NASGP

Are you a sessional GP who needs to stay visible and connected between bookings? This conversation with social media expert Debbie Ford gives you 10 practical, low-effort tips to transform your LinkedIn profile into your professional shop window.

View on YouTube

Join NASGP's community to download Debbie's slides – subscribe on nasgp.org.uk for the link.

Learn

–How to optimise your profile for better discovery on Google search and AI tools.
–The difference between following and connecting to build your professional network with other GPs.
–How to use the scheduling tool to batch content about your GP work and career.
–Simple strategies to interact with key organisations like NASGP, your local ICB, and fellow NASGP members to amplify your voice.
–Why the 'one post, one message' rule helps GPs write effectively.

Practices think carefully about who they bring in as a locum. Your network and online presence play a part in that.

In this video Debbie shares ten practical tips to help you strengthen your profile, connect with the right people, and make this platform work for you.

If you’d like more tailored support, Debbie offers a one-hour ‘Super Sixty’ session for NASGP members (£150), focused on your profile, positioning, and next steps.

Explore what’s included: https://thechichestersocial.com/linkedin-power-hour
Book your session: https://cal.com/debbie-ford-the-chichester-social/super-sixty-for-nasgp-members

00:00 Intro
01:18 Why LinkedIn for GPs?
12:44 Always repost!
16:18 One post, one message
21:44 How often to post
33:13 LinkedIn for GPs

In this episode, Dr Richard Fieldhouse is joined by Dr Susanna Petche to trace her diverse career path. From an innovative, arts-in-medicine GP VTS at the Whittington, through to her time as a locum GP within the Chambers model, and her later work in commissioning and medical education. The conversation pivots to her personal experience with a diagnosis of complex post-traumatic stress disorder (CPTSD). Dr Petche now uses this lived experience and a master's in psychological trauma to teach other clinicians how common presentations like chronic pain, fibromyalgia, and resistant anxiety are often rooted in unacknowledged trauma. She offers practical, actionable advice on how GPs can become trauma-informed and empower their patients through lifestyle medicine to break the cycle of chronic stress and inflammation.

Common Threads
TEDx: "Is trauma costing you your future?"
Website: www.trauma-sense.com

GP locums are on the front line of AI adoption, but inconsistent practice-level governance creates significant risk. In this conversation, Helen Holmes-Fogg (NASGP Chief Exec), digital health specialist Dr Keith Grimes, and practising locum Dr Claire Sieber dive into the practical reality of using AI scribes (AVT) when moving between multiple practices. They discuss the critical need for patient consent, the ambiguity around MDO indemnity, and how a surprising 70% of deployed digital health technology may not be fully compliant with clinical safety standards. This is essential listening for any sessional GP looking to benefit from AI while protecting their registration, their patients, and their portfolio career.

Youtube edition

As a GP, you are at high risk of burnout, which the World Health Organisation defines as a syndrome from chronic, unmanaged workplace stress—it is not a personal failure. In this essential webinar, Dr Helen Garr, Medical Director at NHS Practitioner Health, shares practical, evidence-based tools to recognise the signs before you reach the 'burnout cliff' and find support within your practice and the wider sessional workforce community.

YouTube of webinar

https://youtu.be/Xg8aO2JjJLs

What you will learn

Why burnout is a system problem, not a character flaw in the sessional GP workforce.
How to use energy accounting (the 'spoon theory') to protect your capacity and maintain continuity.
The crucial steps to build psychological safety within your team by 'reaching in' to colleagues.
The common signs you are near the 'burnout cliff' and what 'bad medicine' coping strategies look like.
How to create a personal wellbeing plan (WRAP plan) and identify your vital support network (Head, Shoulders, Knees, Toes crew).

Topic order

Burnout: It's a systemic issue, not a flaw (Boiling frog analogy).
The burnout cliff: recognising common signs and compassion fatigue.
The temperature continuum: checking in on your psychological well-being.
Developing a Wellbeing/Resilience Action Plan (WRAP plan).
Psychological safety and secondary stressors (the psychological backpack).
Building your support network (Head, Shoulders, Knees, Toes crew).
Energy accounting: the 'spoon theory'.
NHS Practitioner Health: confidential mental health and addiction treatment.

Resources

NHS Practitioner Health: https://www.practitionerhealth.nhs.uk/
Dr Richard Duggins' book: Burnout Free Working https://uk.jkp.com/products/burnoutfree-working 
Wellbeing & Coping Website: wellbeingandcoping.net
Mind's Wellbeing at Work Plan: https://www.mind.org.uk/workplace/my-mental-health-at-work/wellness-action-plans/ 
Balint Groups (for peer support): https://balintsociety.org.uk/balint-groups-and-balint-method

We speak to Dr Kevin Fernando about his deliberate and successful transition from a GP partnership to a thriving, multi-faceted portfolio career. Kevin explains how a desire for better work-life balance initially led him to general practice, and how his passion for medical education became the key to unlocking a global role with Medscape. He shares practical advice on how to start teaching, the importance of surrounding yourself with mentors, and how part-time sessional work provides the necessary foundation for flexibility. We also discuss his new private practice (focused on CVRM), the luxury of time it affords for holistic care, and his thoughts on the evolving role of AI as an invaluable tool for clinicians.