Abstract
Most AiTs will have no idea what SAPC stands for, and your first reaction is probably ‘The last thing I need is another four letter acronym!’ But SAPC and the RCGP are partners for the development and dissemination of primary care research, and the Chair of SAPC has a seat as an Observer on Council, so we want to tell you a bit about the organization —and how it contributes to your future as a GP.
SAPC stands for the ‘Society for Academic Primary Care’. The aim of the society is to promote excellence in research, education and policy development in general practice and primary health care. It started life as an ‘Association of University Teachers of General Practice’ (AUTGP) in medical schools, aiming to support the challenges of developing general practice as a specialty in the UK. The place of general practice in both undergraduate and postgraduate training was contested at that stage — AH writes ‘I did one week in GP as a student in the 1970s, and did MRCGP at the end of my Vocational Training Scheme (VTS), but most of my colleagues thought this unnecessary — you could still go into general practice with no postgraduate qualification!’ There was also the huge task of creating a research workforce and establishing primary care research activity on a national level—a success reflected both in the scientific literature and in the next name ‘AUDGP’—as we had established Departments in most medical schools by the early 1980s.
As the active research and education workforce became more multidisciplinary and we increased our profile and range of activities, it seemed inappropriate for membership to be restricted to medical school departments alone. So, since 2001, we have become an ‘individual membership’ organization with an increasing mix of members, 50% from non-medical backgrounds and some from outside medical schools — for example at my own university, I have colleagues from the Allied Health School and Nursing, plus a number of psychologists and social scientists who are all SAPC members — so we are now a ‘Primary Care’ organization, not only for ‘GPs’.
The SAPC has taken a lead role in all aspects of the establishment of general practice as a major provider of undergraduate and postgraduate education (around 15% of undergraduate time now being spent in general practice). We have been particularly successful in securing a clear set of GP academic training opportunities in the ‘Walport’ scheme, and many Deaneries still manage to fund regional equivalents for people on VTS who would like to take up an academic placement. We have also made major strategic contributions to the development of NHS Research and Development and work very closely with the NHS Research and Development structures through the UK Clinical Research Network and the National School for Primary Care Research.
What do we do in practice? One main role is to run an annual scientific meeting somewhere in the UK and Eire in July each year, where the specific focus is the best of new primary care research from the universities. The focus is on clinical and health services research and showcases new major studies from primary care. New researchers are especially welcome, and student and registrar projects have been accepted on the same quality criteria as other submissions. The meeting is relatively small and very friendly (∼400). We are invited contributors to RCGP National Conference, and there are also regional meetings where GPs from VTS can often cut their teeth on presenting and getting peer feedback: these are linked with the university departments in each region and increasingly also link with Deanery and RCGP Faculties across the country. There are ‘special interest groups’ for research networking and sharing of ideas. Membership services include a journal (Primary Health Care Research and Development from Cambridge University Press), a newsletter, a website and the opportunity to set up special interest groups for researchers and clinicians with similar passions.
We also prioritize careers and training: we contribute to teaching and evaluating medical education, build the case for ensuring that the academic workforce is growing and receiving recognition, and work with the RCGP to lobby for adequate academic capacity to support the growing band of bright GP registrars and FY2 GP posts which are linked with academic options. We are currently working with the RCGP to look at the implications of extended training and the ways in which the curriculum could be further developed to support academic competencies such as appraisal, and the ability to apply the current emerging research to patient care and service innovation, and have basic competencies in teaching, research, leadership and team management. Academic activities develop the competencies needed to deliver these goals, and for those who do become enthusiasts, there are the options to move on into teaching and research in greater depth. Finally, we act strategically to influence policy. The RCGP — SAPC partnership enables us to be effective when commenting and lobbying for academic primary care and its application to training and practice.
So please keep an eye out for SAPC activities, use our website: www.sapc.ac.uk, ask your local academic colleagues about future meetings in your region and use our secretariat (see website) to contact a colleague local to you if you want to explore any interests in education and research. In my region, two-thirds of practices are teaching and training practices and over 80% hosted one or more research studies in the last year. So almost all GPs in their working lives interface with academic activities on a day-to-day basis as well as using our ‘products’ to assist their patient care. We hope that the next generation of general practitioners will really take advantage of these growing opportunities. Please get in touch!