{"id":793446,"date":"2026-10-06T06:34:11","date_gmt":"2026-10-06T06:34:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/793446\/"},"modified":"2026-10-06T06:34:11","modified_gmt":"2026-10-06T06:34:11","slug":"i-decided-to-take-a-leap-of-faith-largest-ever-number-of-gps-graduate-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/793446\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018I decided to take a leap of faith\u2019: Largest ever number of GPs graduate \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

When Dr Hannah McCauley was a child, she was used to her father Denis working all hours as a general practitioner (GP) in rural Donegal<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople would come to the house and every third night he would be on call. I grew up knowing the hard work that was involved in medicine but I saw how much enjoyment Dad got out of it,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

Despite getting the Leaving Cert<\/a> points to study medicine in Trinity College Dublin, she decided to \u201ctake a leap of faith\u201d and study abroad in Dundee, Scotland<\/a>.<\/p>\n

After graduating in 2016, she worked in Edinburgh for two years, before working in Northern Ireland for another two. But after working in hospitals and seeing \u201cpatients come and go\u201d, she realised she wanted a different speciality.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn general practice, it\u2019s very much patient focused. You know his whole history. He is a person and the illness happened to him,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is that classic GP cradle to grave situation, where we see them for their newborn check and you can see them through adolescence into adulthood into old age.\u201d<\/p>\n

McCauley is one of 274 new GPs graduating from the Irish College of GPs at Dublin\u2019s Convention Centre on Saturday.<\/p>\n

She started her GP training in 2020 during the early days of the Covid pandemic, but had two children during the process.<\/p>\n

[\u00a0GP numbers rise by just 185 in five years despite healthcare needs of growing populationOpens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n

\u201cI had my first baby in 2022. At that point, I was out in rural general practice and came back from maternity leave pregnant,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had two [babies] in 18 months. I was learning the art of being a GP while learning to be a mother and everything else that comes with that.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"DrDr Hannah McCauley and Dr Denis McCauley. pictured at the conferring ceremony at the Irish College of GPs. Photograph: David Coleman <\/p>\n

The 35-year-old is so excited to be able to work as GP in her beloved Donegal, following in the footsteps of her father.<\/p>\n

She was even more surprised to discover she, and another graduate, are both being given the Ellard Eppel award \u2013 a recognition of the GP trainee with the highest exam score in the country.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe GP training programme is normally four years, but I took six because I took a year off for each of my babies. I had thought the babies had fried my brain. I did the last exam last year. My son didn\u2019t sleep for two years, so I don\u2019t really remember it,\u201d she says, laughing.<\/p>\n

She added that the Donegal GP training programme was such a \u201csupportive learning environment\u201d.<\/p>\n

[\u00a0GP shortages: Where are the most acute problems across the country?Opens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n

The Government has increased the number of GP training places in recent years in a bid to meet the growing supply and demand gap, particularly in rural areas.<\/p>\n

Speaking about the newly qualified GPs, Fintan Foy, chief executive of the Irish College of GPs, said it was the \u201clargest graduation in the college\u2019s history\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cBehind that are 274 new specialist GPs who will care for patients and families in communities right across Ireland,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese GPs will help to address the GP workforce crisis and to ensure that we have sufficient specialist GPs to care for our population. I congratulate every one of them, and the families and friends who supported them along the way.\u201d<\/p>\n

Of the new graduates conferred at the weekend, 32 had completed the international medical graduate rural programme, which is a two-year supported work and learning initiative run by the Irish College of GPs, alongside the HSE to help experienced non-EU general practitioners integrate into rural Irish healthcare.<\/p>\n

Dr Velma Harkins, president of the college, paid particular tribute to these individuals, adding that they have \u201ckept its doctors\u2019 surgeries open\u201d.<\/p>\n

\"DrDr Arsalan Naqvi pictured at the conferring ceremony at the Irish College of GPs. Photograph: David Coleman <\/p>\n

Dr Arsalan Naqvi is originally from Pakistan but moved to Ireland in 2021 because he wanted to focus on more community-focused care.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor me, Ireland is a country that is very welcoming and has beautiful scenery. It has a healthcare system where primary care plays an important role,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

The 31-year -old worked as a senior house officer (SHO) in Portiuncula hospital in Galway for the year after he moved.<\/p>\n

[\u00a0At least 1,000 new GPs required to maintain patient ratios, says representative groupOpens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n

\u201cDuring that year, I really enjoyed the relationship between the hospital and the primary care and how general practice co-ordinates care in the community,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\u201cI applied to the GP scheme and got the Sligo GP scheme. The day I moved from the hospital to community and I felt like this is where I wanted to be. <\/p>\n

Why does he love general practice so much? There are lots of reasons, he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re seeing a variety, you\u2019re doing chronic medical conditions, minor surgery. I find in terms of illness you\u2019re dealing more with the social and psychosocial effect,\u201d he adds.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe relationship a GP has with a patient is different. You see them at different stages of their life.\u201d<\/p>\n

Now he has graduated, he will continue to work across two practices \u2013 one rural and one urban \u2013 though he thinks rural medicine might the home for him in the future.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would be more inclined to work in a rural practice that\u2019s why I want to do both to see whether I enjoy them both. I haven\u2019t decided yet,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wanted to see where I stand. I\u2019m looking forward to learning more skills in general practice.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"When Dr Hannah McCauley was a child, she was used to her father Denis working all hours as…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":793447,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[43],"tags":[60298,22533,102,2960,7156,189375,10269,183860,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-793446","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-healthcare","tag-donegal","tag-galway","tag-health","tag-healthcare","tag-hse","tag-irish-college-of-general-practitioners","tag-medicines","tag-sligo","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/793446","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=793446"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/793446\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/793447"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=793446"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=793446"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=793446"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}