BJGP Long Read – Page 4

Crossing the Rubicon: assisted dying in general practice

Doctors are repeatedly referred to in the proposed legislation, and they are clearly essential in delivering the assisted dying process, but has anyone really considered the impact on those doctors? GPs are arguably the most likely profession to provide assisted dying services,

4 January 2025

6 mins read

4

BJGP Long Read·Bright Ideas and Innovation·Research

An empathy definition at last: exposing the narcissism of small differences

By recognizing the fundamental similarities in our approaches, we can move beyond semantic battles and focus on what truly matters: genuine connection, active listening, and meaningful support for patients.

2 January 2025

4 mins read

BJGP Long Read

The layers we wear: why relational change is neither instant nor easy

"In this article, we explore what happens when our automatic ways of being in relationships are no longer serving us well. Moreover, if we can observe what we are doing, is this enough to change things?"

28 December 2024

9 mins read

BJGP Long Read·Opinion

The GP athlete: what’s the best advice I can give to my patients about nutrition?

"I couldn’t understand, however, no matter how much I trained, how much I addressed my diet (within the realms of my understanding at the time), and how much I addressed other lifestyle factors such as sleep, why I was the heaviest I

21 December 2024

7 mins read

BJGP Long Read·Opinion·Stories

Overcoming the Monster

How we understand our story makes a difference to how we go about the job, how effectively we do it, and how it leaves us feeling when we go home... One of these proto-narratives is especially relevant to us as doctors: Overcoming

17 December 2024

3 mins read

BJGP Long Read·Opinion·Undergraduate

Reflections on the cosmetics industry: personalisation, health and advertising

Aldabra Stifiuc-Andronic and colleagues reflect on the health implications of the cosmetics industry and public awareness of cosmetic ingredients.

6 December 2024

5 mins read

BJGP Long Read·Bright Ideas and Innovation

Climate change and primary care: how to reduce the carbon footprint of your practice

"Reducing the carbon footprint of primary care has the potential to improve the health of our patients and communities, while decreasing workload and saving resources ..." – Michael Naughton and colleagues outline what GPs, partners, and local primary care leaders can do to

5 December 2024

8 mins read

2

BJGP Long Read·Opinion

The flood gates of asymptomatic prostate cancer screening

There is of course no nationwide prostate cancer screening programme for asymptomatic men at present; rather, men over the age of 50 are advised that they can request a prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test from their GP at any time. Paul McNamara and

27 November 2024

4 mins read

1

BJGP Long Read·Book review

Book review: The Undesirables: the Law that Locked Away a Generation

"This book is terrifying, informative, stimulating, and educating to every member of the medical and nursing profession. It is extensively researched, has a massive bibliography, and, most importantly, it is well written and well worth reading — in spite of some truly

23 November 2024

7 mins read

BJGP Long Read·Book review·Coronavirus·Opinion

Revisiting my book review for BJGPLife – a cautionary tale

Re-reading my review, I can tell that I was very careful even then not to present this approach as a 'cure' for Long Covid, but as a promising approach to manage symptoms better while waiting for a cure ... However, I have

20 November 2024

9 mins read

1

BJGP Long Read·Opinion

The oversized influence of meat and dairy industry undermining climate action

For years, the UK has inaccurately perpetuated the notion that British farming is among the most sustainable globally. Shireen Kassam, Christelle Blunden and Matthew Lee argue why this is not so, and the impact this may have on public and planetary health.

17 November 2024

7 mins read

55

BJGP Long Read·Opinion

Epistemic symmetry: a forgotten principle in medical philosophy

"The body does not generate the mind but is a process of self-localisation of the mind itself ..." – Armando Henrique Norman explores the usefulness of idealism as a valid philosophical principle to guide family physicians in their daily practice.

15 November 2024

7 mins read

BJGP Long Read·Book review·Opinion

Ivan Illich’s Medical Nemesis at 50

a book which has had the same impact on the language of healthcare as George Orwell’s 1984 has had on the language of politics. Illich did not invent terms such as iatrogenesis and medicalisation, but he was the first to synthesize them

14 November 2024

8 mins read

BJGP Long Read·Clinical·Stories

Broken Crayons Still Colour: A tale of trauma’s shadow over health and illness

Identifying the mind as a source of the body's pain can help a patient make great strides towards taking control of their health and reducing the impact chronic illness has on their day to day lives. Paul McNamara and Ella Butterworth explore

13 November 2024

7 mins read

BJGP Long Read·Opinion

Reflections on how best to integrate a Mental Health Practitioner (MHP) into General Practice

Clearly in some GP Practices no robust thought has been given to having a Mental Health Practitioner (MHP), or their role and scope of practice. Those GPs who have requested and take 'ownership' of the MHP, are best placed to integrate them

8 November 2024

4 mins read

BJGP Long Read·Opinion

Turning the tide on healthy eating

Despite regular reports about ‘improving the diet of the population’, little has changed. Eight years ago less than a third of people ate five portions of fruit and vegetables per day, and that figure hasn’t budged since. Chris Newman suggests that GPs

7 November 2024

4 mins read

4

BJGP Long Read·Opinion·Stories

Memento Mori: Remember That You Must Die. But Then What?

What (if anything) happens when we die? This is a question that human beings have been pondering since time immemorial. Paul McNamara and Craig MacKay reflect on a family story of near death experience.

4 November 2024

6 mins read

1

BJGP·BJGP Long Read

Are good GPs holistic?

Is holistic part of being good or just a part of being a GP? GPs work in a complex adaptive network interacting in many interconnected ways with wider society. Terms like ‘whole person’, ‘holistic’, and even ‘ecological’ may fail to completely grasp

1 November 2024

4 mins read

BJGP Long Read·Bright Ideas and Innovation·Opinion

Passport to medical freedom? Only for the lucky digitally enabled

...let’s talk a minute about what needs to happen so that the development and use of something like a patient passport can be done in a meaningful and inclusive way. It seems right that we talk about it here, as primary care

31 October 2024

7 mins read

AiT·BJGP Long Read·Stories

Narrativity and the teaching of consultation skills: Godwin’s story

My first go at introducing stories into my own teaching was through the work of Rita Charon. But when I tried to introduce some of these concepts to my teaching, I was less successful. Family therapist and GP John Launer offers an

30 October 2024

6 mins read

BJGP Long Read·Opinion

High dose prescribing of oestrogen in the menopause and the BBC Panorama spotlight

there is a lot of conflicting information about menopause, its treatments, and how GPs will or won’t support women through this stage. With menopause ‘influencers’ and messaging from some specialists inconsistent with guidelines, sifting through the different options and safety profiles can

25 October 2024

6 mins read

BJGP Long Read·Opinion

Narrative and Numbers

We walk a tightrope in medicine, balancing every day the unique and complex needs of individual patients with the standardised requirements of the rule-book that governs their care. There is danger in tipping too far in either direction. Ben Hoban makes us

24 October 2024

4 mins read

1

BJGP Long Read

Beyond critique: searching for ways to encourage a healthy fighting culture in oncology

Should we be talking and thinking about ‘fighting’ cancer? An answer may lie in distinguishing a ‘healthy’ fighting culture …

19 October 2024

11 mins read

BJGP Long Read·Opinion

The ‘Nanny state’ – a fine balance of public pressures and free will

The concept of ‘choice’ and how people are exposed to risk factors for illness is not as simple as those crying, 'Nanny state!' would suggest.' Nada Khan gives food for thought...

18 October 2024

7 mins read

BJGP Long Read·Clinical·Opinion

Avoiding hospital admissions this winter – the challenge for general practice

As we gear up for winter, should we be identifying and trying to proactively manage patients to prevent unplanned hospital admissions? Nada Khan examines the NHS England guidance.

17 October 2024

7 mins read

1

BJGP Long Read·Research

The potential role of Alzheimer’s disease plasma biomarkers in primary care

Putting aside the questions of who will do this additional work... and where the money to enable it will come from, there appears to be a potential role for AD plasma biomarkers in primary care...

10 October 2024

4 mins read

BJGP Long Read·Opinion

Swiss cheese & the power of saying sorry

The idea that we can learn from our mistakes until we eventually stop making them is beguiling and clearly contains some truth. It also obscures a larger truth, however...

7 October 2024

4 mins read

BJGP Long Read·Research

RCGP Research Paper of the Year – lessons for the next generation

The winning papers reporting research utilising a range of methods, highlight a range of clinical problems (insomnia and IBS) and highlight important system phenomena (patient safety and continuity), providing learning for the next generation of doctors, including GPs.

4 October 2024

6 mins read

BJGP Long Read·Book review·Opinion

The political economy of health care, by Julian Tudor Hart

Tudor Hart’s warnings of what might happen in the health system from 2010 reach us in 2024 in the form of accurate predictions. Read this book if you’re interested in better clinical care, better health policy and a better society, even if

28 September 2024

4 mins read

2

BJGP Long Read·Bright Ideas and Innovation

Introduction of online workplace-based assessments for practicing primary care physicians in countries lacking structured primary care

"... this platform of online case-based discussion allows doctors a safe space to develop and discuss cases seen by them in their clinical practice, thereby obtaining constructive feedback from experienced educators as well as peers."

26 September 2024

4 mins read

1

BJGP Long Read·Bright Ideas and Innovation·Opinion

Automation, machine learning and artificial intelligence: considerations for commissioners, providers, and recipients, of healthcare

What do I need to understand to commission and work with systems for healthcare that involve automation, machine Learning and artificial intelligence, in an ethical and trustworthy way? This briefing outlines some key principles for healthcare stakeholders.

25 September 2024

8 mins read

BJGP Long Read·Opinion

“The Fellowship is breaking, it has already begun”*

Amongst the changes, you may have missed the decision to cease funding the newly qualified GP fellowship program.

20 September 2024

3 mins read

AiT·BJGP Long Read·Clinical·Opinion

Medicines prescribed elsewhere – don’t forget to record them in the GP record!

Richard Armitage reminds GPs to think about medications prescribed outside the primary care setting especially when thinking about new symptoms, changes to medication or medication reviews.

19 September 2024

3 mins read

BJGP Long Read·Opinion

Seeing the timber and the trees

Ben Hoban reflects on the necessity and risks of reductionism in medicine. The tension between parts and the whole is a necessary part of whole person medicine

13 September 2024

3 mins read

BJGP Long Read·Clinical

Is pre-eclampsia the new Cinderella of cardiovascular disease? Or should that be Rose (of Titanic fame), given that pre-eclampsia may be an iceberg waiting to be hit?

What can we do in primary care to prevent cardiovascular complications of pre-eclampsia? Rebecca Wheater provides a number of suggestions ...

6 September 2024

5 mins read

BJGP Long Read·Opinion

Beyond mental or physical: Can critical realism unify medicine’s divided self?

Is it better to think of patients as a body and a mind, or as a single entity that has both physical and conscious attributes? Alistair Appleby invites us to reflect.

5 September 2024

5 mins read

2

AiT·BJGP Long Read·Opinion

In conversation with a new GP

Newly-qualified GP John McCullough seeks wisdom from established GP and rural medicine lecturer Tim Sanders. It feels like a tough time to enter General Practice – has it always been this way?

19 August 2024

3 mins read

1

BJGP Long Read

Key findings of the Appleby review of suicides and gender dysphoria at the Tavistock and Portman NHS Trust

The Appleby review is ostensibly a response to claims made on social media that there has been a substantial increase in suicide rates in current and recent patients of the Gender Identity Development Service (GIDS) at the Tavistock and Portman NHS Trust.

16 August 2024

3 mins read

BJGP Long Read·Opinion·Undergraduate

AI: A plausible prospect or distant delusion in primary care?

"I asked ChatGPT to write me 100 words on the potential uses of AI in UK general practice, and it instantaneously churned out the above. I am simultaneously amazed and terrified!" Paul McNamara ponders the role of AI in his professional lifetime.

15 August 2024

4 mins read

BJGP Long Read·Opinion

Wagging the dog

The inappropriate transfer of work from secondary care in particular is a well-recognised problem which seems difficult to address. Ben Hoban wonders if this reflects a broadly political change in the goals of British healthcare.

14 August 2024

4 mins read

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BJGP Long Read - Page 4