BJGP Life – Page 12

The Art of Uncertainty: How to Navigate Chance, Ignorance, Risk and Luck

The science of medicine is a triumph of the intellect and has done immeasurable good. But applied to the individual in distress, it shows all its immeasurable weakness. Not all of David Spiegelhalter’s magnificent new book deals directly with this, but where

30 November 2024

3 mins read

BJGP

‘Tis the season of the primary care miscellany

"Seasons greetings, dear readers! One of my favourite Christmas traditions is the miscellany, often found in little piles at the cashier’s desk in a bookshop. We have a suitably seasonal miscellany for you this December in a variety of genres! Some will

29 November 2024

5 mins read

2

Arts·Opinion

For Who Do You Serve?

For my attention is elsewhere... Occupied by a mere digital abstraction... The computer between us acting as a physical metaphor... A poem by Callum Leese

28 November 2024

1 min read

BJGP Long Read·Opinion

The flood gates of asymptomatic prostate cancer screening

There is of course no nationwide prostate cancer screening programme for asymptomatic men at present; rather, men over the age of 50 are advised that they can request a prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test from their GP at any time. Paul McNamara and

27 November 2024

4 mins read

1

Podcast·Videos

Episode 191: Getting ‘bang for your buck’ for good quality general practice, and why hybrid working leads to fragmented and inefficient care

In this episode, we talk about why hybrid working isn't always as efficient or accessible as it's meant to be.

26 November 2024

1 min read

Opinion

Integrated neighbourhoods post-Fuller: from vision to real-world impact

Integrated neighbourhoods are a collaborative effort of health and social care providers, as well as voluntary/non-statutory organisations, which aim to improve the health and wellbeing of residents and service users. Afsana Bhuiya, Seher Kayikci and Fahad Iqbal outline what we know about

25 November 2024

3 mins read

BJGP Long Read·Book review

Book review: The Undesirables: the Law that Locked Away a Generation

"This book is terrifying, informative, stimulating, and educating to every member of the medical and nursing profession. It is extensively researched, has a massive bibliography, and, most importantly, it is well written and well worth reading — in spite of some truly

23 November 2024

7 mins read

Random·Stories

Making it look easy

...none of this stuff is difficult if you keep in shape and know what you’re doing ... Bosco felt like she had been running her whole life, one way or another, and you might just as well have asked her to stop

22 November 2024

4 mins read

Clinical

Appropriate hormone replacement therapy dosing

"There has been recent media coverage around appropriate hormone replacement therapy (HRT) dosing, and subsequent focus in medical journals. The debate has become polarised and women's health is being impacted. I want to provide an explanation so we can all do our

21 November 2024

4 mins read

BJGP Long Read·Book review·Coronavirus·Opinion

Revisiting my book review for BJGPLife – a cautionary tale

Re-reading my review, I can tell that I was very careful even then not to present this approach as a 'cure' for Long Covid, but as a promising approach to manage symptoms better while waiting for a cure ... However, I have

20 November 2024

9 mins read

1

Podcast·Videos

Episode 190: What’s it like working in the Deep End Network in Northern Ireland? It’s challenging, but ultimately rewarding

In this episode, we talk about working in the Deep End network in Northern Ireland.

19 November 2024

1 min read

BJGP Long Read·Opinion

The oversized influence of meat and dairy industry undermining climate action

For years, the UK has inaccurately perpetuated the notion that British farming is among the most sustainable globally. Shireen Kassam, Christelle Blunden and Matthew Lee argue why this is not so, and the impact this may have on public and planetary health.

17 November 2024

7 mins read

55

Book review

Book review: Atlas of the Heart: Mapping Meaningful Connection and the Language of Human Experience

"If you only ever read one book about emotions, make it this one." –

16 November 2024

4 mins read

BJGP Long Read·Opinion

Epistemic symmetry: a forgotten principle in medical philosophy

"The body does not generate the mind but is a process of self-localisation of the mind itself ..." – Armando Henrique Norman explores the usefulness of idealism as a valid philosophical principle to guide family physicians in their daily practice.

15 November 2024

7 mins read

BJGP Long Read·Book review·Opinion

Ivan Illich’s Medical Nemesis at 50

a book which has had the same impact on the language of healthcare as George Orwell’s 1984 has had on the language of politics. Illich did not invent terms such as iatrogenesis and medicalisation, but he was the first to synthesize them

14 November 2024

8 mins read

BJGP Long Read·Clinical·Stories

Broken Crayons Still Colour: A tale of trauma’s shadow over health and illness

Identifying the mind as a source of the body's pain can help a patient make great strides towards taking control of their health and reducing the impact chronic illness has on their day to day lives. Paul McNamara and Ella Butterworth explore

13 November 2024

7 mins read

Podcast·Videos

Episode 189: Looking at how people access (and can’t access) general practice – lessons to take into action

In this episode, we talk about access to general practice through the lens of the Candidacy Framework.

12 November 2024

1 min read

BJGP·Research

Yonder: Obesity care, maternal body mass index and childhood infections, frozen shoulder and diabetes, and locums

Yonder: a diverse selection of primary care relevant research stories from beyond the mainstream biomedical literature

11 November 2024

3 mins read

Book review

Book review: Environmentally Sustainable Primary Care: Good for the Planet, Good for Practices, Good for Patients

"This is not a book to read once, skim, or leave on a shelf. It's both an introduction and a practical guide to taking action. It explains where we are today and what we need to do next. The best time to

9 November 2024

3 mins read

BJGP Long Read·Opinion

Reflections on how best to integrate a Mental Health Practitioner (MHP) into General Practice

Clearly in some GP Practices no robust thought has been given to having a Mental Health Practitioner (MHP), or their role and scope of practice. Those GPs who have requested and take 'ownership' of the MHP, are best placed to integrate them

8 November 2024

4 mins read

BJGP Long Read·Opinion

Turning the tide on healthy eating

Despite regular reports about ‘improving the diet of the population’, little has changed. Eight years ago less than a third of people ate five portions of fruit and vegetables per day, and that figure hasn’t budged since. Chris Newman suggests that GPs

7 November 2024

4 mins read

4

Clinical·Opinion·Undergraduate

The art of noticing: A lesson from general practice

One of the first questions my GP supervisor asked was “What did you notice on the way here?” ... Her question appeared simple at first but revealed, what I thought to be, the greatest skill in being a GP; the art of

6 November 2024

4 mins read

4

Podcast·Videos

Episode 188: Predicting psychosis in general practice – opportunities for earlier diagnosis using PRisk

In this episode, we talk to Dr Sarah Sullivan about the PRisk tool for predicting psychosis in primary care.

5 November 2024

1 min read

BJGP Long Read·Opinion·Stories

Memento Mori: Remember That You Must Die. But Then What?

What (if anything) happens when we die? This is a question that human beings have been pondering since time immemorial. Paul McNamara and Craig MacKay reflect on a family story of near death experience.

4 November 2024

6 mins read

1

Book review

All the Little Bird-Hearts by Viktoria Lloyd-Barlow

We all need to help each other to understand how neurodiversity makes people feel and this is the ideal book to do that. Written in the first person, the protagonist describes routine activities and life events affecting her as a single mum

3 November 2024

3 mins read

Book review

Teaching differences: King Lear: Shakespeare’s Dark Consolations by Arthur W. Frank

Arthur W. Frank now turns his attention to Shakespeare’s King Lear, acknowledged to be one of the greatest books in the English language, and combines perceptive psychological insights with their application to the experience of serious illness.

2 November 2024

1 min read

AiT·BJGP Long Read·Stories

Narrativity and the teaching of consultation skills: Godwin’s story

My first go at introducing stories into my own teaching was through the work of Rita Charon. But when I tried to introduce some of these concepts to my teaching, I was less successful. Family therapist and GP John Launer offers an

30 October 2024

6 mins read

Podcast·Videos

Episode 187: What’s behind decisions to do a diagnostic test in a child in general practice? Lessons from the Netherlands

In this episode, we discuss GP perspectives on diagnostic testing in children.

29 October 2024

1 min read

Bright Ideas and Innovation

Confusion between avoidant restrictive food intake disorder, restricted intake self-harm, and anorexia nervosa: developing a primary care decision tree

Clare Ellison and Ursula Philpot introduce The Children and Young Peoples Eating Disorder Decision Tree tool, which aims to assist time-poor clinicians with patients presenting with restricted oral intake, crucially differentiating between patients with body dysmorphia and those without.

28 October 2024

3 mins read

Book review·Opinion

Coping with Psychosis and Schizophrenia: Family Stories of Hope and Recovery

“Language is so important – and this is a thread throughout the book. Philippa describes the relief of her son being given a diagnosis of schizophrenia – this highlights what we all understand – that a label or diagnosis can be so

26 October 2024

2 mins read

BJGP Long Read·Opinion

High dose prescribing of oestrogen in the menopause and the BBC Panorama spotlight

there is a lot of conflicting information about menopause, its treatments, and how GPs will or won’t support women through this stage. With menopause ‘influencers’ and messaging from some specialists inconsistent with guidelines, sifting through the different options and safety profiles can

25 October 2024

6 mins read

BJGP Long Read·Opinion

Narrative and Numbers

We walk a tightrope in medicine, balancing every day the unique and complex needs of individual patients with the standardised requirements of the rule-book that governs their care. There is danger in tipping too far in either direction. Ben Hoban makes us

24 October 2024

4 mins read

1

Opinion

What you see is what you get? What are the limits of scientific medical observation? A critical realist view

We must accept that medical knowledge is progressing, and science is still discovering, and therefore our knowledge is incomplete at any given moment. So how are we best to understand the relationship between empirical medical science and what remains to be known,

23 October 2024

5 mins read

2

Podcast·Videos

Episode 186: Why current clinical scoring systems don’t work when assessing acutely ill children in general practice

In this episode, we talk about the use of clinical scoring systems in general practice.

22 October 2024

1 min read

Bright Ideas and Innovation·Research

Multisensory research outputs: lessons from a community project

GPs across the country will be no strangers to the impact of the cost-of-living crisis on health. In areas of deprivation already suffering from health inequalities, we wanted to understand the additional burden from the recent cost-of-living crisis and how this affected

21 October 2024

2 mins read

BJGP Long Read

Beyond critique: searching for ways to encourage a healthy fighting culture in oncology

Should we be talking and thinking about ‘fighting’ cancer? An answer may lie in distinguishing a ‘healthy’ fighting culture …

19 October 2024

11 mins read

BJGP Long Read·Opinion

The ‘Nanny state’ – a fine balance of public pressures and free will

The concept of ‘choice’ and how people are exposed to risk factors for illness is not as simple as those crying, 'Nanny state!' would suggest.' Nada Khan gives food for thought...

18 October 2024

7 mins read

BJGP Long Read·Clinical·Opinion

Avoiding hospital admissions this winter – the challenge for general practice

As we gear up for winter, should we be identifying and trying to proactively manage patients to prevent unplanned hospital admissions? Nada Khan examines the NHS England guidance.

17 October 2024

7 mins read

1

Opinion

Reclaiming holistic medicine

Somewhere along the line holistic medicine has been claimed as a special expertise in addition to what we, as mere GPs, do. Tim Senior asks whether and how we should be holistic!

16 October 2024

2 mins read

1

Podcast·Videos

Episode 185: The triple whammy effect: Why people from ethnic minorities may not get adequate care for Long Covid

In this episode, we talk to Professor Carolyn Chew-Graham about Long Covid care amongst ethnic minority people.

15 October 2024

1 min read

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