Undergraduate education

I was sorry to read the Back Pages article by a disappointed student who had met negativity about his choice of general practice as a career.¹ I experienced the same in 1975 from a tutor in my second year (‘GP? A bright girl like you? That's a real waste’.) Fortunately, it didn't put me off, and I can reassure all students that many of us have already taken action to ensure that the undergraduate programmes across the UK and Ireland now showcase general practice to advantage. There is evidence that increasing numbers of students are choosing general practice; for example, more than 20% making a firm choice (F Lynch and A Howe, unpublished data 2008) compared to an inconstant 10%² in a study 7 years before. This reflects both high quality learning and interesting clinical experience in community-based placements.³ There is also extensive evidence that general practice is a challenging job (you won't be bored, Dan!) and has more academic opportunities than ever before, including more unanswered research questions than one life of academic endeavour could possibly cover.

It is human to talk up one's own preferences, but sadly students do still hear unfounded stereotyping and prejudice from members of one discipline about others. The RCGP, with its thriving Student Forum, its excellent new MRCGP curriculum, and its undisputed place at the table of the Academy of Royal Colleges, has led a shift of status for GP careers which is well deserved. This student has reminded us that there are still negative role models, but we can reassure him that many medical school and Deanery staff (as well as patients) now understand the value of GPs as clinicians, teachers, and researchers. Look at the work GPs do, not what is said about it – actions speak louder than words.