BJGP Life – The home of general practice and family medicine

Latest

Just say NO: the growing toll of nitrous oxide in General Practice

22 January 2026

Nitrous oxide (‘nos’, ‘noxy’) is sold as harmless fun — a party balloon, a legal high, a cheap laugh. But behind that image lies a growing clinical problem. A warning from deep end GP.

How doctors learn not to listen

Students learn that ambiguity is risky, uncertainty should be resolved, and experience must be rendered legible through diagnosis. They learn to apply the gaze, filtering out the “noise” of life to find the signal of disease.

21 January 2026

Episode 220: Safety incidents in prison healthcare: Lessons from critical illness

In this episode, we discuss critical illness and failings in prison health.

20 January 2026

Yonder: Scale, shared care, AI scribes, trust in supervision

Alex Burrell examines the benefits of scale, deficiencies in shared care, the inferiority of humans compared with AI scribes, and trust in supervision of medical students.

19 January 2026

Opinion and Clinical

Clinical·Podcast·Videos

Episode 220: Safety incidents in prison healthcare: Lessons from critical illness

In this episode, we discuss critical illness and failings in prison health.

20 January 2026

Book review·Opinion

Give me HRT: a reflection on the BBC’s Riot Women

The BBC’s Riot Women shows us a snippet of the lives of five women navigating the menopause and forming a rock band.

15 January 2026

BJGP Long Read·Opinion

Three strikes, then we rethink: Jess’s Rule in practice

Three strikes is not a dismissal, but an invitation: to reflect, review, and rethink—together, with humility guarding against harm.

14 January 2026

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.

13 January 2026

BJGP Long Read·Opinion

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

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

Book Reviews

Book review

Book review: Psychology’s Quiet Conservatism: How a Supposedly Woke Science Promotes Capitalism and Protects Privilege

"I can only recommend this wide-ranging and rich book to any doctor interested in psychology, as you may find (like I did) that you will learn a lot more about psychology (and our current social climate) than you could do from any psychology textbook ..."

2 mins read

Book review·Opinion

Give me HRT: a reflection on the BBC’s Riot Women

The BBC’s Riot Women shows us a snippet of the lives of five women navigating the menopause and forming a rock band.

2 mins read

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

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

Just say NO: the growing toll of nitrous oxide in General Practice

BJGP Long Read·Clinical·Opinion

Nitrous oxide (‘nos’, ‘noxy’) is sold as harmless fun — a party balloon, a legal high, a cheap laugh. But behind that image lies a growing clinical problem. A warning from deep end GP.

3 mins read

How doctors learn not to listen

BJGP Long Read·Opinion

Students learn that ambiguity is risky, uncertainty should be resolved, and experience must be rendered legible through diagnosis. They learn to apply the gaze, filtering out the “noise” of life to find the signal of disease.

3 mins read

Tea and two sugars

BJGP Long Read·Stories

"You done the second best job you could have, James, and for that, I'm eternally grateful." ...I don't think that many would take solace from that statement above, but I did.

6 mins read

Three strikes, then we rethink: Jess’s Rule in practice

BJGP Long Read·Opinion

Three strikes is not a dismissal, but an invitation: to reflect, review, and rethink—together, with humility guarding against harm.

3 mins 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

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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BJGP News and Editorial Comment