skip to Main Content

General Practitioner Job Description

What does a General Practitioner do?

A General Practitioner, commonly known as a GP, is a medical doctor who provides primary care services to patients in the community. Their main duty is to diagnose and manage a wide range of health conditions in patients of all ages. GPs are usually the first point of contact for people with medical concerns, and they are responsible for providing preventive care, early intervention and ongoing treatment for acute and chronic illnesses. They also refer patients to specialists for further assessment and treatment where necessary. GPs are also involved in health education and promotion, and work closely with other health professionals to provide coordinated care.

Our General Practitioner job description includes the General Practitioner responsibilities, duties, skills, education, qualifications, and experience.

General Practitioner Example


Our Job Advertising Packages

Choose the best package, edit the advert and post your job!

 StarterPremiumCorporateNationalBrandedResourcer
Reed
Indeed Sponsored
Monster
Google Jobs
Glassdoor
LinkedIn Jobs
Totaljobs
Jobsite
Guardian Jobs
CV-Library
Industry boards
CV Targeting*
many more
£99£199£329£349£399£599
Job Advert Package + Flat Fee Recruitment Services
CV Filtering
Video Interviewing
Interview Scheduling
£799£799£929£949£999£1199

If you need an example job description for a General Practitioner download the one below, alternatively we have many other Healthcare job description samples and a job description library with over 3000 job descriptions templates that you can download for free.

What does a General Practitioner do?

General Practitioner (GP) Job Summary

A General Practitioner (GP) provides primary healthcare services to patients in the local community. GPs are responsible for examining, diagnosing, and treating a wide range of medical conditions, as well as providing preventative health advice.

GPs typically work in a general practice, which is a group of self-employed healthcare professionals, often including a nurse, who provide care to patients in the local community. GPs may also work in a hospital or research setting.

GPs will typically see a wide range of patients, from babies and children to the elderly. They must have excellent communication and interpersonal skills, as well as a keen understanding of a variety of medical conditions. GPs must have strong problem-solving skills in order to accurately diagnose and treat patients.

GPs typically work full-time hours, but may also be on call for evenings and weekends. They must maintain up-to-date medical records, as well as comply with regulations relating to confidentiality.

General Practitioner Role Purpose

The purpose of a General Practitioner (GP) is to provide primary medical care to individuals and families within the community. This includes prevention, diagnosis and treatment of a wide range of physical and mental health conditions, as well as providing advice and support on health-related matters. GPs work with patients to promote good health, wellbeing and disease prevention, as well as providing referrals to specialist services when needed.

General Practitioner Role

General Practitioners (GPs) are primary care doctors who provide health care to patients of all ages, from infants to the elderly. They diagnose and treat illnesses, injuries, and other medical conditions, refer patients to specialists, and provide preventive care and health education to their patients.

General Practitioner Duties

  • Examining patients, taking their medical histories and diagnosing their conditions
  • Prescribing medication or referring patients to specialists
  • Providing advice on staying healthy, such as diet, exercise and lifestyle choices

General Practitioner Requirements

  • A medical degree or equivalent
  • Registration with the General Medical Council
  • Current work experience in a general practice setting
  • Excellent communication and interpersonal skills
  • Ability to work autonomously and as part of a team
  • Ability to manage a diverse patient workload

General Practitioner Skills

  • Excellent interpersonal and communication skills
  • Knowledge of evidence based medicine
  • Good organisational and time management
  • Ability to work in a team
  • Ability to work in a fast-paced environment

General Practitioner Personal Traits

  • Good communication skills
  • Ability to work autonomously and as part of a team
  • Efficient and organised
  • Compassionate and patient
  • Ability to handle pressure

How to write a General Practitioner Job Advert

Use our job advert template to write a job advert for posting on job sites and job boards. Our job advertising templates are carefully created to help you reach your audience and beat the competition to the best talent.

A job description informs the reader about a job, whereas a job advert’s main objective is to sell the job opportunity to attract as many suitable applicants possible. A job advert maybe the first touch-point a candidate has with your company so it is important to create a great impression.

Job Advertisements should enticing, so considering using short, exciting language which get the reader’s attention.

How to write a General Practitioner Job Description

To write a job description, we recommend starting with a job description template from our job description library, which contains examples for 800+ positions and professions. Our job description examples include a job summary with duties and responsibilities and skills and requirements, which can be personalised for your job vacancy.

Job Description Advice - Guidance on How to Personalise a General Practitioner Job Specification

The hiring process and recruiting new employees to fill your key roles requires a degree of personalisation if you are to attract the best employees in a competitive employment market. The right person for a crucial role or more senior roles will likely have other employers targeting them. As your job description will be the first point of contact, you need to nail your pitch and provide the best possible service.

Job Description Tips - Help on formatting a General Practitioner Job Specification

When creating your bespoke description and advert, you should cover and promote these points:

Job title: This should accurately reflect the role and include keywords that top talent might be using to search for jobs.

Job duties: The day to day duties, such as administrative tasks, which vary depending on the company and inform the candidate if they can complete the role.

Technical skills: These are the hard skills required through training, such as proficiency with Microsoft Office.

Soft skills: These include the interpersonal skills and general abilities the right candidates will possess. For example, the competency to prioritise multiple tasks, handle customer queries and customer complaints, work alone, or build a good relationship with coworkers.

The company's culture: Highlighting your company culture and values ensures employees thrive and find outstanding job satisfaction. Candidates that are not the right fit won’t waste their time completing the application process, meaning you can focus on qualified individuals and hire in a more timely manner.

Career progression: Including the career path will entice candidates looking for career growth. 

Training and development programs: Smaller companies may need employees with previous experience or provide educational assistance over internal training offered by larger organisations with more significant resources. 

Employee benefits: Compensation and benefits often fail to appear in job ads and while you may want to hold your cards close to your chest, failing to include them is a mistake. Consider answering common questions, such as working hours and paid leave. Researching the average salary for the role in these early stages will ensure you don’t waste your interviewer’s and the candidate’s time.

Skill gaps: Your company may need to bring in new skills beyond those required to complete the key role and duties. Thinking on an organisational level can be beneficial when contemplating skills diversity.

Legal requirements: Ensure your job advert and description does not ask for inappropriate or discriminatory personal details, such as age, marital status, or religion.

How to Hire a General Practitioner

Once you have selected your Job Description download it or convert it to a Job Advert. From here you can post/advertise your job across our network of job boards. If you wish to use the job description for a CV Template click through for advice and Convert to a CV

Back To Top