Emergency call to GPs

EMPLOYING GPs in emergency departments could mean increased job satisfaction and improved patient outcomes, according to a leading academic.

General Practice Education & Training chair and GP academic Associate Professor Simon Willcock argued in the MJA that encouraging GPs to work in emergency departments could also make general practice more attractive to medical students and help ease hospital staff shortages. 

“Talking to a range of people, I realised we want career diversity, and also a lot of GPs love the adrenalin rush of an ED, while the support will allow ED doctors downtime for teaching.”

“While the diversity of general practice is widely promoted, the reality may not always meet the expectations of recent graduates. GPs are often limited in their ability to utilise skills [such as anaesthesia, obstetrics and emergency medicine] in everyday practice,” Professor Willcock wrote.

GPs’ knowledge on managing chronic conditions would be welcomed in EDs, and the move could also improve relationships between GPs and the hospital system, paving the way for them to become more involved in other aspects of the care of hospital patients.

AMA spokesman Dr Rod Pearce said the move would “benefit and improve understanding of general practice” from other disciplines. 

MJA 2008; 189:113-14.