Viewpoint: A perfect example of a new-fashioned GP

摘要

I have always enjoyed the obituaries. A life well lived, a career in service of others, all summed up in eight sentences. One week a particularly kind face caught my eye.1 He was, according to the obituary, ‘the perfect example of an old fashioned GP’. Single-handed for 30 years in inner-city Liverpool, he ‘ knew most of his patients personally, and regarded them as his friends’ . He was known for his ‘conscientiousness, meticulous methods and attention to detail’. This was the kind of GP I was trained to emulate.It started me worrying about what my obituary would be: ‘She lived about half an hour away from her patients, but convenient for her husband’s workplace. She knew very few of her patients because, being part-time, they always wanted an appointment on a Wednesday because that …