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Andrew Papanikitas

Andrew Papanikitas

Andrew Papanikitas is Deputy Editor of the BJGP.

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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
4 mins read
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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
2 mins read

A Yuletide mystery

"This issue comprises our very own advent calendar-mix of festive and seasonal offerings contributing to our mystery."
28 November 2025
6 mins read

You are not a gadget, but …

"Do you feel like you are treated as a gadget? The ways in which both digital and human systems adversely affect human relationships and dehumanise us have been a recurring thread in BJGP Life ..."
31 October 2025
4 mins read
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In summer!

"As ever, the articles in Life and Times tell a story, a meta-narrative that shares present realities, draws on the past, and attempts to speculate on the future ..."
1 August 2025
4 mins read
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Eating animals, by Jonathan Safran Foer

This life-changing book is not a polemic in the strident sense. It aims to answer the questions of where the meat that is consumed by humans comes from, how it is produced and what economic and environmental effects this has.
25 July 2025
2 mins read

An educated mind is a requirement for good general practice

"... is it the mark of an educated mind to entertain a thought without accepting it? The vibrant discussions in BJGP Life suggest to me that this misquotation is pointless at best and harmfully misleading at worst. I encourage you to entertain
27 June 2025
3 mins read
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Stay in your lane?

If the goal of medicine is the promotion of health and treatment of disability, illness, and disease (let’s think of this as our lane?), then things are going to get complicated.
30 May 2025
4 mins read

For the attention of Doctor Nemo

"One idea circulating was a character called Dr Brain, a seemingly mild GP who turned invisible in the sunlight ‘... along with all his appointments’, he quipped to parents’ polite laughter. Dr Brain might well be a good name for a children’s supervillain
2 May 2025
3 mins read
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An Easter egg from BJGP Life

'To find the Easter egg in a movie you often have to wade through the credits, which lengthen in proportion to the CGI special effects and lavish locations...' Some Easter reflections and highlights.
20 April 2025
2 mins read
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Write for (BJGP) Life

I reflect on the journey to (and from) the BJGP conference. Sometimes the writing is already there, and only needs a home. Sometimes it needs an invitation... Writers for (BJGP) Life, I look forward to hearing from you!
22 March 2025
6 mins read
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GPs and assisted dying

GPs have a duty to be well-informed about the issues regardless of whether we are conscientiously pro, anti, or neutral. We anticipate publishing many articles around this topic, and the specifics of the bill, and we welcome the opportunity to ensure primary
3 January 2025
3 mins read
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Kez and the system

Kez has an embarrassing problem. He has tried a cream that maybe worked in the past but not now. He needs the doctor, he thinks. He rings the surgery...
30 December 2024
2 mins read
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Are good GPs holistic?

Is holistic part of being good or just a part of being a GP? GPs work in a complex adaptive network interacting in many interconnected ways with wider society. Terms like ‘whole person’, ‘holistic’, and even ‘ecological’ may fail to completely grasp
1 November 2024
4 mins read

Thinking about general practice as the dust settles

"As I write this, the UK is having a general election. By the time you read this, a new government in the UK will hopefully be discovering that thinking about general practice in a meaningful way is a fundamentally good thing to
26 July 2024
3 mins read

Guardians of the primary care wall

GPs have been called ‘gatekeepers’ to health care, because of our role in determining eligibility for medical treatment and social support. And yet we have long known that GPs do more than this. Our wall is not a line but an indistinct
28 June 2024
5 mins read
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Medicine, patients, and the law

Andrew Papanikitas reviews and reflects on a good critical sourcebook on the law for GP trainers and trainees looking to flesh out a case-based discussion or tutorial, as well as for the GP looking for reading in response to a patient unmet
13 June 2024
3 mins read
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An adventure in space and theme

The Life and Time section is in fact bigger on the inside, as submissions air online and a selection are chosen for a print edition, conditional on (with apologies for the awful pun) space and theme. This month’s Life and Times focuses
26 April 2024
4 mins read
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The real Doc Martin

Notwithstanding the corny connection to a fictional character, and the 'old school' approach to confidentiality, this is a charming and authentic memoir. An anecdote is by definition an unpublished story - and Martin Stagg has converted his anecdotes into 'ecdotes.'
9 March 2024
3 mins read
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