Bloody GPs

I see that the old boot Carole Malone is having another pop at GPs again in the (Scroll down to third story) NOTW

This women is vile - her view is that GPs are now earning too much money for doing too little work. This other story in June is just as hateful.

I have followed her rantings for some time and can empathize a teeny teeny little bit. Her father apparently was very ill and got seen by an OOT locum who did not know his details. She feels that his care suffered greatly because of this. I can understand being distressed if you feel that a parent was not receiving optimal care...I have been in the same boat and it's horrid.

But this women has gone on a one women mission to attack GP pay, hours and reason for being: she is nothing short of spiteful and venomous in her writings. As far as she is concerned, medicine should be vocational and GPs should still be working day and night to ensure that their patients are always seen by their family GP. Oh yes....let me add that as well as GPs working day and night, they should go back to earning what they were five years ago. i.e. a hell of a lot less than now.

I wander how big a part vocation actually plays in people's decisions to study medicine? I don't think that there is any doubt that we all do this because we want to help people - I think the job would be un-doable without a personal need to try to help. But...and I know this will be controversial......If one has a vocation to help people, how do they choose between being a doctor or being a nurse? Nurses help people all day every day, work their arses off and earn around £25000. Doctors help people too and have potential to earn a lot more.

At my interview for medical school, I was asked why I wanted to move from nursing to medicine. This was hard! The old chestnut "I want to help people" wouldn't wash, because you can do this as a nurse. I gave a right old bunkum answer about wanting to help people at a "Higher level" (LOL!) The interviewer said to me "OK so you want to help people, but earn more money whilst doing it"

How can I argue with this?! Medicine for me is about providing excellent care but also about fulfilling my potential and earning a better wage than I could as a nurse. Admitting that good pay is one of the attractions of going into medicine remains a taboo area and not something I ever hear people talk about.

Another interesting point is that I know many nurses who are moving into medicine. I have NEVER heard of a doctor moving into nursing. I think this says it all!