Fadila Ana-Maria Al Soodi is a GP clinging lovingly to the joy, chaos, and coffee-fuelled magic that make general practice strangely irresistible.
‘Is this job still doable?’
It’s a question many GPs quietly ask themselves on the drive home, inbox still buzzing in their mind, after a day spent firefighting — not healing. General practice is in crisis, but beneath the headlines lies a quieter, more personal question: how do we make this job sustainable, human, and maybe even joyful again?
This isn’t about longing for a mythical golden age. It’s about reclaiming space for creativity, connection, and wellbeing in a system that too often treats GPs as units of productivity rather than people.
“… how do we make this job sustainable, human, and maybe even joyful again?”
We can’t efficiency our way out of this
For years, the fixes offered to GPs have been largely technological or transactional: new digital triage platforms; AI-driven protocols; and care navigation systems. Each designed to ‘streamline’ and ‘free up time’. And yet, our time has never felt more scarce.
The real issue isn’t just volume — it’s the erosion of meaning. Relational medicine is being squeezed by relentless demand and a culture that values speed over substance. Creativity and reflection, once central to the craft of general practice, are now luxuries. And when creativity dies, so does morale.
Sustainability starts with permission to pause
If we want to retain GPs, we must redesign how we work. We need to build in breathing space — not just for admin or lunch, essential as those are — but for thinking, learning, and connecting.
Protected time for peer reflection, creative problem-solving, or simply stepping outside to reset can reduce emotional exhaustion. These aren’t ‘nice to haves’ — they are foundational to professional sustainability.
One practice in Northumberland created a weekly ‘Whiteboard Wednesday’: 30 minutes for the team to bring thorny cases, ethical dilemmas, or patient stories. It’s not formal continued professional development, but it rekindles shared purpose and curiosity. GPs leave feeling lighter, not heavier.
“Not everyone wants to leave clinical work — but many want to reshape it.”
Making space for meaning
Burnout isn’t just about doing too much — it’s about doing too much of what feels meaningless. Practices that preserve continuity, narrative work, and patient relationships often report better morale. Even five extra minutes can turn a consultation from tick-box to transformative.
Involving GPs in local service design, outreach, or teaching also helps reconnect them with purpose. Not everyone wants to leave clinical work — but many want to reshape it.
Creativity isn’t indulgence — it’s survival
We rarely talk about general practice as a creative profession. But it is. Every day, GPs synthesise stories, navigate uncertainty, and invent new ways to help — often with limited time and tools. It’s clinical jazz.
But creativity needs autonomy, safety, and trust. When every action is logged, audited, and driven by targets, that spark dims. Some practices are challenging this. One GP piloted ‘open clinics’ for complex patients — double-length appointments with no fixed agenda. Outcomes weren’t always measurable, but the job felt real again.
A culture that heals, not harms
Wellbeing isn’t about yoga mats in the break room — though rest matters. It’s built daily through relationships, fairness, and meaning. Practices that debrief after tough cases, laugh together, and check in on each other build resilience not through apps, but through connection.
“We need national policies that reflect the lived realities of general practice — safe working limits, protected time, and fewer punitive frameworks.”
Leadership is crucial. Teams thrive where vulnerability is allowed and modelled. When senior GPs share their own doubts or struggles, it opens a space for honesty and solidarity.
National support, local creativity
Of course, no amount of reflection will fix underfunding, workforce shortages, or political pressure. We need national policies that reflect the lived realities of general practice — safe working limits, protected time, and fewer punitive frameworks.
But while we push for that, local action can’t wait. Even small initiatives — mentoring schemes, creative prescribing projects, and reflective huddles — can ripple widely.
Reclaiming the craft
General practice matters not just because the NHS needs it — but because it can be a deeply human, sustaining way to work. But we can’t run on fumes and goodwill forever.
To retain and sustain our workforce, we must protect the very things that make general practice a craft: creativity, connection, and community. And we must start valuing GPs not by how many patients they see — but by how they help people heal.
If we do that, general practice may not just survive. It might thrive again.
Featured photo by Javier Allegue Barros on Unsplash.
Wonderful! Such an insightful article. Thanks Fadila.