General Practitioner (GP)
DESCRIPTION
General practitioners, or GPs, provide primary and continuing medical care for patients. They take account of physical, emotional and social factors when diagnosing illness and recommending the required treatment. Patients may be referred to hospital clinics for further assessment and/or treatment.
GPs may run specialist clinics within the practice for patients with specific conditions. They increasingly work as part of a team alongside other healthcare professionals, including community health doctors, to discuss care options for patients and their families and help patients to take responsibility for their own health.
GPs who are partners in a practice are also responsible for the running of the practice, which involves a range of administrative activities, such as employing staff, managing contracts and working within strict budgets.
PERSONALREQUIREMENTS
To be a successful General Practitioner, the following personal requirements or traits are important;
SKILLS
The key skills of a General Practitioner include;
DUTIES
The duties of a General Practitioner include;
WORK ENVIRONMENT
Medical practitioners are involved in a wide range of activities including consultations, attending emergencies, performing operations and arranging medical investigations. In caring for patients, medical practitioners work with many other health professionals. They may also participate in and undertake research. Medical practitioners sometimes have to deal with unpleasant conditions due to a patient's illness or injury. Adopting strict hygiene practices is important.
QUALIFICATIONS
The qualifications required to become a General Practitioner include;
UNIVERSITY
To become a General Practitioner, the necessary courses (Bachelor of Science/Bachelor of Biomedicine, followed by Doctor of Medicine) can be studied at the following universities;
PRE-REQUISITES
The pre-requisites required will vary between universities, however, generally include;
PAY SCALES
A General Practitioner could expect to earn an annual salary of anything from AU$53,636 to AU$277,851, with the median being AU$118,992.
HOURS OF WORK
Depending on their area of specialisation, medical practitioners may have to work long, demanding and irregular hours. This may include working on weekends and at night or being on call 24 hours a day.
SPECIALISATIONS
Among others, these are a few specialisations of General Practitioners;
General practitioners, or GPs, provide primary and continuing medical care for patients. They take account of physical, emotional and social factors when diagnosing illness and recommending the required treatment. Patients may be referred to hospital clinics for further assessment and/or treatment.
GPs may run specialist clinics within the practice for patients with specific conditions. They increasingly work as part of a team alongside other healthcare professionals, including community health doctors, to discuss care options for patients and their families and help patients to take responsibility for their own health.
GPs who are partners in a practice are also responsible for the running of the practice, which involves a range of administrative activities, such as employing staff, managing contracts and working within strict budgets.
PERSONALREQUIREMENTS
To be a successful General Practitioner, the following personal requirements or traits are important;
- Good Communication Skills
- Self-Confidence
- Conscientiousness
- Ability to Relate to People
- Compassionate Towards Others
- Enjoy Working with People
- High Degree of Motivation & Self-Discipline
SKILLS
The key skills of a General Practitioner include;
- ability to work long hours, often under pressure
- good practical skills
- ability to solve problems
- effective decision-making skills.
DUTIES
The duties of a General Practitioner include;
- Responding to medical/health problems presented by patients including history taking, diagnosis, investigation, treatment and referral as appropriate;
- Maintaining confidentiality and impartiality;
- Commissioning healthcare by liaising with medical professionals in the community and hospitals;
- Promoting health education in conjunction with other health professionals;
- Organising preventative medical programmes for individual patients;
- Providing specialist clinics for specific conditions or for certain groups, e.g. diabetes, smoking cessation and new babies;
- Meeting targets set by the government for specific treatments, such as child immunisations;
- Discussing the development of new pharmaceutical products with pharmaceutical sales representatives;
- Managing resources to service targets as effectively as possible, for example, using Choose and Book, the national electronic referral service;
- Using IT skills - some practices have one partner who specialises in the use of IT within the practice but all will be expected to have basic abilities for work such as maintaining patients' records using specific packages;
- Keeping up to date with medical developments, new drugs, treatments and medications, including complementary medicine;
- Observing and assessing the work of trainee GPs and medical students and teaching at medical schools or hospitals;
- Maintaining a portfolio of continuing professional development (CPD) activities.
WORK ENVIRONMENT
Medical practitioners are involved in a wide range of activities including consultations, attending emergencies, performing operations and arranging medical investigations. In caring for patients, medical practitioners work with many other health professionals. They may also participate in and undertake research. Medical practitioners sometimes have to deal with unpleasant conditions due to a patient's illness or injury. Adopting strict hygiene practices is important.
QUALIFICATIONS
The qualifications required to become a General Practitioner include;
- Degree in Medicine (2 years)
- Foundation programme of general training (2 years)
- Specialist training in general practice
UNIVERSITY
To become a General Practitioner, the necessary courses (Bachelor of Science/Bachelor of Biomedicine, followed by Doctor of Medicine) can be studied at the following universities;
- Deakin University Australia;
- Monash University;
- The University of Melbourne;
PRE-REQUISITES
The pre-requisites required will vary between universities, however, generally include;
- Study Score of at least 25 in English/English Language/Literature or at least 30 in ESL
- Study Score of at least 25 in Chemistry
- Study Score of at least 25 in Mathematical Methods or Specialist Maths
PAY SCALES
A General Practitioner could expect to earn an annual salary of anything from AU$53,636 to AU$277,851, with the median being AU$118,992.
HOURS OF WORK
Depending on their area of specialisation, medical practitioners may have to work long, demanding and irregular hours. This may include working on weekends and at night or being on call 24 hours a day.
SPECIALISATIONS
Among others, these are a few specialisations of General Practitioners;
- Intensive Care Specialist
- Ophthalmologist
- Obstetrician/Gynaecologist
- Physician
- Psychiatrist
- Sports Doctor
- Emergency Medicine Specialist
- Surgeon
- Neurologist
- Paediatrician
- Radiologist
- Pathologist
- Anaesthetist