BJGP Life – Page 26

The challenge of medically unexplained symptoms, overlooked diseases and forgotten patients

Some patients with medically unexplained symptoms (MUS) suffer years of referrals and inconclusive tests. Others find themselves overlooked by health care services and feel forgotten. However, diagnostic delay may be due to a disease being rare. Stephen Walker and colleagues offer a

12 August 2022

5 mins read

1

Clinical·Opinion

The serotonin theory of depression and why we use antidepressants

New research into the serotonin theory of depression raises two separate, but related issues. The first is our understanding about the aetiology of depression. The second is understanding why we prescribe antidepressants. Nada Khan reflects on what this means for general practice.

11 August 2022

4 mins read

Bright Ideas and Innovation·Opinion

Bridging the child health gap between primary and secondary care

Lisa Broom, Frances Dutton (GPs), and Chris Bird (Paediatric A&E Consultant) reflect on a fellowship that allowed both GPs to have one foot in Birmingham Children's Hospital's busy emergency department and the other in primary care in the city, with time to

10 August 2022

3 mins read

Podcast·Videos

Episode 083: Summer 2022 – a quick update from the editor

We have a quick update from the Editor, Euan Lawson.

9 August 2022

1 min read

BJGP Long Read·Opinion

Celebrities, cancer, and population health

Richard Armitage examines the 'Deborah James effect' on cancer awareness. How should we enhance the benefits and mitigate any harms of publicly shared celebrity cancer stories?

8 August 2022

10 mins read

Book review

Book review: What Seems To Be The Problem?

"What I am increasingly aware of the longer I practice medicine is that traditional models of care are not working" — Maryan Naeem reviews 'What Seems To Be The Problem?', the new memoir by Laura Marshall-Andrews

7 August 2022

3 mins read

Arts

A lockdown literary festival in medicine

During the UK pandemic lockdowns of 2020–21 an online literary festival was held by the Worshipful Society of Apothecaries of London, and the talks are freely available online. Andrew Papanikitas invites readers online and back in time!

6 August 2022

3 mins read

Opinion

Health Perception

People living in more affluent parts of the world with better healthcare and less disease tend to have a lower view of their health than people in poorer areas, where disease is more prevalent and healthcare less well-developed. Ben Hoban asks what

5 August 2022

2 mins read

Opinion

Labels

"We have talked to friends, colleagues, teachers and other adopters and have concluded that we should go ahead with an assessment. We will access resources and advice, buy a new genre of books, try to think of different parenting strategies to help our child..."

4 August 2022

3 mins read

Podcast·Videos

Episode 082: Perspectives of GPs on diagnosing childhood urinary tract infections

Professor Jan Verbakel talks about a study that explored the experiences of GPs when diagnosing childhood UTIs.

2 August 2022

1 min read

BJGP Long Read·Clinical·Opinion

Health of those working away from home: is general practice doing enough?

Richard Armitage looks at the health needs of people who work away from home, be they itinerant telecommuters or contract-workers in haulage and construction - should general practice be evolving to meet the access needs of this group? Join the discussion!

1 August 2022

5 mins read

Book review

Book review: Mend the Living

"a filmic, memorable story that will leave its traces on the reader as the coastline is shaped by the sea" — Jane H Roberts reviews Mend the Living, the award-winning novel by Maylis de Kerangal

31 July 2022

3 mins read

Arts·Bright Ideas and Innovation

Found poetry: a creative approach to illuminate the findings of qualitative research

Found poetry is created by taking words and phrases from other sources and reframing them - the literary equivalent of a collage. Jessica Watson and Fiona Hamilton demonstrate how the approach can be applied to qualitative research to capture and share experiences

30 July 2022

3 mins read

Bright Ideas and Innovation·Opinion

Medical Semantics – What’s in a word?

One of medicine’s great strengths is the precise use of language it employs to describe what and where it is diagnosing the issue in hand. This, of course, would be fine if we only spoke amongst ourselves in a professional capacity.

29 July 2022

3 mins read

Opinion

Revitalising primary care and public health -the Doctors in Unite vision

Pamela Martin shares the Doctors for Unite vision for the future of primary healthcare in the UK - a call to action!

28 July 2022

2 mins read

1

BJGP Long Read·Clinical

Supporting the ‘Multi’ in Multi-agency working for child safeguarding

Sharon Dixon and colleagues contend that a deeper understanding of safeguarding practices (and how these look and feel on the front-line of multi-agency encounters) is needed if future child safeguarding tragedies are to be avoided.

27 July 2022

7 mins read

1

Podcast·Videos

Episode 081: Inflammatory marker blood tests suggest a diagnostic window to help earlier Hodgkin lymphoma diagnosis

Dr Meena Rafiq talks about a recent research paper suggesting a diagnostic window for Hodgkin lymphoma that could help us find strategies for earlier diagnosis.

26 July 2022

1 min read

BJGP Long Read·Opinion

What makes a public health problem?

How and why do we define something as a public health problem? Richard Armitage reflects on the complexities.

25 July 2022

6 mins read

Book review

Book Review: An ordinary doctor: General practice & beyond, by Susie West

Paul Hepple reviews 'An ordinary doctor' by Susie West, and is captivated, inspired and angered

24 July 2022

3 mins read

Bright Ideas and Innovation·International·Opinion

The levels of generalist practice

There are three levels of general practice: generalist practice approach, general generalist practice and expert generalist practice. Koki Kato explains how they can help GPs explain what they do.

23 July 2022

2 mins read

2

Opinion·Random

Life-work balance – a brief reflection on why the order matters

Bakula Patel asks is cracking work-life balance is as simple as considering life-work balance? Comments welcome!

22 July 2022

1 min read

2

Opinion

Promoting self-care interventions is crucial in primary care

Around 80% of all care in the UK is self-care, but despite people's willingness to initially self-treat, minor ailments contribute to 57 million GP consultations a year. How then can GPs promote continued self-care to patients?

21 July 2022

4 mins read

1

Opinion

Ambulance response times: the NHS’ falling house of cards

Nada Khan examines the increasing waiting times for ambulances, finding a system under pressure and dilemmas for clinical staff.

20 July 2022

4 mins read

Podcast·Videos

Episode 080: Improving prescribing through feedback at individual patient level

Dr Sean MacBride-Stewart tells us about a large cluster RCT looking into the impact of feedback of actionable individual patient prescription data to improve asthma prescribing.

19 July 2022

1 min read

Opinion

Virtuoso general practice

Tim Senior reflects on what makes a 'virtuoso' GP. Is a question of detective skills or the ability to establish a rapport?

19 July 2022

2 mins read

Clinical·Opinion

Don’t turn your nose up at seasonal allergic rhinitis

Richard Armitage argues that good management of hay fever represents an opportunity for general practice to reduce suffering and restore both wellbeing and economic activity to the nation!

18 July 2022

4 mins read

Book review

Book review: How to Rise: A Complete Resilience Manual

"a self-help-style read for patients seeking methods of improving their own mental wellbeing" — Lucy Martin reviews How to Rise: A Complete Resilience Manual by Karen Forshaw and Chrissie Mowbray

17 July 2022

3 mins read

Book review

Book review: Zero

Peter Lindsay reviews Jeremy Hunt's new book, Zero

16 July 2022

6 mins read

AiT·Opinion

Foundation programme training and the primary care workforce: a time to reflect?

At the beginning of my foundation training I had very limited awareness of the diversity of the clinical workforce and was only familiar with 'traditional' doctor roles. However, I was surprised to find myself in the midst of a large, multiskilled dynamic

15 July 2022

5 mins read

Opinion

Supporting patients (and colleagues) who stammer

Approximately 1%–2% of the adult population experience stammering, which can have a significant impact on a person's quality of life. Here, members of the NHS Stammering Network (for staff) describe how best to optimise consultations with this patient group.

14 July 2022

4 mins read

3

Coronavirus·Opinion

Our moment of change to ‘Build Back Fairer’

In 2020, Sir Michael Marmot and his team at the Institute of Health Equity published ‘Build Back Fairer’ to examine how the Covid pandemic affected health inequalities in England. Nada Khan discuss a grim but inspiring document.

13 July 2022

3 mins read

Podcast·Videos

Episode 079: Communication of blood test results to patients is often complex and confusing

Dr Jess Watson tells us about a qualitative study that explored how blood tests are communicated to patients.

12 July 2022

1 min read

Opinion

Could new changes to the fit note be an opportunity for primary care?

The Department for Work and Pensions has recently announced legislative change that will allow a wider range of healthcare professionals to authorise fit notes. Is this an opportunity for general practice to improve patient access to occupational health support?

12 July 2022

5 mins read

Book review

Book review: The Nutrition Proposition

There is an enormous body of information on diet and nutrition, but how do you know what dietary information to recommend to patients? Terry Kemple reviews The Nutrition Proposition by James McCormack and Marcie Gray, where "most questions about nutrition and diet

10 July 2022

3 mins read

Stories

In sickness and in health? A transient experience of the sick role

The waves of nausea as I lay in the hotel bed were incessant. Away on a long-planned holiday to New York with my partner, the morning sickness had hit at week 6 of my pregnancy ...

9 July 2022

3 mins read

BJGP Long Read·Clinical·Undergraduate

To what extent is a total diet replacement programme effective in sustained weight loss and remission in people with Type 2 diabetes?

TDR programmes consist of a low calorie (around 800 kcal/day) formula diet alongside a stepped food reintroduction as well as regular behavioural support. Yusuf Ben-Tarifite examines the evidence for TDR in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus.

8 July 2022

9 mins read

Opinion

NHS secondary care waiting lists – the impact on patients and on general practice

The NHS is facing a backlog that will take years to clear and GPs are likely to be the main point of contact for patients who are suffering as a result. Nada Khan examines the issues.

7 July 2022

3 mins read

Stories

Telling a good story

You and I may observe the same event but give different accounts based on our own understanding of what we’ve seen, influenced by how we felt, our past experiences and values. Ben Hoban discusses storytelling as a clinical phenomenon.

5 July 2022

3 mins read

International·Opinion

War in Ukraine and health worker density

Richard Armitage investigates the impact of the war in Ukraine on the country’s health worker density.

4 July 2022

4 mins read

Book review

Book review: Our Mothers Ourselves: Six Women From Across The World Tell Their Mothers’ Stories

Six authors of differing careers, backgrounds, and geography write about their mothers’ lives in six chapters - Our Mothers Ourselves, reviewed by Hannah Milton

3 July 2022

2 mins read

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