BJGP Life – The home of general practice and family medicine

Latest

When normal tests end care too early

13 January 2026

Medicine is remarkably effective at identifying disease. Yet when symptoms persist without a clear diagnosis, it often falters—not because knowledge is lacking, but because legitimacy quietly evaporates.

Monty Hall for doctors

Three doors are visible to the audience, behind one of which is a car; behind the others are two goats, presumably sedated to stop them giving themselves away...

12 January 2026

The Leopard in my House, by Mark Steel

The shared human experience... makes it a compelling and worthwhile read... also for those affected directly by cancer or friends and relatives caring for them.

10 January 2026

Every gap is an educational gap

"Recently I saw Ted and Rachel. They were living temporarily in a share house as they had recently been made homeless. Ted is a happy man despite his current circumstances, but has diabetes that is not well controlled. He takes

9 January 2026

Opinion and Clinical

Opinion

Every gap is an educational gap

"Recently I saw Ted and Rachel. They were living temporarily in a share house as they had recently been made homeless. Ted is a happy man despite his current circumstances, but has diabetes that is not well controlled. He takes his medication,

9 January 2026

Opinion

Seeing double

Alongside them is another person, invisible and nameless. This is the person shaped by fear, experience, and memory; by what they have learned it is safe to say, and what it costs to say more.

8 January 2026

BJGP Long Read·Opinion

General practice: Medicine’s living philosophy

What I felt as moral distress was not failure, but philosophy calling—reminding me that general practice is medicine’s living philosophy...

7 January 2026

BJGP Long Read·Opinion

The three-body problem

The physics of Cixin Liu’s alien world make it a hazardous place to live, and the consultation can sometimes also feel like a minefield of hidden agendas, competing interests, and impossible choices.

5 January 2026

BJGP Long Read·Opinion

The machine that goes ping

But who cares? Well, it is a distraction, an overload of trivial alarm signals from a built in buffoon while I am trying to drive a car on a dark winter evening in the rain.

3 January 2026

BJGP·Featured video·Opinion

A ‘wassail’ for the new year!

"'Wassail’ is an apt greeting to a medical journal community — it derives from the Old English was hál, meaning ‘be hale’ or ‘be in good health’. ... As we wassail 2026 ... [w]hether you are a reader or writer, let’s face

2 January 2026

Editorial comment·Opinion

2026 is here! Happy new year from BJGP Life!

Happy new year! New years resolutions and thanks for 2025...

1 January 2026

Opinion

Dwelling in uncertainty: the GP’s expertise

Expertise in general practice blends knowledge, skill, judgement, and relationships. It’s less about certainty than managing uncertainty with care. True expertise integrates evidence, intuition, reflection, and empathy; it develops through both formal training and the hidden curriculum. Ultimately, it’s a dynamic, lifelong

30 December 2025

1

Editorial comment·Opinion

A Christmas wish from BJGP Life

Merry Christmas from BJGP Life. This year I'd like to focus on the idea that medicine, and general practice in particular, might be an engine of peace, and instrument of health and wellbeing. 'Thoughts and Prayers' embodied in meaningful professional activity.

25 December 2025

Book Reviews

Book review

The Leopard in my House, by Mark Steel

The shared human experience... makes it a compelling and worthwhile read... also for those affected directly by cancer or friends and relatives caring for them.

3 mins read

Book review

Moral Ambition: Stop Wasting Your Talent and Start Making a Difference by Rutger Bregman

Moral ambition does not mean trying to be perfect. This book is meant as a practical guide for anyone who wants to be more effective in making a difference.

3 mins read

1

Book review

Stranger Within: Poems & Prose, by Blair Smith

Blair Smith was a GP for twenty years before he became a professor and then a consultant in pain medicine. This lovely book reflects all these aspects of his career as well as his own personal cancer experience.

1 min read

Book review

The Strange Death of Medical England by William Hayes-Wood

The trenchant disillusionment of a passing generation– a long-incubated lament and warning reviewed by David Zigmond

6 mins read

1

Book review

Six books to read, give, or talk about during the festive season

"For the last couple of years we’ve had a BJGP tradition of reviewing some book-ish stocking fillers, books to give to those we love (and/or work with), books to read in quiet moments and on cold nights, and books to talk about at gatherings. It’s

6 mins read

2

Book review

Death in a Shallow Pond: A Philosopher, a Drowning Child, and Strangers in Need, By David Edmonds

It’s a struggle to reconcile what we do with those inner thoughts that we should be doing more and doing it better. Those inner thoughts, our moral sense or conscience of right and wrong, guide our behaviour, and should make us reflect to learn what

3 mins read

Book review

Book review: Finding Meaning in Healthcare: Looking Through the Hermeneutic Window

|Patients often do not feel heard and their doctors are tired of constantly being told to do more; general practice as a profession must tug at the sleeve of power to explain exactly what it is that we already do, how it differs from what

5 mins read

2

Book review·Opinion

A Doctor’s Bag for Tomorrow: Packed with Apps, AI and Good Old Fashioned Eye Contact

Previous articles in the BJGP asked the rhetorical question of whether British general practitioners seeking well-being should move to Denmark. Perhaps they should read this book first.

2 mins read

Book review·International·Opinion

“I Shall Not Hate,” medical responses to the crisis in Gaza

Medicine is an area of civic life that doesn't take sides, which seeks to treat everyone equally regardless of creed or country. In particular, we are sensitive to the varying perspectives of our students coming, as they do, from such a diversity of backgrounds.

4 mins read

1

Book review

Book review: Breathe: How to Win a Greener World

"Something remarkable has happened that will improve the health of thousands in London, and it doesn’t require a GP review. For the first time since legal limits were introduced in 2010, London’s nitrogen dioxide levels have dropped within legal thresholds ..."

4 mins read

International

International·Opinion

When normal tests end care too early

Medicine is remarkably effective at identifying disease. Yet when symptoms persist without a clear diagnosis, it often falters—not because knowledge is lacking, but because legitimacy quietly evaporates.

3 mins read

BJGP Long Read·International·Opinion

A Gaza medical Student, a GP Surgery in Darlaston, and the quiet influence of general practice

As GPs, we often meet people at points of disruption - when plans collapse and the future suddenly feels unclear. We sit with that complexity daily: listening, and identifying what next steps might be possible.

3 mins read

Bright Ideas and Innovation·International·Opinion

Meitheal and Umunthu as guides for healthcare

Two concepts—Meitheal from Ireland and Umunthu from Malawi—offer valuable frameworks that could improve healthcare systems for all, including the health workers who work in them.

3 mins read

BJGP Long Read·International·Opinion·Stories

Two under two, one Trainer, and a town called Virginia

Anyway, that driving tutorial and mortifying nap saga have stayed with me. What I now know is that being of the community, not just in it, is what makes general practice effective, sustainable and frankly, what makes it fun.

2 mins read

Book review·International·Opinion

“I Shall Not Hate,” medical responses to the crisis in Gaza

Medicine is an area of civic life that doesn't take sides, which seeks to treat everyone equally regardless of creed or country. In particular, we are sensitive to the varying perspectives of our students coming, as they do, from such a diversity of backgrounds.

4 mins read

1

Long Read

Monty Hall for doctors

BJGP Long Read·Opinion

Three doors are visible to the audience, behind one of which is a car; behind the others are two goats, presumably sedated to stop them giving themselves away...

5 mins read

General practice: Medicine’s living philosophy

BJGP Long Read·Opinion

What I felt as moral distress was not failure, but philosophy calling—reminding me that general practice is medicine’s living philosophy...

4 mins read

The three-body problem

BJGP Long Read·Opinion

The physics of Cixin Liu’s alien world make it a hazardous place to live, and the consultation can sometimes also feel like a minefield of hidden agendas, competing interests, and impossible choices.

5 mins read

The machine that goes ping

BJGP Long Read·Opinion

But who cares? Well, it is a distraction, an overload of trivial alarm signals from a built in buffoon while I am trying to drive a car on a dark winter evening in the rain.

3 mins read

A Gaza medical Student, a GP Surgery in Darlaston, and the quiet influence of general practice

BJGP Long Read·International·Opinion

As GPs, we often meet people at points of disruption - when plans collapse and the future suddenly feels unclear. We sit with that complexity daily: listening, and identifying what next steps might be possible.

3 mins read

Trainees and students

Enhancing qFIT bowel screening uptake in deprived areas

BJGP Long Read·Opinion·Undergraduate

This is what Andrea Williamson and colleagues have termed missingness: The systematic absence of certain groups from health data, services, and outcomes. Those who do not return their kits are not a random group — they are often the very patients carrying the highest burden

4 mins read

Are we judging GP registrars on their outfits?

AiT·BJGP Long Read·Opinion

Professionalism may not be a discrete domain on the mark scheme, yet it shapes how registrars are assessed, creating a standard that remains open to personal interpretation. And when that interpretation is shaped by assumptions about religion, culture, gender, or identity, attire can become an

3 mins read

1

Mutual mentorship: A hidden strength in general practice

AiT·BJGP Long Read·Opinion

We’ve come to believe that at any stage of training or career, every GP has the potential to be both mentor and mentee; it is a reciprocal relationship that fosters self-reflection, career development, and personal growth for all involved.

3 mins read

Caring for my grandmother: A resident doctor’s personal experience of end-of-life caregiving in the community

AiT·BJGP Long Read·Opinion

Many have discussed the challenges informal caregivers face with end-of-life care in the community... By recounting my experience, I hope to add further insight from the perspective of a resident doctor acting in this role.

6 mins read

1

Knocking for help: a hidden strain of GP-training

AiT·Opinion

In clinical scenarios that are unfamiliar or require in-person review, trainees are often forced to leave their patients mid-consultation to seek help. The act of “door knocking” i.e interrupting a colleague who is themselves consulting - can feel burdensome. Hana Esack reflects.

2 mins read

BJGP Interviews

BJGP Interviews Podcast

BJGP TV | Research

1

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32

Professor Martin Marshall at the BJGP Research Conference

Counting GPs

BJGP Research & Publishing Conference 2026

FULL VERSION: Menopausal symptoms from breast cancer treatment

Menopausal symptoms from breast cancer treatment

Inside the BJGP and editorial insights

1

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32

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Trainees and students

BJGP Interviews

BJGP Interviews Podcast

BJGP TV | Research

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