General Practice

Generic job families

Specialist areas

Functional requirements

Details

Out patient work

 

 

See general outpatient work

 

Multiple short appointments

Face to face consultation

Telephone consultation

Variety of clinics e.g. immunisation

 

Ability to juggle patient expectation and length of consultation slots

May present problems for doctors suffering from psychological conditions such as depression and anxiety

Home visits

May be routine or as emergency

Able to drive, be driven or use public transport (walking and cycling may also be possible depending on distances)

Personal safety assessment

Manual handling patients

Examine patients in difficult positions (e.g. lean across bed), get up stairs

Finding houses in dark, examining people in poor light

May present problems for doctors who are not fit to drive for a variety of medical problems e.g. epilepsy

See DVLA recommendations http://www.dft.gov.uk/dvla/medical/aag.aspx

May present problems for doctors with musculoskeletal conditions especially neck, lower back, upper limb disorders

May present problems for doctors with poor night vision due to a variety of medical conditions

Out of hours work

May be evenings, nights or weekends

Phone triage using computer

Face to face consultations

Home visits

May present problems for doctors with musculoskeletal problems especially neck, lower back, upper limb disorders

 

Shift work may present problems for doctors with a variety of medical conditions including diabetes, epilepsy, some types of cardiac and respiratory disease, recovery from psychiatric illness, and taking medication with strict timetable

For information on advice in pregnancy see

http://www.fom.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/HWDU-Pregnancy-Guidelines-Feb-2013.pdf

 

Specialty related issues

Working with emotionally disturbed patients

Personal responsibility for own patients

Emotional resilience

 

Ability to cope with verbal abuse and risk of physical violence including biting, scratching and being hit

May present problems for doctors suffering from psychological conditions such as depression and anxiety

 

Management of complex risk including suicide and child abuse

Emotional resilience

May present problems for doctors suffering from psychological conditions such as depression and anxiety

 

Obstetrics and gynaecology

Vaginal examination

Insertion coil

Smears

All involve bending and twisting movements with patient on examination couch

May present problems for doctors with musculoskeletal conditions especially neck, lower back, upper limb disorders

 

Paediatrics

Contact with children with range of infectious diseases

 

 

 

Examine children on floor

May present problems for doctors who are immunosuppressed due to variety of causes including medication, radiotherapy, HIV etc

Specific concerns during pregnancy (e.g. parvovirus, measles, whooping cough)

 

May present problems for doctors with musculoskeletal conditions especially neck, lower back, upper limb disorders

 

Minor surgery

Good fine motor, hand eye coordination and vision

May present problems for doctors with musculoskeletal conditions especially neck, lower back, upper limb disorders

 

See exposure prone procedures (however most minor surgery is NOT exposure prone)

Management/running business/Care Quality Commission assessment

Management, business and medico legal knowledge

Commissioning role

Meetings

Resilience

May present problems for doctors suffering from psychological conditions such as depression and anxiety