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BJGP Life

BJGP Life

The BJGP is the world-leading primary care journal. At BJGP Life we add multi-media comment and opinion for the primary care community.

It’s not the antidepressants, it’s the keys

That’s not to dismiss the value of treatment, but to acknowledge that in some lives, the most potent prescription we can help facilitate isn’t 20 mg of citalopram — it’s a tenancy agreement.
19 September 2025
3 mins read
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Shaking hands again

"We tended to turn door knobs with our elbow or to press elevator’s buttons using our house keys. As time passes, these somehow obsessive behaviours have been gradually abated, but I feel some subconscious concern still remains. In my personal experience, I
17 September 2025
3 mins read
3
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Getting back in the fight

'It’s just that you’ve been here for a while already and as you say, we’ve covered several things, and I’m just feeling a little overwhelmed by your list of problems.' A consultation through the allegorical lens of science fiction battle armour!
13 September 2025
3 mins read
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Space-Dreaming in Lambeth

To commemorate 'Composed upon Westminster Bridge,' (3rd September 1802), Dave Mummery shares a Lambeth reverie with suggestions for musical accompaniment.
3 September 2025
4 mins read
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Knocking for help: a hidden strain of GP-training

In clinical scenarios that are unfamiliar or require in-person review, trainees are often forced to leave their patients mid-consultation to seek help. The act of “door knocking” i.e interrupting a colleague who is themselves consulting - can feel burdensome. Hana Esack reflects.
1 September 2025
2 mins read

Book review: Intervals

"... I found this an inspiring account of what it means to care and to be cared for by a loving relative. Brooker’s brilliant book blends care ethics, philosophy, grief, and practical wisdom, offering GPs and primary care teams a different perspective
30 August 2025
1 min read
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A Poem : Beyond The Extra Mile.

A poem for the beleaguered, the determined or the stubborn amongst us, who go to work each day and just do the best we can. Rest assured, despite the clamour and noise of unmet expectation, it is enough.
28 August 2025
1 min read
1

Ulysses and the GP consultation

"Would I recommend Ulysses to a GP colleague? As a challenging read and a slow antidote to the nature of our rapid and fragmented working days; and maybe to serve as a reminder of how much goes unspoken during those precious 15
25 August 2025
1 min read

“AI psychosis”

While not (yet) a formal diagnosis, the term "AI psychosis" or “ChatGPT psychosis” is being used to describe presentations in which delusional or psychotic symptoms centre around interaction with large language models (LLMs).
20 August 2025
2 mins read
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How to use a stethoscope

Listen. Through me, you’ll hear the lub-dub of a beating heart, the heave of a heavy spirit, whisperings and murmurs of a broken life. Poetry by Emer Forde
19 August 2025
1 min read
2
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Home is where the heart is?

I'd spoken to so many residents on the phone but I hadn't ever quite got the picture of what the living conditions were like. I did now. The poor chests that never truly recovered from antibiotics, the perennial mental health difficulties -
16 August 2025
4 mins read
2

The Waiting Room

"I go into the waiting room for the next patient I am too see. So many sit there staring, yet not all are waiting for me." – Poem by Giles Dawney
13 August 2025
1 min read

Book review: Kaiser Frederick’s Throat

"In this historical novel, Mike Pringle, former Royal College of General Practitioners Chair of Council and President, has written a gripping tale of how professional and political rivalry led to the mismanagement of Queen Victoria’s son-in-law with devastating consequences ..."
6 August 2025
1 min read
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