GP AUSTRALIA

Whether you are the type of person who likes to be involved in many different things at once, focus on something specific, or progressively explore new areas, being a GP can meet your needs.

One of the great advantages of general practice is its flexibility and broad base of medical knowledge and experience. This makes it easy to combine being a GP with other roles that extend the use of your medical skills, or build a strength of knowledge and expertise in a particular area of primary care.

• Get involved research
• Work in a specialist primary care clinic as well as your primary practice
• Be a reservist with the armed forces
• Be involved in training future GPs
• Become an organisation’s doctor – sporting, theatre… the possibilities are endless

More and more doctors who choose to specialise in general practice for its challenges and rewards, are also taking advantage of its ability to accommodate working in a couple of different roles and managing different stages of family life.

‘I work in a seven doctor practice… I do some casual lecturing at Monash Uni and I’m a medical educator with a registrar program. I’m also involved in medical politics. From registrar liaison, I’m now the registrar nominee Director of the Board of GPs who oversee GP training.

Last year I worked three days a week, Sally worked four days a week and our daughter had one day of child care. This year I’m four and a half days while she’s on maternity leave and we can chop and change that a bit if we need to.’

DR STUART ANDERSON