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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.

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Schrödinger’s consultation

Let us imagine for a moment a consultation involving such a box, whose contents are not merely unknown, but as yet undetermined. It would perhaps be easier ... if we could look inside, although neither wants to be responsible for sealing poor
25 November 2025
4 mins read
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I have a stammer

I still have days where I come out of my clinic into the waiting and turn back around because the patient’s name is stuck in my throat and I need a minute to compose myself. But that’s my journey. I don’t choose
21 November 2025
5 mins read

Balance, Boundaries, and Burnout

Burnout. A small word with huge emotive connotations and, at times, stifling stigma. Like any health condition, it seems to me that burnout does not discriminate.
17 November 2025
4 mins read
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Making Mosaics

I have learned something crucial about the experience of being listened to and been able to talk about and reflect on the patients I find hardest to care for.
14 November 2025
7 mins read
2
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Are we no better than a pigeon?

These rookies in the California experiment were not learning listening skills but rather just a very specific interpretation of pathology slides. To some doubters particularly those in the medical field it may seem no surprise that they were doing so well...
12 November 2025
8 mins read

Mind the gap

"There was a collective sigh, and a silence as everyone contemplated once again the gap between the good idea and its implementation."
10 November 2025
2 mins read
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The value of time

How often have you exclaimed that you ‘wish there were more hours in the day’, lamented where the ‘day has gone’, or complained about how some activity has ‘robbed you of time’ you will ‘never get back’. ...time... has value and worth.
29 October 2025
4 mins read
3

Investigating uncertainty

This has always been part of a doctor’s repertoire, although the frequency with which patients are investigated in general practice is rising, and the need to deal with large numbers of results at the end of a long working day is recognised
27 October 2025
5 mins read

Book review: Breathe: How to Win a Greener World

"Something remarkable has happened that will improve the health of thousands in London, and it doesn’t require a GP review. For the first time since legal limits were introduced in 2010, London’s nitrogen dioxide levels have dropped within legal thresholds ..."
25 October 2025
4 mins read

Against the grain

Access and continuity are in fact intertwined in a complex co-dependent relationship. For example, without access, there can be no continuity; but at the same time, if access is prioritised above all else, continuity is compromised. Emilie Couchman argues that there needs
22 October 2025
4 mins read
1
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Where continuity is key: Primary care in Norway

Patients know their doctor well, benefit from consistency of approach and are understanding if they have to wait slightly longer ... knowing from years of experience that their GP is there for them. This feels like a more traditional primary care model,
20 October 2025
4 mins read

Ketamine: When the Party’s Over

Ketamine, once a niche party drug, is at the centre of a public health crisis. Paul McNamara and Megan Glover argue that we have an opportunity — and a responsibility — to improve awareness, reduce harm, and protect young people from the
17 October 2025
4 mins read

The Consciousness Conundrum

We are embedded in the world, which is shaped by our actions and interactions. Consciousness is not an isolated process but situated within and dependent upon our physical and social environment.
16 October 2025
3 mins read
1

Rebuilding the relational core of general practice

General practice is a complex intervention that rests on core relational practice, and is built on continuity, contextual knowledge, and professional competence.  As continuity is disrupted by fragmented care and workload pressures, the relationships that sustain trust become harder to maintain.
15 October 2025
5 mins read

Book review: The Elements

"As GPs we are the naturalists of the human jungle. This is where we practice, not the controlled and tidy spaces of the secondary care zoo. Our jungle has dark and hidden thickets. How are we to help those caught up in
11 October 2025
2 mins read

Tackling the problem of quality in peer review

"Peer review remains central to maintaining quality and standards in scientific research. Despite its vital gatekeeping role in academic publishing, peer review itself has only recently become the subject of serious scrutiny, with growing efforts to guide its ethical practice. Less attention,
9 October 2025
3 mins read
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Are we judging GP registrars on their outfits?

Professionalism may not be a discrete domain on the mark scheme, yet it shapes how registrars are assessed, creating a standard that remains open to personal interpretation. And when that interpretation is shaped by assumptions about religion, culture, gender, or identity, attire
8 October 2025
3 mins read
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