General Practitioner (GP)

Also known as: GP, Family doctor

A doctor providing first-contact, continuing, community-based care and acting as the gatekeeper to most NHS specialist services.

Many stations are set in primary care. Safe management often includes GP follow-up, and recognising what can be managed in the community is part of good clinical judgement.

More glossary terms

ABCDE approachA systematic method for assessing and treating an acutely unwell patient — Airway, Breathing, Circulation, Disability, Exposure — dealing with each before moving on.
AMPLE historyA focused emergency history — Allergies, Medications, Past history, Last meal, Events — taken quickly in acute situations.
ARCPThe annual assessment that decides whether a doctor in training has met the competencies to progress to the next stage.
AVPU scaleA rapid way to grade consciousness — Alert, responds to Voice, responds to Pain, Unresponsive — used in initial assessment.

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