WiseGP grew out of a conversation at RCGP Conference in 2011. A packed room of GPs took a fresh look at what we do in everyday practice.
As we thought about the tasks of doing person-centred care, we recognised the complexity of the job of a modern GP. Making sense of the complex illness that patients bring to our consulting room is not about ‘knowing a little bit about a lot of things’. Our job is to use the breadth of knowledge and experience that we have, to work with our patients to create a robust, tailored understanding of their illness and so a plan for how to manage it. Our job is defined not by what we know, but how we use what we know – what we have described as the Bananarama principle.
This is the expertise – the wisdom - of general practice: an intellectual task that makes our role both demanding and stimulating.
The intellectual challenge of person-centred healthcare underpins our clinical work with patients, our leadership roles in developing practices and the wider service, and our contributions to the educational and research practice that builds our clinical discipline. Every GP uses the skills of clinical scholarship, every day.
But not everyone knows that. And not every GP has an opportunity to fully develop and use their skills.
WiseGP was established to help tell a new story of building a career in General Practice underpinned by clinical scholarship. We asked you what you needed – this site is the result. You told us you wanted to hear stories from people using clinical scholarship and practical wisdom in everyday practice; to have access to resources that could help you develop your scholarship skills; and to be able to connect with WiseGPs.
This site is just the start. We are looking forward to hearing your ideas, thoughts and contributions for new things we can add.
Welcome to WiseGP!