How can we encourage the development of kindness toward ourselves and others? Is it something we can train, and should it perhaps be a part of the GP curriculum? Touching on their own personal experience of being on the receiving end of
Bhupinder Goraya muses on the concepts of order and randomness in relation to health and primary healthcare. We’ve worked 'bloody hard' to make a random mechanical universe work, in doing so we have ordered our leisure.
Anaemia is a serious public health concern globally, yet WHO's cut-off values for Hgb were established in 1968 using predominantly White populations in Europe and North America. Is it time to update to population specific cut-offs?
How do we support each other when a colleague dies by suicide? A reflection by Louise Stone.
Laura Heath discusses ‘trade-offs’ that we should reflect on in modern primary care. Are we clinical providers or clinical supervisors? Data sharers or data stewards? Secondary care helpers, or expert generalists? If our voice is not heard the ‘trade off’ will be
Dr Anita Lim joins the podcast to tell us about a further study on non-speculum clinician-taken sampling for cervical screening.
Nada Khan explores the roles of and our perceptions about primary care multidiciplinary teams, in light of the recent BBC Panorama investigation
The Ukrainian system of medical education is considered to be both one of the highest quality and relative affordability in the world. Richard Armitage reports how things are affected by the war in Ukraine.
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a significant and well-recognised threat to human health in Ukraine. Richard Armitage discusses how this is further complicated by the war.
"... it is never too late to start accruing benefit [from exercise]" — Karen O’Reilly, GP, reviews Get Off The Couch Before It's Too Late: All The Whys and Wherefores of Exercise by Hugh Bethell
General practices and staff have been facing violent behaviour or aggression from members of the public -a global phenomenon now an UK issue. Vasumathy Sivarajasingam asks, what's happening, so what, and what now?
You are probably familiar with the idea of cognitive bias: a trick of the mind that stops you seeing what’s in front of you or thinking clearly, something that’s a recognised cause of diagnostic error. Ben Hoban introduces the psychological menagerie...
'One man in his time plays many parts' — What is the role of the older, experienced GP? In retiring, this ‘premature abdication’ represents an enormous loss to the NHS. Here, Maxwell Cooper and colleagues outline a vision for a future general
Dr Sarah Price comes on the podcast to tell us about research exploring the role of abdominal pain with and without other clinical features and intra-abdominal cancer risk.
For as long as the war in Ukraine continues, the country’s existing substantial unmet need for palliative care and pain relief will increasingly intensify, and ever greater numbers of people with life-limiting conditions will experience intolerable yet preventable suffering at the most
Rebecca Mawson reviews 2 books different in tone but equally sound on the subject of the menopause.
Recent media coverage has focussed on whether patients should be fined for missing appointments. Would a £10 fine change patient behaviour and put an end to this story once and for all? Nada Khan investigates!
The Cynefin framework is believed to encourage the perception of existing structures with new eyes, aiding decision making and simplifying complex concepts. Can this framework help to make sense of challenging GP consultations that may leave GPs feeling inadequate or ineffective?
As of day 70 of the Ukraine–Russia war there have been 186 attacks on health care. Drawing comparisons to Russia's involvement in the Syrian Civil War, Hareen De Silva BEM describes the devastating and long-term tolls these attacks have on civilians.
Dr Yin Zhou comes on the podcast to tell us about population-level data signalling pre-diagnostic clinical features of colorectal cancer.
General public concern over the adequate control of blood pressure is notably high within Ukraine, possibly due to the concerning prevalence of hypertensive disease, public awareness of its associated risk factors, and successful health promotion by primary care and public health professionals.
Hannah Milton reviews a book aimed at 8–12-year-old children which explains how traumatic experiences can affect the brain and lead to altered feelings and behaviours in the future.
As we’ve emerged from various lockdowns, large parts of the media have intensified a negative rhetoric against GPs. Annabelle Machin argues that there is still a powerful hope from... talking to each other!
Capacity for undergraduate GP placements is a serious challenge and one that is predicted to become harder in the near future. Here, Simon Thornton, part of the national working group set up to investigate the issue of teaching capacity in general practice
Ben Hoban reflects on general practice as a 'Hero's journey,' but argues that this must be reconciled with the patient narrative. Don your narrative bifocals!
Dr Kimberley Foley talks through findings from their study showing the impact of Covid on primary care contacts with children and young people in the first lockdown.
Richard Armitage discusses how the management of vaccine-preventable diseases has been affected by the conflict in Ukraine
Suzanne O’Sullivan is a British neurologist with a particular interest in psychosomatic diseases. Her book explores how the causes of psychosomatic neurological disorders do not necessarily have their cause within the individual patient but within the society that they live in. Review
Many doctors in the early nineteenth century felt they were held in low regard by a public happy to employ the practitioner charging the lowest fee. Status came to rest on acquired standards of behaviour rather than superior knowledge. Part two of
The COVID-19 pandemic has shone a light on the importance of social media in keeping people connected and informed worldwide. Annabelle Machin reviews the good, bad and ugly aspects of a useful but potentially dangerous tool.
How is it that something can seem so obvious in hindsight, when at the time it was anything but obvious? Ben Hoban shows us his retrospectoscope!
"... you must first assess the behaviour of the patient and then analyse the patient history." - Clinical observation, argues Henk de Vries, is key to assessing patients with complex personality disorders, offering a new perspective on the Calgary-Cambridge model.
Drs Rohini Mathur and Sally Hull talk us through a London-based primary care study of diabetes sub-groups that could have big implications for how we managing type 2 diabetes in the future.
Hannah Weston-Simons shares an ode to her GP colleagues
Richard Armitage discusses many Ukrainian families have been separated, meaning the vast majority of refugees are women, children, and elderly people, who are often unaccompanied. These vulnerable individuals are exposed to substantially increased risks of being affected by modern slavery, sexual and
David Jeffrey suggests that medical teachers will find this book a source of inspiration in encouraging students to engage in empathic relationships with patients and colleagues.
Richard Armitage asks if the prevalence of conscientious objection among clinicians could compromise the provision of abortion services in Northern Ireland.
Part of the increased demand for HRT has been attributed to a TV documentary about the menopause released a year ago by Davina McCall, which has led to what some call the ‘Davina effect’. Nada Khan examines the effect of celebrity narratives
Could Deep End practices assess and treat complex patients in deprived settings to help psychiatric services feel less overwhelmed? Henk de Vries offers a new perspective on the role of Deep End practices in caring for patients with personality disorders.
Dr David Whiteley tells us about qualitative research that explored and developed a pathway for HCV treatment in the community.