How I built my GP career: Dr Asim Hasan

Dr Asim Hasan shares his career story – from joining as a GP trainee in 2011 to becoming the national medical director for Integrated Urgent Care at Practice Plus Group in less than a decade.

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After graduating from medical school in London in 2006, I did academic foundation years before starting core surgical training at Imperial College. During my training, I married my wife who was a final year medical student at the time and who wanted to be a paediatrician whilst I was hell bent on vascular surgery. We quickly realised that we would never see each other and therefore made a joint decision to do general practice instead, which was the best decision ever.

Out-of-hours work: No admin, bloods to file or documents to check

During my GP training the part which I enjoyed the most was the out-of-hours (OOH) element with Harmoni (which later became Care UK, now the Practice Plus Group). With no administrative tasks, bloods to file, documents to check, it was as close to the acute care as a GP could get.

Flexible work

Confident in my training, I excelled as a registrar in the OOH in Surrey and started working as an OOH GP the very first weekend I qualified. Whilst becoming a partner the same week, I was continually drawn to the OOH work, not only because the work itself was enjoyable and rewarding, both professionally and monetarily, but it was also flexible so I could work whenever I wanted to work without being tied into a set routine, which worked really well for me at that time.

‘It was never about the money’

I worked long and hard in the OOH service during my early years after qualifying (well supported by a wife who was now a junior doctor) and was quickly able to do the things you want to do once you qualify including having kids and buying a house. But it was never about the money – the work itself was thoroughly enjoyable for me, and the working environment was safe and supportive.

‘My clinical work and dedication to the service helped me land the post’

I managed to convince Surrey to release me to London where I continued to work, and came across the medical lead role in one of Practice Plus Group’s OOH services. My clinical work and dedication to the service helped me land the post despite no previous medical lead experience.

An immensely fulfilling role

I was very well supported by Practice Plus Group during this time and was able to excel and make a mark, so when there was a vacant post for a Regional Medical Director (RMD) for London it was suggested that I apply for this role. In June 2015, I became the Regional Medical Director, which was an immensely fulfilling and satisfying role. I balanced this management job with OOH work, as well as remaining a partner in a practice in South West London, and Practice Plus Group allowed me immense flexibility to do all this.

The future… IUC services?

My region gradually expanded from London to the South West of England and I also had an opportunity to get involved as a Subject Matter Expert with Practice Plus Group’s exciting and innovate New Services. However the next big step change came in April 2020 when I was appointed the National Medical Director for Integrated Urgent Care with Practice Plus Group, which is both exciting and challenging.

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