Zoe wrote: ‘When I started medical school, I wanted to be a surgeon. I thought general practice was dull. But that changed early on, with my first placement; I spent four afternoons in a small town practice, and realised that general practice encompassed all of the reasons why I’d originally chosen to study medicine.’
Read Zoe's winning entry.
Dr Maureen Baker, chair of the RCGP, said: ‘It was a great honour to be asked to judge these fantastic entries; all of them were incredibly uplifting and resonated with the reasons I became a GP, and still love being one.
‘In the end, Zoe’s entry really looked to the future of our profession with great optimism – and that’s what we need to recruit, retain and return the thousands of GPs we need to that we can deliver the truly person-centred care that our patients need and deserve.’
She added: ‘Congratulations to all entrants on your decisions to be GPs – it’s a decision you won’t regret and I look forward to hearing more from you all in the future.’
Zoe said that she had entered the competition to help encourage other medical students to consider general practice as a future career.
‘When I heard about the competition, I knew I had to enter. I love explaining to others why I'm choosing general practice, and I'm passionate about engaging with students and encouraging them to consider a career in this specialty,’ she said.
‘I thoroughly enjoyed writing my entry - to win is a wonderful surprise.'
Emma Bower, editor of GPonline, said: ‘A big thank you to everyone who took part in the competition this year. The standard of all of the entries was very high. The enthusiasm for general practice shone through and the shortlist really highlighted the many positive reasons for choosing a career as a GP. Congratulations to Zoe who is a very worthy winner.’
Zoe wins £100 in John Lewis vouchers.
