James Bennett

WHAT WiseGP WORK DO YOU DO? 

I’m a first 5 GP based in Yorkshire where I split my week between clinical work in Hull across a few different surgeries, and my academic role at HYMS. I’ve always loved General Practice, since I did my work experience whilst at school, but things have changed a lot since then. I have found the step up from training to ‘real’ GP challenging, and it continues to stretch my grey matter on a daily basis. I often find myself having to question my knowledge and the ways in which I try to apply it. My role at HYMS is within the Academy of Primary Care, and it is giving me the opportunity to delve deeper into some of the current issues facing primary care and education. I love still being able to teach the students as well as building relationships with an incredible team of regional researchers. 

HOW HAVE YOU DEVELOPED YOUR KNOWLEDGE WORK SKILLS FOR THESE ROLES? 

I am probably an accidental WiseGP, and my wisdom is certainly still a work in progress! I have always been interested in education and during my training spent as much time as I could providing informal teaching for students, getting experience of assessment processes, and trying to work out what I wanted from my career. I’ve completed a PGCERT in education and want to expand on this in the future. I had some experience of research from my undergraduate studies and am learning more about these skills every week, but academic GP does not have to be university based. The day to day work of every GP involves developing knowledge work skills, and a lot if this is informal/hidden. I think a lot of my skills have come from seeking and engaging with positive role models within GP. 

WHY DOES BEING A WiseGP MATTER TO YOU? 

General practice provides an incredible service to patients, but we are working under increasing pressure in terms of resources, staffing and funding. WiseGP for me is a key component in challenging the current ways of practice to help GPs manage their clinical workload, look after themselves, and provide the highest standard of care possible to their patients as individuals, not just populations. WiseGP also shows early career GPs and trainees that there is so much variety and possibility in your career, and that there are people local to you that can help you develop your interests. 

WHAT TIPS DO YOU HAVE FOR OTHER WiseGPS? 

Keep an open mind and share your thoughts with colleagues. You never know who you might meet or how they might be able to help you develop your interests and career. Constructively challenge the ways of working around you. Ask yourself (and your colleagues), could this be done differently? Could we make it better for patients? Find positive role models where you work, ask them about how they do things and learn from their experience. You could even use this as a way to build local connections with other WiseGPs. Try not to take your work too seriously (I’m often guilty of this!). Work with people you can laugh with.