I’m one of those who regularly checks emails when on holiday and it’s precisely because I do that I don’t feel stressed about going back to work. Admittedly I’m more or less hte lowest of the low in my place of work so it’s rare I have anyhtign important emailed me, but if I do I’d rather answer hte question if I can or send a holding email and put on my to do list/forward to someone else. That way I know I’ll have no surprises on Monday morning. So much better than hte Sunday night wondering and wading through 100s of all staff emails on the Monday morning

I’m aware that it is controversial and that it would lead to arguments, but the evidence is there. Look at common primary care diagnoses, look at gp surgery times. Look at administration.

I’m not posting this stuff from speculation.

None of which suggest it’s at all simple. A bit like saying a PRINCE 2 project mgmt course takes 1 week whereas becoming a GP takes 7 years, therefore all project mgmt is 1/(7×52) simpler than being a GP.

The evidence is there for all to see…..

To be honest, I can’t think of anymore more varied, complex and stressful than dealing with ill people every day when a wrong decision could kill someone.

Drat… been rumbled…..everyone’ll be rushing to do it come next week….

DrP

It’s worth setting up some rules on your inbox, so any guff that might need to be referred to, gets dumped into a sub folder automatically, then basically scroll through and immediately delete any other guff on your return. As you’re scrolling down doing a purge, flag anything that looks serious, and leave non serious items un flagged. A skim read/preview is all it takes to do this.

Then you’re just left with emails that are directly relevant to you.

I have a zero inbox policy, you never actually have zero, but it’s rare I’ve more than 30 items which I can then easily prioritize with flags.

It makes me shudder when colleagues have 1000plus emails sat in thier inbox..delete it, file it for reference into a suitably titled sub folder, then you can actually see the wood for the trees.

When i was QC manager i would have a look on a Sunday night to see what nightmare i was walking into on the Monday. But these days in a different role i just leave the works laptop and phone at work.

And then walk away.

If its life or death (to the company i work for not literally) the people that need it have my personal mobile number but **** that im on holiday.

Ive just worked from June with no days off except bank holidays next week im off for a week cannot bloody wait!

Post seems to have disappeared..
Anyway.

Not all will race to do it.the training is very hard, you need to be really smart and work very hard. But therein lies the problem. You have a group of really smart hard working people, who like a challenge who are then faced with a majority of routine problems. Of course there are the more serious cases and the long term care and management, but there is also a large amount of mundane diagnoses and treatment.

For folks who like an intellectual challenge, this must be death

I don’t think CM is trolling in the traditional sense. I bet a lot of a GP role is repetitive for the intelligent people that make it through the training. A lot of day to medical conditions aren’t as exciting as the pictures in the tropical medicine textbooks.

However, you can’t let your guard down, a cough can be early sign of cancer or 2 days into a viral throat infection, it’s not exactly simple or easy when it you consider the potential consequences of your decisions.

Plus, all that golf won’t play itself you know. .

^ what he said. Except, most coughs aren’t cancer and most earache aren’t nerve damage. So much so that on the balance of probability it is sensible not to check for that.