A doctor reveals the dark side of the profession: “They said family doctors worked little and earned a lot, but it was all a lie”

With the arrival of COVID-19 came a sharp increase in the number of patients flooding into health centers. Five years later, clinics are still understaffed and struggling to keep up. Nicola Ucci, a former general practitioner in a clinic in Cento, in Italy’s Ferrara province, shared his story in an interview with Corriere di Bologna.

Ucci said he treated more than 1,800 patients between 2017 and 2023. The ideal number of patients per GP is generally between 1,000 and 1,200. In extreme cases, doctors might handle up to 1,500 patients, though that’s considered the upper limit of what’s manageable. Ucci had over 600 more than the recommended maximum.

“There just aren’t enough doctors”

“Because of the current shortage of general practitioners, by the end I had 1,800 patients,” Ucci said. It wasn’t always that way, but when the pandemic hit, the number of available doctors plummeted. By 2023—the year Ucci ended his contract as a GP in Cento—patient numbers were still close to 2020 levels.

He began his medical career in emergency care. At one point, he heard rumors that GPs earned a lot and didn’t work too hard. Supposedly, they had weekends and nights off—a work-life balance that convinced him to pursue a position through the public exam system.

The myth about GPs

But the job wasn’t what he imagined. “I learned the hard way that it was all a lie. Otherwise, why would someone my age give up the goose that lays golden eggs?” he said.

His schedule involved seven-day workweeks, with an average of ten hours per day. When he got home—often past midnight—he’d still be glued to his computer, finishing paperwork he couldn’t complete during clinic hours.

Ucci, the father of two teenagers, said he hardly saw his children during those years. The few free hours he had were usually spent catching up on administrative work. He was physically present at home, but emotionally and mentally elsewhere.

He only did home visits on Saturdays and Sundays—the only time his weekly workload allowed. “This pace is not healthy for anyone,” he said. The body and mind can handle it for a while, but in the long term, it leads to severe exhaustion.

Walking away from the job

In 2023, Ucci canceled his contract as a GP in Cento. He then re-enrolled in regional job lists and briefly returned to emergency care at the Local Health Authority in Modena, and later worked at a nursing home.

That, too, didn’t last. He eventually took a position as an emergency physician with the Local Health Authority of Bologna, covering the southern part of the city. “I now work emergency shifts in Bazzano, Porretta Terme, and Loiano. I’m an emergency doctor.”

In his new role, thanks to his age and seniority, Ucci gets three to four days off per week. He no longer brings work home, and on his days off, he fully disconnects. This has allowed him to spend quality time with his children and avoid the constant stress he once lived with.

“Now, when I have free time, I really have free time,” he says.

Although he misses his former patients—“The bond between doctor and patient is part of the healing process”—Ucci affirms that being a family doctor has become nearly impossible in today’s healthcare system.

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