign GPs and can hopefully be
developed further in the UK. There is also, of course, the annual
Wonca Europe conference, which this year takes place in Basel,
Switzerland.2 Attached to Wonca is the Vasco da Gama
Movement3 that aims to develop links among aspiring and
newly-qualified trainees across Europe. The Vasco da Gama Movement
has the specific aims of improving training, research and
opportunities for exchange during GP training and the first 5 years
of qualification.
In summary, the possibilities for more European involvement by
UK trainees are growing, and rightly so; the success of the Dutch
exchange highlights the huge benefits to be gained from
participation in such schemes.
Nicolle Green, Moontarin Ansar and Luisa
Pettigrew
References
1. EURACT. Hippokrates
programme. http://www.euract.org/page02c.html
(accessed 14 Apr 2009).
2. Wonca Europe 2009 conference.
http://www.congress-info.ch/wonca2009/index.php?id1=1&id2=26&l=1
(accessed 14 Apr 2009).
3. Vasco da Gama Movement. The WONCA Europe Working Group for
Young and Future General Practitioners. http://www.woncaeurope.org/Vasco%20da%20Gama%20Movement.htm
(accessed 14 Apr 2009).
For further information, please contact:
international@rcgp.org.uk
You may also find the following website useful:
http://www.globalfamilydoctor.com
DOI: 10.3399/bjgp09X420716
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