Specialising in General Practice

[bazz]

becoming a gp

do you know how long the really long working hours last

also i wanna know:
from the start of uni, what is the process to becoming a Gp or specialising, like when uni finishes what do you do? then how much more do you need to study to become a gp or specialise?

 

[looroo]

umm well I'm only a first year, so I have limited knowledge, but I think that if you want to specialise after uni, the pathway is something like: intern --> resident doctor --> registra --> consultant
but that's put very simply, in reality it takes a lot of years and there are so many variations in pathways when it comes to specialising.
During that time from intern to registra, you apply for (and if you are lucky enough get into) stuff like basic surgical training and then advanced surgical training if you want to specialise in a surgical specialisation or physician training if you want to be a physician in a specialisation.

 

[vodkacrumble]

someone can correct me, but i'm pretty sure it's a bit of a quicker pathway to become a GP - but that really only means that instead of 20 years from uni to specialist, it might be 18.

and just to be picky, it's spelled 'registrar'

 

[nub]

Originally posted by vodkacrumble@Apr 22 2006, 06:34 PM
someone can correct me, but i'm pretty sure it's a bit of a quicker pathway to become a GP - but that really only means that instead of 20 years from uni to specialist, it might be 18.

and just to be picky, it's spelled 'registrar'

[snapback]6796[/snapback]​

20 years?!
For a GP I believe it is something like this:
4-6 years uni
2 years postgrad
3 years training
thats between 9 and 11 years.

 

[bazz]

im confused, is it 9 years or 20 years?
working hours can be crazy for that many years , can they

 

[devraga]

6 years of med school --> intern (1 yr) --> technically can get into gp training program, or assume takes 1 more year of residency --> then about 2-4 years to become gp.

quickest - 9 years, latest - 11 years.

 

[vodkacrumble]

haha, sorry! i was being stupid saying 20, just trying to make a comment about how long it takes to actually get there when you do med

work hours are always crazy, cos you'll have to do a lot of (unpaid) overtime while you're still doing the hospital based training.
at work the interns & regs are often hanging around until 8pm (start at 7/8am) and coming in on weekends + they're doing on-call work. i mean, they can go home on time but then they just end up leaving work that will either need to be tidied up by the on-call dr (much to the crankiness of them and the nurses) or they will have to do it the next day, on top of everything else.

oh, and often i see the interns doing a normal day shift and then doing an evening shift (working over 3/4 wards) - then they come in the next day for their regular shift.

they're all crazy.

why do i want to do med, anyway? gah!

 

[devraga]

i think the number of work hours as a training doctor is about 100 hrs a fortnight.

i find that med students and some junior doctors often exaggerate.

even working 100-120 hrs per fortnight is perhaps a lot, but there are plenty of other professions who do the same or more...and get paid far less..

my friend who grad at rmit doing computer engineering is working shit loads at a multinational...like 14 hr days...

 

[chinaski]

Originally posted by rajad@Apr 22 2006, 08:30 AM
i think the number of work hours as a training doctor is about 100 hrs a fortnight.

i find that med students and some junior doctors often exaggerate.

[snapback]6804[/snapback]​

90-100 hours a fortnight is what you're expected to do before overtime as a JMO - essentially you're there from 8 till 5ish. Surgical terms are a bit more than that (earlier starts, later finishes). It's the unrostered overtime added to the mandatory rostered stuff that packs on the hours to that basic figure. I don't think junior doctors exaggerate so much as people from the outside get a mixed picture from talking to different JMOs. A JMO on a nice cruisy term will do a bare minimum of hours, and always leave for home on time, whereas colleague on a very busy surgical term will often work several hours longer each day than he. Chat to the interns on the cruisy terms and you'll start getting the impression that the poor buggers on the cruddy busy terms are just a bunch of exaggerating masochists.

RE GP training: the earliest you can enter GP training is PGY2, although most take longer to get onto the program (ie post PGY3 or 4) given that they have to fulfill mandatory requirements prior to that (eg formal Paeds and O&G terms in the hospital system). Also, don't discount training taking more than the bare minimum assumption - many people don't pass their exams the first time round. Ditto other College training - basic physican training takes 36 months, but that is assuming you pass the written and vivas after your first go - obviously, with a 50% fail rate, there are a fair few out there that have several attempts before they go onto advanced training.

 

[devraga]

even if u do work 150hrs a fortnight, then if u get paid to do so - and appropriately, then i guess its much better than plenty of salaried jobs which require similar hrs for less pay...

 

[chinaski]

Originally posted by rajad@Apr 22 2006, 10:10 AM
even if u do work 150hrs a fortnight, then if u get paid to do so - and appropriately, then i guess its much better than plenty of salaried jobs which require similar hrs for less pay...

[snapback]6807[/snapback]​

...And alternatively, there are jobs that pay more for working less. Essentially, it boils down to what you think you're worth. I've got nine years of tertiary education, have sacrificed a lot to get to where I am, and I work in a field in which I am responsible for the well being of others on a daily basis. I personally think that's worth more than $27 an hour. Fortunately for me, I realised before I started medicine that if I wanted to make lots of cash, there were much easier ways of doing it than this - it's not about the cash for me (personally I'm making a comfortable living from what I do), IMO, the bigger issue is about the time my job takes away from my private life.

 

[dr mal occlusion]

Originally posted by chinaski@Apr 22 2006, 06:19 PM
...And alternatively, there are jobs that pay more for working less. Essentially, it boils down to what you think you're worth. I've got nine years of tertiary education, have sacrificed a lot to get to where I am, and I work in a field in which I am responsible for the well being of others on a daily basis. I personally think that's worth more than $27 an hour. Fortunately for me, I realised before I started medicine that if I wanted to make lots of cash, there were much easier ways of doing it than this - it's not about the cash for me (personally I'm making a comfortable living from what I do), IMO, the bigger issue is about the time my job takes away from my private life.

[snapback]6809[/snapback]​

Yeah, you know its funny how so many high school/med students think that once you're through med school you're home and hosed. But its just the beginning. If you thought med entry was tough wait till you try for entry to one of the competitive specialities. On top of working the 60 odd hours a week, studying to keep on top of your game, putting in a pristine clinical performance whenever the registrar/consultant is hovering around, the onus is on you to somehow find the time to do research and get articles published in journals :angry:

And you know who suffers in the end? The poor, lonesome boyfriend....*sob* who hardly gets to see his beloved. Alack, Chinaski I hear you about how it takes away from your private life....but lol if he's anything like me he'll get over it. He'll get used to sharing you with hospital. And, you know, you won't have trouble finding doctors who'll still tell you they wouldn't swap it for the world. And at the end of the day, that is what counts.

 

[bazz]

also however, i read in my job guide that you have 1 year of internship, but i read in the UAc guide that you have 2. which is it.
also, does specialisation take longer than becoming a gp.
thanks 4 ur help

 

[bazz]

in addition to above, is overtime unpaid

 

[bazz]

also i heard med is easier than dent during uni

 

[devraga]

1. internship usually 1 year
2. overtime is paid in most cases
3. gp takes less time than "specialists"

 

[squid]

Hahahaha in some cases a GP is considered as a speciality in its own right

Its quite amazing that besides specialities there are also subspecialities popping up within specialities

 

[chinaski]

Originally posted by squid@Apr 23 2006, 01:38 AM
Hahahaha in some cases a GP is considered as a speciality in its own right 

[snapback]6834[/snapback]​

That's because general practice IS a specialty in its own right. Not so long ago, you didn't need to do any postgraduate training to become a GP - you could complete your internship, get a provider number and leave the hospital system and set up shop as a GP. Back then, it might have been fair to say GP was not a specialty. But now, given that general practice has its own College and post graduate training and requirements, it's just as legitimate to call GP a specialty as any other medical career that requires progression through post grad qualifications.

 

[iddybiddy]

Originally posted by chinaski@Apr 23 2006, 12:36 PM
That's because general practice IS a specialty in its own right. Not so long ago, you didn't need to do any postgraduate training to become a GP - you could complete your internship, get a provider number and leave the hospital system and set up shop as a GP. Back then, it might have been fair to say GP was not a specialty. But now, given that general practice has its own College and post graduate training and requirements, it's just as legitimate to call GP a specialty as any other medical career that requires progression through post grad qualifications.

[snapback]6840[/snapback]​

Yeah, getting to be a GP is generally 'quicker' than the other specialities.

As for working hours, it really depends on where you work. When we lived in NZ my dad worked at a place owned basically the government (ie, it was a primary health care institute.. i think thats what they're called anyway) and he worked from 8am - 4 or 5pm at the latest. Now, he's working at a privately owned practice and he's putting in hours from 8am - to as late as 8pm. Although, incidentally, he's getting paid more here.. lol but I think on average, Australia pays GPs more than NZ - judging from what my Dad's been saying.

My dad also has to go in for weekend shifts every 3 or so weeks - pretty much the same as in NZ. On weekend shifts, the hours are from around 8am - 12 or 1pm.

But keep in mind, working hours may vary slightly depending on where you work and for whom.

Hope that helped!

 

[devraga]

Originally posted by chinaski@Apr 23 2006, 01:36 PM
That's because general practice IS a specialty in its own right. Not so long ago, you didn't need to do any postgraduate training to become a GP - you could complete your internship, get a provider number and leave the hospital system and set up shop as a GP. Back then, it might have been fair to say GP was not a specialty. But now, given that general practice has its own College and post graduate training and requirements, it's just as legitimate to call GP a specialty as any other medical career that requires progression through post grad qualifications.

[snapback]6840[/snapback]​

i'm glad for the current system instead of the previous system....

i am in 6th year...i cant imagine myself as a gp in 2 years.........i'd be so screwed.....

here's how my facial expression would be like.. and inside my head would be like :blink: and when the lawyers come i'd be like: :unsure: and when the judge has his say id be like , when i'm in prison i'd be like :angry: and when they diagnose my mental health and medicate me .... id be like