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UPSKILLING GPs to take on a greater range of procedural work could make the profession more attractive to medical students and help relieve the workforce crisis, according to a leader in general practice training.
General Practice Education and Training chairman Associate Professor Simon Willcock said the list of procedural work GPs could take on was "potentially endless", but could include endoscopies or emergency medicine.
Combined with work in more specialist areas such as mental or sexual health, a greater procedural emphasis would give existing GPs more variety and make general practice appear more interesting to medical students, Professor Willcock told Australian Doctor after speaking at the GPRA Forum.
"I think it's a way of actively sustaining an interested and motivated workforce," he said.
"Let's look at the current workforce and work out where there are gaps and where we can get GPs re-involved, and not just work on the assumption that GPs shouldn't be in hospitals, and...