In this episode, we talk to Dr Abi Eccles about how women with anal incontinence after a childbirth injury can be better supported in general practice.
"People living with long COVID symptoms should be encouraged to seek support from primary care, and primary care clinicians must be responsive to patient need." - Carolyn A Chew-Graham and colleagues provide a summary and analysis of long COVID patient care, presenting
Dr Benji Waterhouse provides a fly-on-the-padded-wall account of life as an NHS psychiatrist. He describes the bedraggled NHS we recognise all too well in this memoir...
Critical realism offers a theoretical framework that reflects what wise clinicians instinctively know: medical disorders do not always arise as single events at molecular or cellular level but can be generated at one, or multiple levels, of complexity through numerous contributory factors:
In this episode, we talk about consultation patterns before death by suicide in general practice.
Yonder: Hidden work, inhaler use, step counts, and appendicitis and colorectal cancer
David Kernick explores two models that offer insights into the concept of healing, here taken as a facilitation of the body's intrinsic ability to restore optimum functioning: allostatic control and complex adaptive systems.
Most jobs now involve a screen and being online. "What does this new reality do our minds and brains?" is a question yet to have enough evidence to answer. However it is fast becoming clear that we are no happier or healthier
A 'potteres-que' educational experience? Elke Hausmann reviews a long running Saturday course in the history of medicine run by one of the UK’s historical medical institutions.
In this episode, we talk about how patient expectations can play a role in experiences of antidepressant discontinuation.
The idea of history repeating is historically recurrent. It goes back to the ancients, so there must be something in it. A case in point is the UK’s recent infected blood scandal ...
Terry Kemple reviews the latest book by James O’Brien, a writer and broadcaster who hosts a popular daily current affairs programme on LBC radio. O'Brien chooses ten influential individuals with their facilitators and allies to blame for the current dismal state of
Can't sleep unless I've had a skinful... his ruddy face flickers. Oscillating fast... between the big man not allowed to cry... and the little boy who chose to survive.
Against a backdrop of armed conflict and geo-political instability, medical education becomes a daunting challenge. Safiya Virji highlights a web-based resource which can be used offline.
In this episode, we talk to Dr Adam Geraghty about a questionnaire to use in mental health consultations with patients to look at emotional distress and low mood.
“Medicine is a social science, and politics nothing but medicine at a larger scale." Mavin Kashyap invites us to think politics as a UK General election gets closer.
In a time of unprecedented pressure on health professionals, especially on GPs, how do we hang onto the magic ingredients that make those brief consultations count? A poem in answer.
Reducing medicine wastage requires a concerted effort from all stakeholders, and yields returns in terms of finance, well-being and the environment. Vasumathy Sivarajasingam explains.
There has long been a tendency for “Othering” certain general practitioner groups. Paula Wright unpacks the phenomenon.
"The book would be worth a read for the GP who is interested in semaglutide beyond its position in clinical guidelines, and for GPs who are looking for a book to recommend to their patients on this matter ... "
Edin Lakasing and Shalinee Patel believe that this system offers poor value for public money, will needlessly increase practice workload, and risks having a corrosive effect on the trust fundamental to the relationship between healthcare workers and families.
In this episode, we talk to the 2024 winners of the RCGP/SAPC Early Career Researcher Awards.
So my big reveal was that I was a doctor. That is to say a human being who'd been to medical school and was employed in delivering healthcare, not someone who'd been born with supernatural skills to look into other people's souls
"Written in an accepting and accessible format, this book makes a refreshing change from textbooks on ethics and social media vitriol. It contains an objective and sensitive discussion of age-old moral questions in the context of modern life, bringing together utilitarian and
I think in the past I might have sneered at the idea of spending a few hours with performing artists when we had a busy job to get on with, and a never-ending to-do list to work through. But just ploughing on
David Law offers a positive experience of physician associate deployment at his practice, including how the practice accommodated the need for supervision.
Kindness is a disposition that can’t be policed and which grows out of care, attention and connection. To suggest it can be enforced and regulated for is a mistake, explain Rupal Shah and colleagues.
In this episode, we talk about patient perspectives on psychological interventions for insomnia.
...the very same addictive nature of gaming that keeps people sedentary can be harnessed to promote health through the concept of gamification. Gamification is defined as “...the use of game design elements in non-game contexts...” and is used to enhance engagement, motivation,
General practice plays a particularly important role in people's lives, supporting the health, livelihoods and lifestyles of individuals and communities. To fulfil this role effectively, GPs must embrace the idea that experience and learning are never wasted.
"The Maudsley series of books on prescribing in psychiatry has been a cornerstone of psychiatric practice, and it is welcome to see their first publication focusing on deprescribing. Many would argue that, given the ever-burgeoning scale of prescribing of these medications, such
The Prescribing lifestyle medicine mental health and trauma course was something I cautiously signed up for... Upon arrival, I was amazed at the gathering of surgeons, GPs and nurses alike, ready to hear Dr Gabor Maté , hosted by Dr Ranjan Chatterjee,
Our distinct expertise in advanced generalist medicine, together with our extended experience in the community healthcare context, defines the expertise that we bring to a consultation process, argues Joanne Reeve.
We have a professional obligation to keep up to date, and our patients will hopefully take it as read that we know what we are doing. They are more likely to thank us, though, for also having taken the trouble to walk
In this episode, we talk to Dr Erica di Martino about referring younger patients with suspected cancer.
Yonder: a diverse selection of primary care relevant research stories from beyond the mainstream biomedical literature
The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness
The Anxious Generation documents a phenomenon which almost certainly has been recognised, tracked and pondered by all practicing GPs, whose workload consists of a substantial and growing prevalence of anxiety and depression, particularly among younger patients.
Making explicit the roles and activity of the General Practitioner has many benefits. It enables others to recognise, value and utilise our work. The acronym is GENERALISM!
Hannah Milton reflects on the neuroscience of trauma and Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and how this can lead to what is termed ‘latent vulnerability’.
What are 'Ordinary' worries? Elke Hausmann reflects in the light of recent announcements by the prime minister about taking sick note prescribing away from GPs, with the argument that 'normal worries' are being wrongly medicalised as mental illness, also using that to