The Art of General Practice
Anna Brown
This drawing represents the skill of the general practitioner. It is based on a number of consultations I observed whereby the patient presented with numerous problems. The G.P.s used their skills and experience to pick out which problem required most attention at that immediate point in time whilst acknowledging the patient’s situation of juggling numerous problems. Whilst the G.P. ‘honed’ in on one particular problem to deal with immediately, they also reassured the patient as regards the other problems and encouraged them to come back another time to discuss them.
Whole Person Care – Year One
Simple yet amazing drawing! Message well conveyed through it!
This piece highlights the issues facing GP’s today; with an ageing population, more and more patients have numerous problems. With a 15-minute consultation, often only 1 or 2 problems can be dealt with. Good drawing!
I chose this piece because of how it directly relates to what I am learning in the EC course at the moment and what I am learning from attending GP placements. Using different colours for the juggling balls simply but effectively depicts the multidimensional nature of the patients that GPs are faced with: they have many, greatly varying ‘aspects’ or problems that the GP must explore in order to holistically assess the patient. Arbitrarily assigning each juggling ball a different colour does not allow us to distinguish the medical problems from the psychosocial problems of the patient, and thus perhaps illustrates how these are equally as important. This, of course, is in line with the need for any good doctor, in this case a GP, to view the patient as a whole, not just a condition. The juggling act powerfully conveys the pressure that patients are under from having to juggle and balance such a wide variety of problems, and thus the power and importance of the GP in alleviating this pain and pressure.
This piece stood out to me, particularly because of how old it is.
I think after our first GP placement and in our EC seminars, I came to understand that being a GP is much more complex than just seeing patients, diagnosing them, or referring them to specialists. In a way, the role of the GP has evolved beyond just being the primary care provider. GPs are increasingly expected to manage social issues in the community, complicated polypharmacy and multimorbidity in patients, and a population that is ageing.
When a patient with multiple issues comes in, ideally, the GP would be able to listen to the patient about all of them. Often, this is sadly not the case, and GPs must triage each issue in their limited time with each patient. The illustration contains a nice metaphor for this, the patient quite literally has to juggle multiple issues in their life, and the GP must use their ‘laser vision’ to select one or two for immediate treatment.
Even 18 years later, this issue is still present as ever. But it’s also comforting in a way, knowing that this problem is not a new one.