Why choose General Practice?

A doctor for everyone

A GP is a family doctor who is at the heart of community healthcare. The Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) has recently redefined the role as a "consultant in General Practice".

According to the RCGP Curriculum: Being a General Practitioner, this role demands a unique breadth of expertise:

"As a generalist, a competent GP requires a high level of understanding across a full range of medical and surgical specialities, with additional skills to provide appropriate care in a safe and cost-effective way."

Find out more from the RCGP about being a General Practitioner.

What does a GP do? Your scope of practice

As a GP, you'll see patients of all ages, from babies to older people, and treat a wide range of health problems. For example, you might:

• Diagnose and treat new health problems—You’ll assess a wide range of health concerns from acute illnesses to complex multi-morbid conditions. Your goal is to offer an effective assessment and treatment that improves a person's confidence and quality of life.
• Support people in living well with long-term conditions—For conditions like diabetes or asthma, you’ll help patients manage their health, stay well, and remain independent.
• Offer mental health support—You’ll help patients navigate anxiety, depression, and other psychological challenges through active listening, compassionate guidance, and referral to appropriate services.
• Assess and care for an unwell child—You’ll provide not only medical treatment but also essential reassurance and clear guidance to their parents or caregivers.
• Help prevent illness before it begins—You’ll provide vaccinations, health checks, and lifestyle advice, as well as prescribing preventative treatments like statins to reduce future health risks.
• Provide compassionate palliative care—For people with life-limiting conditions, you’ll help them to manage symptoms and maintain their dignity.
• Review and manage medications—You’ll make sure that a patient's prescriptions are safe, effective, and optimised to work well together.
• Act as the gateway to specialist services—You’ll use your expertise to understand a patient's needs and refer them to specialists for further investigation or treatment, where appropriate.

This breadth of work makes the role exciting and rewarding, showcasing the diverse skills of a GP.

Explore a GP practice in 360 degrees.

Benefits of being a GP in Scotland

Our vision is for a GP career in Scotland to combine professional satisfaction with a great lifestyle.

Flexible career paths and specialisms

General Practice offers the flexibility to design a career that evolves with you. You can:

• Work as a salaried GP for flexibility and team support.
• Become a GP partner, with the opportunity to run your own practice and influence local services.
• Work as a locum GP to gain experience in different settings.
• Build a varied portfolio career, combining clinical work with other interests.

Over time, you can grow your expertise by becoming a GP educator to guide and inspire our future doctors. You can also train as a GP with an extended role (GPwER) to provide more in-depth care in areas like dermatology or diabetes.

Structured GP Fellowships are also an excellent way to develop advanced skills within the First5 phase of your career.

Discover more about your GP career options.

Work-life balance and schedule control

General Practice can give you more control over your schedule than many other medical specialties. Although GPs often work beyond clinic hours to manage administrative tasks, the structure of the working day is more self-directed.

Outside of your practice’s opening times, a dedicated system is in place to support patients. NHS 24 will refer people to their local:

• GP out-of-hours service
• minor injuries unit
• mental health service
• pharmacy
• accident and emergency

This also creates opportunities to design a career that fits you. You could supplement your regular practice with out-of-hours shifts or work in an OOH service full-time.

Building relationships and continuity of care

Many doctors choose General Practice for the meaningful connections they build with people. Over time, you'll get to know your patients and their families and become a trusted and familiar face within your community. This special relationship, known as continuity of care, is very rewarding.

Diverse environments: Urban, rural, or island

In Scotland, you can choose to work in lively city centres, peaceful rural areas, or remote island communities. Each setting offers its own unique challenges and rewards, keeping your work both engaging and rewarding.

Strong multidisciplinary team support

As a GP, you’ll be part of a warm, friendly, and supportive multidisciplinary team. You’ll collaborate with other doctors, nurses, pharmacists, allied health professionals, and healthcare support workers to provide high-quality person-centred care for patients. Teamwork like this also creates a reliable support network for you.

Managing complexity: The challenges of working in general practice

Like any job, General Practice has its challenges. You'll manage a busy workload, and you'll require a broad knowledge of diverse health conditions. However, this is where your core skills as a GP can really shine. You’ll become confident in managing the uncertainty of a patient's early, undiagnosed symptoms.

Unlike hospital specialists who often see patients after a diagnosis is suspected, you'll deal with symptoms that haven't been confirmed yet. This requires you to develop advanced skills that go beyond standard medical textbooks:

• Diagnostic expert—You'll become confident in identifying red flags among minor ailments, often making life-saving decisions based on early, subtle symptoms.
• Holistic problem solver—You'll learn to see the whole person, not just a single condition. You'll treat the physical illness while considering the psychological and social factors affecting the patient's life.
• Risk manager—You'll learn when it's safe to treat a patient at home and when to guide them to the right specialist.

These challenges are demanding, but the rewards of being a GP are greater.

A career you can be proud of

If you want a medical career that’s both intellectually stimulating and emotionally rewarding, general practice could be for you. You'll become a vital part of your community, making a genuine difference in people's lives.

The value of the general practitioner report

A recent RCGP Scotland report highlights the unique value of the GP in providing whole-person medical care, which leads to better patient outcomes. It confirms that strong general practice is essential to the future of the NHS in Scotland.

Download the RCGP report: The value of the general practitioner [PDF].