A Day in the Life of a GP Trainee

Working as a General Practice (GP) trainee can be a whirlwind of experiences, from juggling patient consultations to diving into academic sessions and squeezing in some much needed self-care. Let's take a peek into a typical day in the life of a GP trainee and explore the ins and outs of their schedule.

Before we dive into the daily details, let's first outline what a standard week looks like for a GP trainee. Typically, a trainee's schedule consists of:

70% Clinical Hours:

This includes booked and emergency surgeries, home visits, telephone consultations, administrative work, debriefing time with the supervising GP, etc.

30% Educational Hours:

This includes group meetings with fellow trainees, self-study time, dedicated teaching sessions, tutorials, and other non-patient-facing activities.

For instance, imagine a first-year GP trainee at a surgery with a 9-5 schedule. This trainee has chosen Monday afternoons for self-study, the practice has scheduled academic sessions for Friday afternoons, and the group VTS (Vocational Training Scheme-regional trainee meetings) occurs on Thursday afternoons. A typical week for this trainee might look like this:

Monday:

Morning - Clinic, Afternoon - Self-study time

Tuesday:

Morning - Clinic, Afternoon - Clinic

Wednesday:

Morning - Clinic, Afternoon - Clinic

Thursday:

Morning - Clinic, Afternoon - VTS (Deanery group teaching)

Friday:

Morning - Clinic, Afternoon - Practice tutorial

Please note that this is not a rigid arrangement and you will need to discuss it with your practice. However, the HEE encourages every practice to adhere to the 70:30 rule.

A Day in the Life

Now, let's step into the shoes of Sam, a fictional GP trainee, as he narrates a typical day in his life at the surgery:

8:45am :

I arrive at the surgery, turn on my computer, and log into my EMR account. I also open relevant resources such as NICE CKS, BNF, and Clinical Trees. Then, I quickly review my surgery list for the day and check for any pending tasks, emails, or messages from the previous day.

9:00 AM - 12:00 PM:

Clinic starts. This includes both face-to-face and telephone consultations. The time per patient depends on your training year and practice; I run a 15-minute per patient clinic. Sometimes, 15 minutes isn't enough, especially with complex cases, but simpler cases can balance this out.

12:00 PM:

Home visit. I go to patients' homes to assess those who are housebound or very sick. I usually get one home visit daily, but this can vary depending on the practice.

12:40 PM:

Return from the home visit and document the encounter.

1:00 PM:

I grab a quick lunch and do some breathing exercises—you'll need this a lot!

1:30 PM:

Admin time. I make referrals, review patient blood test results, make quick telephone calls, and review hospital letters. Reviewing blood test results can be challenging, but resources like Lab Tests Online and Clinical Trees help.

2:00 PM - 5:00 PM:

Afternoon clinic, similar to my morning clinic.

5:00 PM:

Surgery over. I try to complete any pending tasks.

Unknown Time:

Time to go home. I leave the surgery once all tasks are completed (maybe not all), which could be anytime from 6:00 to 7:00 PM.

And that's the dynamic life of a GP trainee!