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Not long before I joined the practice in 1985, it
consisted of 3 GPs and 4 secretary/receptionists.
The district nurse came in to help with dressings.
Compare this with the present day - we now have a
total of 21 doctors, nurses and staff looking after
our 6,700 patients.
Being a GP is hard work. There's been a massive
increase in workload for the practice over the last
15 years. Without the practice team, we simply
wouldn't be able to cope.
The GPs
I work with two super partners, two GP assistants
and a GP Registrar.
I've heard some GPs say that the relationship with
your GP partners is more important than the
relationship with your spouse. While I wouldn't
quite go that far, it's vitally important to have a
good working relationship with your colleagues in
the practice. I know that I can trust mine to give
excellent medical care, be conscientious and be
really good friends. If I'm overworked or off sick,
I know they will step in to help out - and vice
versa.
GP Registrars have a special place in the practice -
they're supernumerary, so they can take full
advantage of teaching opportunities, but they soon
become an important and valued part of the practice
team. We always miss them when they finish their
year at the practice. You can find out more about
training at Hope House at here.
The practice manager
Practice Managers are the unsung heroes (in fact,
usually heroines) of general practice. They are
employed by the partners to run the practice - and
organise us - so that we can get on with seeing
patients. It's a hugely complex job, which ours does
fantastically well: I don't know how she keeps on
top of it, but she does it with aplomb.
The practice nurses
"Skill mix" is important here, so these range from
our healthcare assistant (phlebotomist, ECG
technician, chaperone...) to our nurse practitioner
(who runs her own minor illness sessions and is able
to prescribe).
Between them they run a lot of clinics: asthma,
diabetes, COPD, epilepsy, ischaemic heart disease,
contraception, stop-smoking...
So, the days when nurses were "doctor's handmaidens"
are long gone, and now they manage their own
workload.
The receptionists and secretaries
This is a really complex job. They manage to keep
cheerful and efficient however busy it is. I do
admire them.
The "attached" staff
We have a close working relationship with our health
visitors, district nurses and midwives. They all
work in the surgery for at least some of the day, so
we can easily ask for advice and discuss our
patients.
So, what's the down side?
Umm, I can't think of one here.
Written by: Michael Harris
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on:
26 January 2008
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