BJGP Life – Page 12

What do I say next? Everyday mental health conversation in primary care: a practical guide by Sophie Jadwiga Ball and Liz Moulton

Perhaps it is my patient population, my personality or perhaps it is true of all General Practice, but I notice that nearly all my consultations touch on mental health in some way. Whilst reading the book, I have managed to accept the

11 January 2025

2 mins read

Opinion

Stories and medical records

"... we’re in a situation where we understand the importance of patient narratives, but if we talk about this in these terms to policymakers and even some of our specialist colleagues, we’ll be dismissed as chin-stroking hippies, unable to do proper medicine."

10 January 2025

2 mins read

2

BJGP Long Read·International

How far have family doctor organisations around the world progressed in protecting planetary health?

The theme for World Family Doctor Day on May 19, 2024, was “Healthy Planet, Healthy People”. To mark this, the World Organisation of Family Doctors’ (WONCA) Working Party on Planetary Health surveyed its 133 member organizations (MOs) across 111 countries. Terry Temple and colleagues

9 January 2025

4 mins read

5

BJGP Long Read·Opinion

Irresistible and immovable values

The thread that runs through the debate, however, seems to be a genuine desire on both sides to help people who are suffering, and the conflict between opposing views reflects not a greater or lesser degree of care, but rather the familiar

8 January 2025

4 mins read

2

BJGP Long Read·Opinion

Crossing the Rubicon: assisted dying in general practice

Doctors are repeatedly referred to in the proposed legislation, and they are clearly essential in delivering the assisted dying process, but has anyone really considered the impact on those doctors? GPs are arguably the most likely profession to provide assisted dying services,

4 January 2025

6 mins read

4

Editorial comment·Opinion

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

BJGP Long Read·Bright Ideas and Innovation·Research

An empathy definition at last: exposing the narcissism of small differences

By recognizing the fundamental similarities in our approaches, we can move beyond semantic battles and focus on what truly matters: genuine connection, active listening, and meaningful support for patients.

2 January 2025

4 mins read

Editorial comment·Opinion

2025 is here! Happy new year from BJGP Life!

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,

1 January 2025

2 mins read

Opinion

Win the crowd (Maximus)

Luke Sayers reflects on what the movie 'Gladiator' has to teach General Practice. We must win the crowd... before it's too late.

31 December 2024

3 mins read

BJGP Long Read

The layers we wear: why relational change is neither instant nor easy

"In this article, we explore what happens when our automatic ways of being in relationships are no longer serving us well. Moreover, if we can observe what we are doing, is this enough to change things?"

28 December 2024

9 mins read

International·Opinion

Working in a refugee camp on Lesvos

In October and November 2024, Brian Lambert spent six weeks volunteering as a ‘medic’ at the Mavrovouni refugee camp on Lesvos, working for the Dutch charity the Boat Refugee Foundation (BRF).

26 December 2024

4 mins read

Stories

Written on a gravestone: a story of medical misadventure from 1869

"On their memorial it was recorded by the sculptor Mr Mills, that William died from 'erysipelas coming on after vaccination'. I have walked past this grave many times over the years: as a GP and occasional vaccinator it made me ponder. Those

24 December 2024

8 mins read

Random

Imaginary Medical Solutions

"So there I was, wondering what to do, when I noticed the shop next door. It had a flaking hand-painted sign announcing it as Imaginary Medical Solutions, and a window display that invited deep cleaning rather than curiosity."

23 December 2024

4 mins read

BJGP Long Read·Opinion

The GP athlete: what’s the best advice I can give to my patients about nutrition?

"I couldn’t understand, however, no matter how much I trained, how much I addressed my diet (within the realms of my understanding at the time), and how much I addressed other lifestyle factors such as sleep, why I was the heaviest I

21 December 2024

7 mins read

Book review

Book review: Shattered: a Memoir

"It is a humbling, funny, graphic, lewd, and humane account of the enduring will to live and to thrive." – Maryam Naeem reviews Shattered by Hanif Kureishi

20 December 2024

5 mins read

2

Opinion·Random

Seven cautionary tales we tell our children: a brief literature review

These cautionary tales are steeped in cultural lore and parental wisdom. However, they may not always be based in truth. We have lightly explored the evidence, underscoring that while such traditions hold value, a dose of scepticism often helps separate fact from

19 December 2024

6 mins read

BJGP·Research

Yonder: Prescribing and deprivation, delayed antibiotic prescriptions, pre-hospital antibiotics in sepsis, and differential attainment

Yonder is a diverse selection of primary care relevant research stories beyond the mainstream biomedical literature.

18 December 2024

3 mins read

BJGP Long Read·Opinion·Stories

Overcoming the Monster

How we understand our story makes a difference to how we go about the job, how effectively we do it, and how it leaves us feeling when we go home... One of these proto-narratives is especially relevant to us as doctors: Overcoming

17 December 2024

3 mins read

Arts·Stories

Crab Apples

Giles Dawnay captures the transition of autumn to winter in a poem about cancer.

16 December 2024

1 min read

Book review·Opinion

Rebalancing Medicine by Neal Maskrey

Rebalancing Medicine can seem an impossible task. This book describes, often from personal experience, how the political fashions of the last decades first facilitated and then debilitated the essential workings of the NHS. Richard Lehman reviews.

14 December 2024

4 mins read

Opinion

General Practice – time for an upgrade!

There is no doubt that general practice now is very different in almost every way compared to 20 years ago. But has enough been done over this period to ensure its longevity as a profession? Sarah Rishi makes the case for a

13 December 2024

3 mins read

Arts·Opinion

The Nurses Stare (based loosely on the Nurses Prayer)

NHS, please help me to bring the energy not to cry but sing, Courage where there is fear, Hope in the face of all the sugar, fags and beer. Giles Dawnay gets lyrical.

12 December 2024

1 min read

Bright Ideas and Innovation·Opinion·Stories

The Watling Walk: Nurturing wellbeing and camaraderie at Watling Medical Centre

The idea was simple: a short walk in the park to clear our heads, engage in light-hearted conversation, and bond with colleagues. Over the years, this practice has not only endured but flourished...

11 December 2024

3 mins read

1

Opinion

Just a thought

Mike Thirlwall fears that patients and family doctors may be steadily drifting apart and something very precious may be lost for ever.

10 December 2024

3 mins read

1

Book review

Book review: Intelligent Drug Prescribing in Psychiatry: Supporting the Patient–Prescriber Partnership

"In this thoughtful monograph, Peter Tyrer argues for a via media between the perspectives of those who consider drug therapy to be an essential element of psychiatric practice, and those who are concerned that the massive increase in psychotropic prescribing that we

7 December 2024

1 min read

BJGP Long Read·Opinion·Undergraduate

Reflections on the cosmetics industry: personalisation, health and advertising

Aldabra Stifiuc-Andronic and colleagues reflect on the health implications of the cosmetics industry and public awareness of cosmetic ingredients.

6 December 2024

5 mins read

BJGP Long Read·Bright Ideas and Innovation

Climate change and primary care: how to reduce the carbon footprint of your practice

"Reducing the carbon footprint of primary care has the potential to improve the health of our patients and communities, while decreasing workload and saving resources ..." – Michael Naughton and colleagues outline what GPs, partners, and local primary care leaders can do to

5 December 2024

8 mins read

2

Opinion

Pressure on GPs in England 12 months on: the trend continues

12 months ago Richard Armitage used NHS Digital primary care appointment data to reveal the increases in GP workload from 2017 to 2023. What's happened in the last year?

4 December 2024

2 mins read

Podcast·Videos

Christmas break, and a return in 2025 with a new BJGP podcast!

We're taking a break over Christmas - have a great holiday!

3 December 2024

1 min read

Opinion·Stories

A brief vulnerability

"For the first time for many years I felt that I had lost control. Suddenly my comfortable Western privilege wasn’t working. I felt stranded, helpless, a powerless fragment of a distressed and angry crowd."

2 December 2024

3 mins read

Book review·Opinion

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

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