Breaking Down Barriers

Article by Dr Patrice Baptiste, Portfolio GP.

Like many portfolio GPs, I combine my work in clinical medicine with a number of other interests. These are medical education, writing, entrepreneurialism and public speaking.

Where it All Began

My portfolio career began during my time out of training or Foundation Year three (FY3). I felt compelled to take a career break due to the physical, mental and emotional demands of working as a junior doctor in the NHS. I also felt lost and at a crossroads; medicine had always been my dream career. It was the only career I felt drawn to as a child; a passion which only intensified as I grew up and learnt more about the world of medicine, or what I thought I knew.

It was during this time that I explored other job opportunities. I also pursued a number of interests I had previously placed to one side in my quest to become a doctor, and a good one at that. After turning down a job offer in medical writing, reigniting some of my other passions and realising I still wanted to be a doctor, I returned to training via the GP training programme.

It was hard, but I managed to pursue my other interests alongside full-time training. I was determined to keep my other interests alive this time. As a result, I ended up developing a portfolio career. I work as a salaried GP for part of the working week, and the remainder of my time is divided up between the other interests I have.

My Portfolio Career

I have written for GPonline for 4 years, discussing issues pertaining to GP training and general practice. I also have numerous publications, which include medical case reports, audits and opinion pieces. I am an examiner for Queen Mary University London (QMUL) and the General Medical Council (GMC).

I have also spoken about my career journey, among a number of other topics at places such as the University of Oxford and QMUL, the British Medical Journal Live careers fair, and the Royal College of Physicians Edinburgh. Through DreamSmartTutors I have spent 4 years educating students about the realities of a medical career and supporting them on their medical journeys.

DreamSmartTutors

During my time out of training I spoke at a number of schools, hoping to help students who wanted to study medicine but did not have the essential connections, resources or guidance, like my younger self.

I realised that they not only needed support with applying to study medicine but also needed to understand the harsh realities that a career as a doctor brings.

After all, I didn’t want them to feel lost like I once did and end up leaving medicine, as a number of doctors do each year. Students from poorer socioeconomic backgrounds and certain ethnicities are significantly underrepresented at medical school.

Only a small proportion of students study at private and independent schools in the UK, but it is students from these schools who monopolise the spaces at medical school.

When we look at ethnicity, there are some groups, such as Black Caribbean students, who are underrepresented at medical school in comparison to their Asian and White counterparts.

A huge barrier to medical school entry is work experience. Many GP surgeries, despite their workloads and pressures, can and should offer work experience, even if it is only for a few days, to aspiring medical students. Rather than filing medical files and correspondence, work experience students should be immersed in the day-to-day running of a GP surgery.

I have many requests from young people and their parents about securing work experience, but not enough GP surgeries to help. Providing work experience to a young person could be not only the deciding factor that secures them a place at medical school, but also what makes them consider a career in general practice.

Dr Patrice Baptiste

www.dreamsmarttutors.co.uk

Dr Patrice Baptiste is an award-winning portfolio GP, medical educator, entrepreneur, writer, visionary and champion for diversity within the medical profession. Through her company, DreamSmartTutors (launched in 2016), she supports prospective medical students on their medical journeys whilst simultaneously aiming to increase diversity within the medical profession.

Dr Baptiste was a finalist at the Black British Business and Precious Awards 2016. She was also the winner of the LIFT Effects Rising Star award and a finalist at the WeAreTheCity Awards and the UK’s largest National Diversity Awards in 2017.