Doctor - GP
Provide medical care for people in the local community. Diagnose and treat illnesses, give health advice and run clinics.
Also known as: general practitioner
About the job
A day in the life – GP
What it's like
Looking for a medical career that'll put you at the heart of the community? As a General Practitioner (GP), you'll provide care, give health advice and run clinics.
As a GP, you'll be the first point of contact for patients. You'll either see them in your practice, visit them at home or talk to them on the phone. Your patients will trust you to quickly diagnose and treat their illnesses. It's your job to listen to each patient's problems and put them at ease.
You’ll ask the person questions about their health and do physical checks if necessary. You’ll make a diagnosis, explain the available options for treatment and decide what action to take.
Once you've met with your patient, you might arrange support from other health professionals. For example, you may refer someone to a physiotherapist if they've injured their ankle.
GPs also organise clinics and run health education classes for certain groups of patients. This means you'll work closely with pregnant women, smokers or people with diabetes.
Your tasks might include:
asking patients questions about their health and doing physical checks if necessary
diagnosing patients' illnesses and explaining the treatment options available to them
prescribing medication to patients who need it
referring patients to specialist consultants or other health professionals for further testing and diagnosis
carrying out minor surgery like cryotherapy or skin lesion removal
writing letters and reports and keeping records of patients' medical history
You could also run your own GP practice, either alone or in partnership with other GPs. Sometimes, you'll take further training to stay up to date and develop skills in specialist areas.
GPs generally work as part of a varied practice team. Your team members may include practice nurses, health visitors, midwives and counsellors. There'll also be administrative support staff.
Hours
You'll work between 40 and 50 hours per week in a full-time position. This'll include some evening and weekend work, depending on when your practice is open.
You may also be on a rota for out-of-hours emergency work.
Part-time hours are often available for GPs.
Environment
You'll work in a practice, where you'll likely have your own treatment room.
It's a fast-paced role as you'll see dozens of patients every day – each appointment will last around 10 minutes.
Travel
You'll spend some time making home visits.
If you work in a rural practice, you may have to travel long distances.
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Top skills
Skills are things you're good at. Whether you know what yours are or not, everyone has them!
It's useful to learn which ones are important in a job so you know the areas you need to brush up on. It can also help you work out if you're suited to a career.
Meta skills
Here are some of the meta skills you'll need to do this job.
- taking responsibility
- making decisions
- developing a plan
- social conscience
- empathising
- researching
- written communication
- verbal communication
- listening
- resilience
Your skills are important
Our unique skillsets are what make us stand out from the crowd. Learn about each skill in depth and discover what employers look for in your applications and interviews.
Getting in
Explore each section to find more information about getting into this career.
Colleges and universities will list subjects you'll need for entry to a course. Some useful subjects include:
Biology
Care
Chemistry
Human Biology
Foundation Apprenticeship: Social Services and Healthcare
You can get a head start in this career by doing a Foundation Apprenticeship in S5 and S6.
You'll get an SCQF level 6 qualification which is the same level as a Higher. You'll also learn new skills and gain valuable experience in a work environment.
Discover what's on offer at your school on Apprenticeships.scot.
To work as a GP in Scotland, you need five things.
1. A degree that's recognised by the General Medical Council.
2. A foundational course of general training – you'll do this after you graduate and it takes two years to complete.
3. GP speciality training – you'll spend three years working in hospitals and general practice settings.
4. Certificate of Completion of Training (CCT) – you'll be awarded your CCT in General Practice once you've finished your GP training.
5. A place on the General Medical Council's GP register – this'll allow you to start working as a GP in the United Kingdom.
University
You’ll need a degree or postgraduate qualification in medicine. Search medicine courses on My World of Work.
Remember, medical degrees have extremely high entry requirements. In addition, you'll likely need to sit both the UCAT Situational Judgement Test for Admission to Clinical Education (SJTace) and the Graduate Medical School Admissions Test (GAMSAT).
Some universities offer courses that include a 'pre-medical year'. These can be useful if you don't have the science-based Highers you need to apply for a medical degree.
Are you an adult who doesn't have the qualifications you need to go to university? You may be able to use the Scottish Widening Access Programme (SWAP) to kickstart your medical career.
College
Getting qualifications at college, such as an HNC or HND, could help you progress to more advanced study. Look out for Pathways to Medicine courses.
Entry to medical degrees is highly competitive, so you need to make your application stand out. Volunteering is a fantastic way to show your commitment to a career in healthcare. Search for opportunities on Volunteer Scotland.
You'll need to be approved for membership of the Protecting Vulnerable Groups (PVG) Scheme run by Disclosure Scotland.
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