The Good GP Training Guide - Softcover

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0850843480 ISBN 13: 9780850843484

Publisher: Royal College of General Practitioners, 2014

Synopsis

The Good GP Training Guide is a travel guide-style book for trainees in general practice. Written by over a hundred contributors assembled from five continents, it includes contributions from leading writers in primary care. It is written in an accessible style with down-to-earth tips and anecdotes, sometimes irreverent, from real life. There is an emphasis on the reality of general practice. It also contains humorous or touching vignettes with accompanying linocut artwork from the Red Roses exhibition. The book's first section covers hospital placements. It is intended to show trainees how to get the most out of their training posts. Beginning with basic information on behaviour required in the hospital setting, there are chapters looking at cardiology, ophthalmology, rheumatology, etc. These chapters are split up into handy lists, covering the basics, tips on patients and PDP pointers. The second section covers GP rotations. It gives information on passing the various RCGP exams as well as realistic advice on other facets of general practice. The third section looks at finding a job and making the transition to an independent practitioner. Options for broadening a doctor's career are looked here, with chapters on event medicine, academia, teaching, etc. There is information on how stay out of trouble and how to use social media safely and without running foul of the GMC. The book offers the ultimate guide to the training process. It covers the entire training experience and the practicalities of what comes after.

About this title

Review

This book rather undersells itself in its title. This extraordinary guide sets out to advise and mentor pilgrim trainees in their quest to reach GP nirvana. It has a far from dry prose and speaks from the heart providing sincere advice while trying to save the trainee from many an uncomfortable situation. The initial chapters discuss the philosophy behind the profession putting everything that we do into context. The section on tips about hospital rotations is incredibly useful. Not only does it warn you about the pitfalls to be wary of in 30 different hospital posts but, incredibly, even gives you personal development plan (PDP) ideas! So if you wondered what benefit a post in maxillofacial surgery or colorectal surgery was going to bring to you or were shaking in your shoes about your obstetric post, relax and get some first-hand advice from this book. Jeet Afzal Patel, review in British Journal of General Practice, October 2014, p526 There is practical advice on managing your e-portfolio, workplace-based assessments, exams, and much more. Having only recently completed training, I can vouch for the fact that following these tips will make for smooth sailing. If you have wondered what you were getting into or perhaps worried about what you might be missing from your career, this book will certainly hold your hand. There is a collection of lovely anecdotes dotted around the book practically illustrating what it is to be a GP by immersing you in thought or laughter!

About the Author

Matt Burkes, a former psychologist and bass player, went to medical school when he realised he would never be on Top of the Pops. He graduated from St George's Graduate Entry Programme in 2006 and moved to Chichester, West Sussex. His foundation and training jobs at St Richard's Hospital inspired him to create the 'Tips for Trainees' series, which continues to be published in the British Journal of General Practice. After a wonderful registrar year at Flansham Park Health Centre, he worked at Maywood Healthcare Centre in Bognor before landing up at Langley House Surgery in Chichester, where he works as a salaried GP. He is married with three children and is involved in a number of educational projects, both medical and non-medical. He enjoys the delicate art of hedgerow wine production and hopes to learn to sail. Alec Logan is a Glasgow graduate and a full-time GP in Wishaw, Lanarkshire, Scotland. He spent just enough time as a young doctor with the Royal Navy to open his mind. Then his deputy trainer showed him how to top and tail an onion. Such vision! At heart a frustrated journalist, Alec created Rocket as a West of Scotland Faculty newsletter, then hoolet for RCGP Scotland, then the Back Pages of the British Journal of General Practice, which he edited for almost 15 years. He sails when he can. Hebrides; enough said. Look to windward!

Edition details

• Publisher: Royal College of General Practitioners
• Publication date: 2014
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0850843480
• ISBN 13: 9780850843484
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 432
• Editor: Burkes Matt, Logan Alec