As we leave 2021 behind and stampede into 2022, already thinking about flu vaccinations and many other things, it’s time to give ourselves a bit of love. After all, who else is going to?!

I often read practice manager blogs, articles and forums and wonder how there can be any mangers still working in general practice. It’s quite depressing. As it’s a stressful job, particularly at present, more and more people seem to be leaving the role. I accidentally joined a forum in Australia, and it’s amazing to see that even though they have sunshine and beaches and Kylie Minogue, they’re still stressed and have EXACTLY the same issues.

So, why are we in this job if it’s so bad? There must be some things we love about it, surely? Well, here’s a list of my favourite things.

1. I love one of my receptionists who will find any reason to create a bit of fun within the team, although I have to say that when she recently celebrated the Chinese New Year, I wasn’t in any way amused to find out that I was a Pig! The information she showed me said that people who are born in the year of the Pig usually have a full face and big ears. Brilliant! Even worse than that, my other half is a Tiger and now calls me Percy Pig. Basically, my life is ruined. But I do love that receptionist! Her zest for life is fantastic.

2. The patients – yes, THE PATIENTS! Of course, we get called rude names and are told to ‘**** *ff’ quite a few times each week, it’s always our fault that they haven’t ordered their own prescriptions, and we never answer the phone because we’re lazy, but nevertheless LOTS of the patients are really, really nice. There’s a small waiting room outside my office and just yesterday I heard two young women talking about how nice the doctors are; they named three of them. It was going well until one said, “But Dr X did congratulate me on my pregnancy when I actually wasn’t pregnant!” Oops. BUT the patients! We get an anonymous hamper every month – no name, just a thank you. A patient wrote a card to a medical student the other day and gave her a box of chocolates. The medical student cried because she was so touched! Honestly, the patients can be really, really nice.

3. The work! Yes, the work can be a nightmare, and convoluted, and it’s obviously the job of someone in the Government to try to devise the most complicated ways for practices to remain sustainable, BUT the work keeps us alive, we make friends, we have social gatherings, we drink coffee together, we eat lunch, we talk about the latest episodes on Netflix, and we laugh; we do a lot of laughing. We also use our brains, we keep active, we remain interested, and we’re learning all the time. It’s a really tough job, I know, but you could be sitting at home watching Judge Rinder listening to how Tina is trying to sue her neighbour Jane because Jane’s dog tried to have sex with her cat and now her cat has anxiety and depression. You could be doing that!!

4. Lastly, on a more serious note, we’re doing a great job; we’re part of a huge structure in society that helps people. In a typical week, 1.5 million people are helped by the NHS. We’re working in a role where we help people when they need it most. We all know it’s not perfect and it’s under-resourced; however, we’ve all decided to be in this job – helping people. As sentimental as that sounds, it’s something we genuinely need to remember; it’s what we get up for every day. The NHS makes a difference, and we’re part of it.

This Valentine’s Day, when love is in the air, give some love and appreciation to yourself. You deserve it!

PM Polly 😊