Applications for GP training places have increased by almost 50%

Social media campaign successful in highlighting the advantages of being a GP

The Irish College of General Practitioners has announced that the number of applications for its 2018 GP Training Programme has increased by almost 50% on last year. This initiative was supported by the HSE National Doctors Training and Planning (NDTP).

The final number of applications received by the closing date of 16 November was 421, compared to 285 applications in 2016.

Dr Karena Hanley, the ICGP's national director of GP training, said the social media campaign #BEaGP, which combined a new website with Facebook ads, was a key part of the success of the campaign.

"We are very pleased at the level of applications received, especially as we are expanding the number of places on the training schemes around the country. It is planned to have 200 places available in 2018, compared to 186 in 2017."

She added, "We decided to initiate a dedicated social media campaign to highlight the advantages not only of our training programme but also the benefits of being a general practitioner. The campaign included video vignettes with long established GPs with diverse practices – suburban and rural – which demonstrate the opportunities for a rewarding and varied career in general practice."

"The www.BeaGP.com website also contained video interviews with current GP trainees on why they chose general practice over other specialties. The common theme emerging was that they strongly believe that general practice can make a real difference, provides a balanced life, and enables them to be both a generalist and a specialist."

The dedicated website for the #BeaGP campaign is www.beagp.com.

Media queries

Aileen O'Meara, Communications Consultant, Irish College of General Practitioners
Tel. 01 5175311 / 087 2239830, email: media@icgp.ie