Andrew Papanikitas is Deputy Editor of the BJGP. He is on X: @gentlemedic and Bluesky: @gentlemedic.bsky.social
Deja vu?
The concept of any revolution understandably makes people nervous. In broad political terms a revolution means peoples’ circumstances change, some for the better and some for the worse, sometimes violently or unjustly. GPs are particularly suspicious of revolutions, because change itself almost always involves extra work. Some revolutions can be intellectual, such as the evidence-based medicine paradigm. Some revolutions are everyday, grassroots-led and may result from the simple passage of time but nonetheless create a sustained change. There are two kinds of such mundane revolution which we have highlighted in the BJGP’s Life & Times. The first is celestial, represented by the start of a new year — the earth quite literally turns. The second kind of mundane revolution is illustrated by the sheer variety and impact of the articles in both BJGP Life and Life & Times. All express how GPs meet the challenges of our life and times, and engage with them as clinicians, citizens, and human beings.1
Deja Vu? So what?
To those thinking, ‘Could I write a Life article?’ please come in and have a look around. Then find the submission guidance2 (see below) and have a go!
For anyone experiencing a sense of ‘deja vu’ (literately a sense of having seen before – in French no less!) reading this, yes I used some of these ideas exactly this time last year… Perhaps you might reflect that events in in medicine and national and global politics also seem familiar, and not necessarily in the cosy happy familiarity of stumbling across a place you spent happy times in, an old friend or a favourite meal. I hope that BJGP life remains ‘good familiar’ in 2025 even if the wider world remains in need of a dose of primary care values. “What are these values?‘ you ask. Perhaps this is a discussion for the coming year…
What now? Thanks to all of our contributors, and welcome to writers new and old!
The primary goal of BJGP Life and BJGP Life &Times is to develop a BJGP community — a virtual agora, the forum of classical times that translates across time and space as the debating room, the public house, the workplace coffee room, or the exchange of ideas over the corridor water-cooler.
As 2025 dawns, on behalf of BJGP Life, I would like to thank all of our contributors, both regular and occasional. You have challenged, informed and supported us. We have enjoyed work from household names in British and international general practice and welcomed new writers. Thank you.
To those thinking, ‘Could I write a Life article?’ please come in and have a look around. Then find the submission guidance2 (see below) and have a go!
References
- Papanikitas A, A mundane revolution,
- https://bjgplife.com/contribute/ (accessed 28/12/23)
Featured Photo by Greg Rakozy on Unsplash
