Abstract
Study leave is a precious commodity for GP trainees. We get 30 days per year and if you don’t use it, you lose it. Much of this study leave is taken up by vocational training scheme (VTS) days but if you plan your leave carefully, you can use it to full potential.
This year I had some extra days to use before August and decided to search for medical conferences.
You may not have heard of the World Organization of Family Doctors (WONCA) – I hadn’t until I started searching. The acronym comes from the first five initials of the World Organization of National Colleges, Academies and Academic Associations of General Practitioners/Family Physicians.
WONCA was started in 1972 and the European Branch now represents 47 member organisations. Their mission is ‘to improve the quality of life of people through fostering high standards of care in general practice/family medicine’.
Family doctors from all over Europe come together every year. This year the 24th European WONCA conference was held in Bratislava, Slovakia, over 4 days in June and titled ‘The Human Side of Medicine’. The title appealed to me – in this exciting era of technology and apps in healthcare, it’s important to remember the vital role family doctors have in being there to listen, empathise and treat their patients holistically. It’s no surprise that Luke Fildes’ 1891 painting ‘The Doctor’, where the family doctor watches over a dying child as the parents look on, was referenced more than once.
The registration cost as a trainee was €310 if booked by early January. Once you qualify as a GP the fee doubles so it’s certainly something to consider during training.
GP training schemes in some countries encourage their trainees to attend the WONCA conference. Both Spain and Portugal had over 250 delegates attending (compared with 72 from the UK). After talking with Portuguese trainees, I learnt that they are strongly encouraged to attend as part of their ePortfolio equivalent. The Netherlands had the next largest cohort and I was lucky enough to be invited to their college drinks reception one evening. GPs from all stages of their careers – trainees to retirees – from all over the Netherlands met for a few hours of socialising and sharing of experiences. Human beings are innately sociable – it’s how we learn. I happened to be reading Simon Jenkins’ ‘A Short History of Europe’ during my time in Bratislava, which touches on the building of civilisations through human encounters summarised in three short sentences – ‘People travelled. People met. People learned’. The late Steve Jobs appreciated this when he was with Pixar and created shared spaces simply to encourage people to meet and spark ingenuity.
At a time when more money is finally being put towards doctors’ wellbeing and the building of Primary Care Networks (PCNs) in the UK, perhaps we should take a leaf out of the Dutch book of GPs and organise a social event at the WONCA conference to encourage sharing of ideas and a sense of camaraderie.
The structure of the conference was a ‘pic’n’mix’ of workshops, research presentations and guideline updates interspersed with six plenary lectures. A ‘skills lab’ area allowed delegates to hone their electrocardiogram (ECG), ultrasound and other skills. The choice on offer was vast – I found myself enjoying an early morning walking workshop, learning about doctor–patient relationships in an international Balint group and learning about leadership and teamwork in an innovative way during a dancing workshop.
I went to a couple of inspiring talks from GP trainees who had taken part in the Vasco da Gama exchange programme – an exchange programme that has been running for over 10 years and allows GPs to experience primary care in a different country for 2 weeks. There is a lot of information on the exchanges offered on their website. Certainly, something to consider.
Perhaps the most encouraging aspect of this conference was the mingling of nationalities, the mix of ideas and experiences, but with the reminder that we are all human and need time away from the day job once in a while to reflect and recharge; to reignite our passion. I’m returning to work on Monday with a renewed sense of well-being, knowing that family doctors across Europe are striving to do their best for their patients and also themselves. See you at WONCA Europe 2020 in Berlin?
