General Practice

Like this picture, the exact information you need to know is blurry. Otherwise it would be called 'Specific Practice'.

You need good general knowledge

It is difficult to write good notes on General Practice. There are no real new areas to cover, just a different take on the knowledge you do know. Everything you see in the hospital is serious, yet the vast majority of problems in health are not terribly serious. Someone has a "fit" - in hospital they have epilepsy; in primary care, they might just have fainted, or had a panic attack - its not always serious.

So what do I learn?

It's hard for the medical school to write exam questions, and thus hard for you to prepare for them. Basically, read through the anatomy & physiology section, making sure you have a rough idea of the body and how it works, reading the key clinical conditions at the bottom of each page.

Key problems

• Health Promotion, smoking, immunisation and lifestyle improvements, such as exercise to prevent obesity
• Screening
• Psychiatric, especially depression
• GU problems
• Contraception
• STDs
• Other stuff