Are millennial GPs shunning full time working?
BMJ 2017; 357 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.j3059 (Published 27 June 2017) Cite this as: BMJ 2017;357:j3059
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Dear Ms. Gulland,
I am rather disappointed by the attitude of so called modern GPs who have opted out to work as GPs for 3 days and rest of the time they have chosen to do Research, Teach, do Administration, committee work and remain in perpetual adolescence and not reaching anywhere as they are scared to make contact with patients. They look on people like me who have spent time and did all these phases of things to mature into a proper mature medical professional to look after the ill and infirm of our society. I finally ended up in Hospital service but I metamorphosed through the adolescent stages this young generation of today are going through. Will they ever grow up and face the patient finally? Not long ago one of our Late Geriatricians taught her colleagues how to introduce oneself to the patients rather than watch them from a distance as if these patients were something alien to the medical profession. We were at the top of the list preferred by society as the Trustworthy. I think by the time the present generation of doctors grow up in dimensions they will have lost the GP Practices in the NHS to go to. At present, Senior Partners are leaving in thousands because of stress of the working contracts which Hunt is forcing on NHS. What is the Evidence Based Medicine? It is a big question, I ask? Each patient is an individual!
Yours Truly,
Hem Laljee PhD, FRCPE
Competing interests: No competing interests
I am a millennial, and my personal experience is that many of us do want to work part time or look for better conditions abroad, and I am not ashamed about it.
We have accrued massive debts getting through medical school (remember the £9,000 per year fees may be only part of the debt - we also have to eat and pay for somewhere to live). We then have to pay for our housing from day 1 as a doctor, since free accommodation for 'house officers' was scrapped. Therefore, while committed to the NHS at a deep, emotional level, we do not owe the system anything. The government has turned university education into a commodity to be bought and sold, so why shouldn't young doctors take their commodity (ie their qualified selves) to wherever it will earn most.
Another factor to consider is the general financial climate we live in. Houses are now seen as a safe investment for the rich, and as an engine to keep 'economic growth' moving. For millennials, prices are ridiculously out of reach. I simply cannot aspire to the Victorian vicarage with large garden that my seniors own. While it may have been worth working full time and doing private work on top to live in a lovely house and send your kids to a posh school, why should I bother when all I will get is a slightly larger semi.
It's a shame to talk about money, and obviously it's not the main reason we go to work. I am also vulnerable to be accused of being a snob; 'is a semi not good enough for you?'. And it's also counter intuitive to complain about the money and then want to work less, but if you are forced to batter your head against a generational glass ceiling to simply get on the housing ladder, then why hurt your head? Why not just work part time and live in the present?
Competing interests: No competing interests
Millenial GPs: what they’re doing when they’re not with patients: the heart of the matter is to treat doctors fairly and reasonably.
I have read the article of Anna Gulland and personal view of Stephen Bradley with interest.
Frankly whether it is doctors of Primary Care or Secondary Care i.e. GPs or consultants the same principles of work-life balance and professional attitude and expectation apply. Doctors are facing increasing demands not only of the clinical workload but also of that of governance and regulation. Doctors are also human beings who are fathers, mothers, sons and daughters in addition they have a life with the right to live and enjoy just like other people and professionals.
The more they are assisted and supported in their workplace and whatever they are asked to do should be of reasonable expectation and not purely dictated by the management rules ,performance figures and targets .Finally and most importantly they must be genuinely appreciated , explicitly valued and effectively rewarded when they deliver a good service. The worst thing that can happen is to have a medical workforce, which central to the delivery of healthcare , and is of low morale (1).
1. Al-Wali W.If NHS staff aren’t cared for they can’t care for patients.Soeffective strategies are are needed to raise staff morale.BMJ 2016;354:i4690.
Competing interests: No competing interests