This book explores the identity work and conflicted perspectives of general practitioner (GP) trainees working in hospitals in the UK. Drawing on empirical and theoretical scholarship, and privileging the analysis of social language-in-use, Johnston describes primary care medicine as a separate paradigm with its own philosophy, identity and practice. Casting primary and secondary care in historical conflict, the perceived lower status of primary care in the world of medicine is explored. Significant identity challenges ensue for GP trainees positioned at the coalface of conflict. Problematising structures of GP training and highlighting how complex historical power dynamics play out in medical training, the author advocates for radical change in how GPs are trained in order to manage the current primary care recruitment and retention crisis.

Dr Jennifer L. Johnston is a practising general practitioner (GP) and medical educationalist in Belfast, Northern Ireland. This work was developed from her PhD research, which won the Association for the Study of Medical Educations Best Original Research Paper Award in 2016. She uses education for change and is committed to embedding social justice within medical education.

Chapter 1: Introduction.- Chapter 2: GP Identities in Hospital.- Chapter 3: Marias Narrative.- Chapter 4: Paradigms in Conflict.- Chapter 5: Pedagogy, Policy and Practice.