How much does a GP cost?

[摘要] Can you put a price on producing a GP? Producing and packaging a fresh- out- of- training GP will accumulate costs at the individual and societal level. In an era where difficulties in GP recruitment and retention are having significant impacts on the workforce, will knowing the ‘value’ of a GP give us any clues as to the projected cost in terms of loss to the system if that GP eventually leaves the NHS?PERSONAL COSTS The personal costs of medical school are ‘bewildering’ to work out, as they depend on which of the four UK countries students ordinarily live, whether medicine is being taken as a second degree, and personal circumstances such as age and domestic income.1Currently in England, medical students pay tuition fees for 4 or 5 years of medical school at the rate of £9250 per year. These tuition costs have ramped up steadily since 1998, and again from 2012 with the tuition fee hike, and accordingly, the burden of student loan debt for tuition and living costs has accelerated over the past two decades.Students graduating from higher education in England in 2022 have an average student debt of £45 150, more than three times the average of those graduating in 2009.2 This average across all undergraduate degrees doesn’t reflect the range of debt for medical students who pay an additional 1–2 years of tuition compared to those on 3-year courses, with some medical students amassing debts of over £100 000. The fun doesn’t stop on qualifying from medical school for those entering GP training, with mandatory registration to the General Medical Council, and the costs of training portfolios and exams.The cost to the individual is hugely variable and dependent on several personal and contextual factors, but the overall personal cost of becoming a GP can easily top out over £100 000. This high personal cost is an investment in a career with a fairly guaranteed and competitive income (at least at the point of completing training — just ask the junior doctors striking for pay restoration).

[学科分类] 卫生学