Within three months of launching, over 10,000 up-and-coming medics have signed up to Observe GP — a learning platform built by RCGP to provide remote work experience. In the place of physical GPs and primary care teams, users can watch an array of videos highlighting the roles these staff members in general practice, using real-life scenarios.

The videos were filmed at Attenborough Practice in Bushey, Hertfordshire; Liberty Road Practice in Stratford, East London; and Sawston Medical Practice, Cambridge, prior to COVID-19’s emergence.

Professor Martin Marshall, Chair of the Royal College of GPs, has said: “Observe GP can be used at any time by any one so the limitations of traditional work experience such as schedule clashes and social inequalities are eliminated.

COVID-19 has also presented as a challenge for many students who planned to use their summer holidays to gain relevant work experience but we hope that initiatives such as GP Observe will prove useful in providing an alternative for bright aspiring medics at a time when we’re all working differently.”

The platform will be available until Friday 30 October, when it will be deactivated for evaluation purposes before being re-launched in Spring 2021.