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BJGP Long Read

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The three-body problem

The physics of Cixin Liu’s alien world make it a hazardous place to live, and the consultation can sometimes also feel like a minefield of hidden agendas, competing interests, and impossible choices.
5 January 2026
5 mins read
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The machine that goes ping

But who cares? Well, it is a distraction, an overload of trivial alarm signals from a built in buffoon while I am trying to drive a car on a dark winter evening in the rain.
3 January 2026
3 mins read

Two’s company, three’s a crowd: AI in the consultation

"Traditional models and analyses of the general practice consultation have assumed it to be a dyadic relationship between doctor and patient. However, the arrival in the consulting room of an increasingly human-like third party in the form of artificial intelligence means that
22 December 2025
9 mins read
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Doctor, heal thyself

In general practice, we often prescribe the advice we fail to follow: to rest, to take time away from work, to protect boundaries. Small acts of humanity can blunt the edges of an unforgiving system. But lasting change will depend on the
11 December 2025
3 mins read
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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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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
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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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Complexity, demand, and those little white spots

Any system for managing seasonal illness makes certain assumptions, primarily that we are dealing with a seasonal illness rather than something superficially similar but more serious. What are we to do, then, in the face of such uncertainty, especially when general practice
1 October 2025
5 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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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
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