The GP workforce pipeline: increasing the flow and plugging the leaks.

Abstract

The 2017 annual meeting of the Society for Academic Primary Care included a workshop for participants with an interest in recruitment and retention of GPs. This article presents emergent themes following presentations about factors affecting the attractiveness of GP work at three stages: 1) during medical school; 2) when choosing a specialty; and 3) retaining experienced GPs until normal retirement age. Attendees encompassed 15 UK medical schools. Many were involved in undergraduate and postgraduate teaching, some with leading educational roles, some involved in admissions and career support, and also GPs, researchers, and students. ### ‘Career’: ‘a journey through life and work’ Career decisions are an ongoing process, a continuum alongside vocational maturation.1 This article separately considers issues raised in presentations and by workshop participants as they affect medical schools, Foundation Training, and experienced GPs. Health Education England (HEE) commissioned a taskforce to investigate how students’ experiences during undergraduate training influenced their views of a GP career.2 Recent BJGP editorials and published recommendations to improve recruitment to GP training programmes were discussed.3,4 Workshop participants discussed four of the recommendations applying to medical schools: ### Participating in medical school selection procedures Admissions procedures define the future workforce and need to facilitate ‘appointing appropriate applicants’. Despite stating that ‘... [a] ll medical schools must ensure that General Practitioners contribute significantly in all selection processes.’ ,2 delegates confirmed that this currently varies across UK medical schools. ### Tackling the ‘hidden curriculum’ and encourage mutual professional respect The effects of undermining general practice as a career have been demonstrated5 and remain problematic.6 Addressing ‘all doctors whether in primary care or secondary care’ , the recommendation is to ‘take personal responsibility to create caring mutual respect in the clinical environment’ .2 ### Encouraging role models and near-peer support The …