Posted by: Dr Richard Cook
29 September 2016What does beauty mean to you? Do you think of lavender fields basking in the Provence sun? Michelangelo’s ridiculously fantastic statue of David? The awe inspiring Taj Mahal? George Clooney maybe? Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, they say, so while my wife is obviously beautiful to me, you may well have different ideas (I doubt it though, she has asked me to add).
We are generalists, specialists in seeing anything that happens to come our way
What about medically? Are you able to appreciate beauty on a day-to-day basis through work as well? What could possibly be beautiful in your work life? ‘Here we have a beautiful example of a classic rosacea rash,’ where the rash itself may be beautiful, but the owner of the rash feels anything but. Or, worse still perhaps, a ‘beautiful example of a thrombosed external pile.’ Maybe one for the text books but not so attractive if you are the unfortunate owner of the afflicted anus.
I often ponder over what makes our job beautiful and there is no straightforward answer. Imagine being an ENT surgeon for example - spending your days peering in to nostrils or down a flexible scope, with never a chance of somebody suddenly presenting you with a nappy of green poo just because you ‘might want to see it’. Or what about working as a gynaecologist, thereby immediately restricting yourself to only ever treating half of the population and maybe the lasting feeling that you spent unnecessary hours studying scrotal anatomy for your finals?
Well we as GPs can have no such feelings. We diligently concentrated on the full curriculum at medical school and consequently are willing and able to see everybody that now comes to us. So far today I have spoken to the coroner, the early pregnancy unit, the acute medical hospital team and a worried relative in Switzerland. Add to this the usual flow of Monday morning patients attending surgery, with ailments as varied as a new breast lump, an acute asthma attack and relapsing polymyalgia rheumatica and you start to get a feel of why we do what we do. What do these patients have in common? Nothing - that’s the point.
Some of us dabble, doing a bit of GPSI work or maybe still attending a hospital session here and there, but essentially we are generalists, specialists in seeing anything that happens to come our way. You probably spend large swathes of the day thinking on your feet, displaying a calm exterior, but with your feet paddling madly underwater at times. We need to remain adaptable, be quick to learn and seek advice when needed, but display confidence and reassurance in appropriate measures.
That’s what makes our job beautiful - seeing all comers and never quite knowing what is going to come through the door next.
That’s the beauty of general practice.
Richard Cook is a GP partner in Hurstpierpoint, West Sussex. You can follow him on Twitter @drmoderate
Readers' comments (9)
Anonymous | Sessional/Locum GP29 Sep 2016 9:15am
All in 10 minutes a piece.
Beautiful for the GP isn't it?
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Anonymous | GP Partner29 Sep 2016 11:13am
Looked all morning and just cant find it anywhere
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Anonymous | Practice Manager29 Sep 2016 12:07pm
We have become the pile on the anus of the NHS. Nothing beautiful left about it.
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Anonymous | GP Partner29 Sep 2016 12:57pm
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Jo Smit | Work for a pharmaceutical company29 Sep 2016 1:13pm
I left GP world as I felt it was becoming too much.
I still get depressed reading about what is happening because I believe we're destroying the cornerstone of our health system
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Anonymous | GP Partner29 Sep 2016 4:29pm
Yes, General Practice can be fantastic and rewarding but only when you have enough time to do the job properly.
Without the requisite time it becomes the most miserable job in the world. That is why we are all leaving.
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June Greaves | Other healthcare professional01 Oct 2016 12:07pm
Anonymous GP partner @ 12.57pm !
I think either your name or an apology is called for, please !
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Anonymous | Sessional/Locum GP01 Oct 2016 3:21pm
I agree: well said. Unfortunately the extra pressures thrown on GPs over the years have somewhat dimmed that beauty.
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June Greaves | Other healthcare professional03 Oct 2016 1:45pm
Dear GPs, I know it will not be much comfort to you but this is NOT only a difficulty for GPs, it permeates throughout all our lives & it REALLY took off with 'There is no such thing as society, only THE INDIVIDUAL ' !!!
I'm confident that there are lots of patients who REALLY do appreciate your efforts, we should tell you more often ! Thank you !
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