What a GP can do

"Hi my daughter has dandruff, can you recommend a dermatologist for us?" "My baby is due for her vaccination, could you help recommend a pediatrician?" "I have bad giddiness this morning, should I go to the emergency department or should I see a neurologist?" I receive these messages almost on a daily basis because I am a friend who happen to be a doctor. My friends trust me to recommend the best doctor for their care. I am very grateful of their faith. However, it also poses a sort of ethical dilemma to me. In all of these, I firmly believe that all GPs can handle them very well. I would even say these area bread and butter conditions. If I were to tell my friend to see another GP or myself, I must be sure that I must not have conflict of interest. At the same time, I want the best for my friends. Here, I am referring to the most cost-effective and cost-efficient way of managing their conditions. So, the answer to the question on what a general practitioner is will provide some guidance to my friends. So, who truly is a GP? To put it crudely and a self mockery manner, a GP is a jack of all trade and master of none. In hokkien, we bao ka liao (meaning covers everything), from head to toe, from left to right, from inside to outside, from high tech to low tech. Yes, GPs can treat dandruff, GPs provide all vaccinations needed for all ages, GP can treat giddiness. Smile.