VOCATIONAL-TRAINING AND BEYOND - LISTENING TO VOICES FROM A VOID

This paper is written from the viewpoint of a doctor who has recently undergone general practice vocational training, and has first-hand exp erience of some of the opportunities, difficulties, and uncertainties facing doctors at this stage of their careers. The literature on vocat ional training and the issues concerning young doctors are explored in the light of concerns that recruitment into general practice is falli ng, that registrars may feel lost in a 'void' at the end of training, and that the 'new world' of post-training work brings problems for man y new general practitioners (GPs). Instead of a traditional partnershi p, one of the authors (RB) chose a salaried, educationally oriented in troduction to inner-city general practice. Some innovative, educationa l schemes, which are aiming to improve the appeal of general practice, are discussed.