Recruiting GPS

SIR – The difficulties of GP recruitment are complex (Letters, May 16).

I have long held the view that it starts with the selection process for medical school entry. The requirement of three Cs at A-level in the Sixties and early Seventies resulted in a much more diverse student population (although it was predominantly male).

Selection based purely on high academic achievement will perhaps attract undergraduates with different aspirations. Working hours are highly regulated and limited within the “acute sector”. Combine this with the diversity of career options within hospital medicine and you have the perfect storm.

A portfolio career integrating elements of GP and hospital work may go some way to address this.

Paul Lear FRCS

Lydlinch, Dorset