Potential growth of the public health component in GP training
Large numbers of GPs may choose to prepare for public health practitioner assessment and registration, which may require changes to GP training.
Clinical Commissioning Boards (CCBs), which will have strong medical representation under the 2012 Act, will have a legal duty to reduce health inequalities. This has relevance to the public health component of GP training.
In view of the role health professionals should play in reducing health inequalities, there is a strong case that the training needs and development of GPs and other doctors who sit on commissioning boards should contain a strong public health component. This could encourage larger numbers of GPs to prepare for public health practitioner assessment and registration, which would highlight their public health role. Some argue undergraduate and postgraduate medical training may benefit from the embedding of behaviour change skills training and knowledge of public health social policy and practice. This might involve extending the period of training time taken for the GP component in medical training in addition to extending the number of public health placements that are available. However there are concerns as to the viability of career progression for medical trainees and the weighting, influenced by financial considerations that local authority employers might give employing doctors.
Related Sectors Related Specialities
- Public health
- General practitioners
- Hospital doctors
- Public health & schools nurses
- Public health consultant/specialist
- Public or environmental health staff
Related Themes Related Projects
none
Sources or references
- Healthy Lives, Healthy People: Towards a workforce strategy for the public health system
- The Social Determinants of Health: What Doctors Can Do: BMA Marmot Review
- Public health trainees considering leaving specialty over job concerns (8 June 2012) H. Jacques BMJ Careers
- An evaluation of Public Health placements for GP specialty training (March 2011) Centre for Research in Medical and Dental Education,in partnership with the West Midlands Workforce Deanery
Some of the information in this section is provided by stakeholders and expert groups, and does not necessarily represent the views of the CfWI.
