Definition of a GP with Extended Role (GPwER)
The RCGP defines a GP with Extended Role (GPwER) as a GP with a UK licence to practise, who is maintaining a primary care medical role while undertaking an activity that is beyond the scope of general practice and requires further training. A GPwER is not simply a ‘mini-secondary care specialist’ who has taken a different route to specialty practice. Extended roles are typically undertaken within a contract or setting that distinguishes them from standard general practice and may involve an activity offered for a fee outside the care provided to the registered practice population. GPwERs often receive referrals for assessment and treatment from outside their immediate practice and undertake work that attracts an additional or separate medical indemnity fee.
Examples of a GP with Extended Role
There are many GP clinical extended roles and often local variation in roles to meet specific population needs. For some roles, the RCGP has developed a framework to offer a benchmark of best practice, as well as make recommendations for professional development and further progression. The generic principles described here apply to all GP extended roles.
The GPwER as a generalist
For a GP to describe themselves as a GPwER, their clinical activity in general practice should be maintained. One key distinction between a GPwER and a doctor in a non-GP specialty is that a GPwER’s management of the patient extends beyond the medical model, and as a GP they bring important additional skills in practising holistically and dealing with complexity and uncertainty to these roles.