BJGP Long Read - Page 9

BJGP Long Read·Opinion

Leviathans and a different sort of contract

A social contract must be framed in a way that enables people to look after other people, rather than simply creating systems of ever-increasing complexity to deliver care which is mechanical and ultimately disappointing.

26 January 2026

5 mins read

BJGP Long Read·Opinion

Being philosophical when it’s complicated

We can use concepts and language to share ideas/help us see things we might overlook. We can use the narratives of others to extend our own experiences of the world. The dangers from being intellectually and morally passive compel us to embrace

27 January 2023

5 mins read

BJGP Long Read·Undergraduate

Rational self-interest and the Inverse Care Law: considering how John Rawls and Robert Nozick might have reflected on Julian Tudor-Hart’s problem

How might American political economists Rawls and Nozick have viewed Julian Tudor Hart's inverse care law? Ayu Takayanagi explores two types of self-interest.

22 January 2023

7 mins read

1

BJGP Long Read·Opinion

General practice cannot be piecework

Piecework is advantageous for production where output volume is a reliable proxy for productivity and monitoring and incentivising output volume does not compromise quality. Lara Shemtob and colleagues argue this is inappropriate for general practice.

19 January 2023

5 mins read

BJGP Long Read·Opinion

Put a cap on it – safe workload levels in general practice

What are safe workload limits in general practice, and how can these limits be implemented in practice? Nada Khan investigates.

11 January 2023

4 mins read

2

BJGP Long Read·Opinion

Supporting patients who choose to donate a kidney: what GPs need to know

in 2022 Richard Armitage altruistically donated a kidney. He discusses what GPs need to know in order to support patients who choose to go through this process themselves.

9 January 2023

6 mins read

Topical corticosteroids overuse and withdrawal reactions: a UK lay-person’s perspective

Topical corticosteroids remain the mainstay treatment for atopic eczema in the UK. However, it is evident from literature searches, and from communicating with dermatologists, that patient or parental underuse, non-compliance, and steroid phobia have been major concerns for some time. This lay

27 December 2022

14 mins read

3

BJGP Long Read·Opinion

Drifting off to sleep? The dis-analogy of sleep and general anaesthesia

Richard Armitage finds that general anaesthesia is in fact quite unlike sleep in its most fundamental components.

26 December 2022

7 mins read

BJGP Long Read·International·Opinion

The art and science of effective giving

Assessing the effectiveness of each charitable project and directing financial donations to the one that ranks highest is certainly a task of gargantuan proportions. Richard Armitage explains.

19 December 2022

7 mins read

BJGP Long Read·Book review

Moral leadership in medicine: a book that deserves reading and re-reading

Moral Leadership in Medicine provides a vital account of how the needs of patients and the aspirations of professionals are translated into actions beyond the bedside and should form part of any debate on the future of healthcare.

17 December 2022

4 mins read

BJGP Long Read·Opinion

Medicalising poverty: whose responsibility is it?

Why have poverty and fuel poverty become medicalised? We know that social determinants of health shape and drive health outcomes. Poverty and fuel poverty are increasingly positioned within a biopsychosocial model of medicine and health.

8 December 2022

4 mins read

BJGP Long Read·Bright Ideas and Innovation

Could the properties of metals and animal peptides be harnessed to reduce infection and antimicrobial resistance?

Antimicrobial resistance is developing rapidly and threatens to outstrip the rate at which new anti-infective agents are introduced. There are now, however, more than 250 antibacterial compounds isolated from natural sources. Here, Simran Patel and colleagues examine some of the leading contenders.

7 December 2022

8 mins read

BJGP Long Read·Opinion

Replacing one dichotomy with another? Suggested revisions to a definition of health

While various definitions of health have been offered over recent centuries, the search for an enduring and completely satisfying definition has proven frustratingly elusive. Richard Armitage wrestles with one of the most recent and promising definitions.

27 November 2022

8 mins read

BJGP Long Read·Bright Ideas and Innovation

Reflections of implementing social prescription community groups

Social prescribing: Fiaz A Hussain and Feryad A Hussain present the experiences of a group facilitator with extensive experience of running community groups, offering patient feedback, highlighting the challenges of implementation at the coalface, and offering a number of considerations for GPs

23 November 2022

12 mins read

BJGP Long Read·Opinion

Turning the clocks back an hour: extra time in bed or maybe something more?

The clocks going back as we descend into winter each year generates an additional hour that we generally choose to spend asleep. A poignant philosophical reflection on time.

20 November 2022

5 mins read

BJGP Long Read·Opinion

Manufacturing doctors is one thing; sustaining working communities is quite another

In an age of mass-production and commodification it is not surprising that the governmental response to our increasing losses of doctors is to recurrently and rhetorically press for greater production and wider recruitment. But in doing so are we avoiding deeper human

17 November 2022

8 mins read

BJGP Long Read·International

Turning diversity from a barrier to a facilitator of empathy in healthcare

Most developed countries have increasingly diverse populations. This context presents a challenge to empathic healthcare, as well as an opportunity. Better communication, treating diversity as an opportunity, and formal training in empathy and diversity can help transform diversity from a potential barrier

16 November 2022

7 mins read

1

BJGP Long Read·Opinion

‘The bird is freed’: the role of Twitter in today’s general practice

Twitter has undoubtedly become the world’s digital town square, and provides the soapbox upon which contemporary issues and political dialogue are played out in real time. Richard Armitage explores the Twittersphere in the wake of Elon Musk's takeover.

14 November 2022

6 mins read

1

The intelligence-wisdom gap, and the urgent need to close it

Due to the accelerating power of our technological arsenal, and the contrasting stasis of our professional wisdom, the intelligence-wisdom gap is expanding at a blistering pace. With formidable technologies on the scientific horizon – nanotechnology, CRISPR, and general-purpose AI – the necessity

7 November 2022

9 mins read

BJGP Long Read·Opinion·Stories

A tyranny of nouns

Doctors are inordinately fond of nouns. By and large, patients come to us not just with nouns, but with stories which include them but are driven along by verbs, words of action, backed up by adverbs, pronouns, and so on...

4 November 2022

4 mins read

BJGP Long Read·Opinion

Healthcare workers balloting for strike action – no easy choice

Should healthcare professionals ever strike? For some healthcare professionals, going on strike crosses a professional and moral line. Nada Khan explores the debate.

3 November 2022

5 mins read

1

BJGP Long Read·Opinion

‘Hidden’ no more – the real work of the ‘part-time’ GPs working full-time hours

How is it that 'part time' GPs are working 'full time' hours? Nada Khan investigates!

27 October 2022

5 mins read

2

BJGP Long Read·Stories

An ethical dilemma at age 95

Tom Brett had known Martha as a patient for fifteen years. Widowed for over 25 years, she had moved from the family farm to settle in the city close to her children...

26 October 2022

3 mins read

3

BJGP Long Read·Opinion

‘Agents,’ not ‘patients,’ as the beneficiaries of general practice

Richard Armitage suggests it is right for GPs to primarily regard their beneficiaries as ‘agents’ rather than ‘patients’ in the majority of general practice consultations.

24 October 2022

5 mins read

Under the spotlight: supportive guidelines to maintain psychological wellbeing for staff involved in patient–coroner investigations

This article aims to draw attention to the experiences of staff who are involved in the coronial process following the death of a patient by suicide. In doing so, the hope is that organisations will consider the impact and implement support strategies

20 October 2022

10 mins read

1

BJGP Long Read·Opinion

What are the health impacts of cryptocurrencies?

Digital currencies, otherwise known as blockchain-enabled cryptocurrencies, have made unmissable impacts on the global economy. But what are they, how do they work and, most importantly for us, what are their effects on human health and wellbeing?

17 October 2022

7 mins read

2

AiT·BJGP Long Read·Opinion

Should we be teaching doctors to be better patients?

Increased dialogue about the unique nuances of physicians adopting the role of ‘patient’ should be supported throughout medical training, argues Isabella de Vere Hunt.

15 October 2022

4 mins read

BJGP Long Read·Opinion

E-scooters: how safe are they?

In England over the last two years, you are likely to have seen people whizzing around on brightly coloured electric scooters. While they might be a fun, practical, and relatively cheap mode of transport, just how safe are they for their users

10 October 2022

6 mins read

‘Delicate diagnosis’: avoiding harms in difficult, disputed, and desired diagnoses

Distinguishing conditions that would benefit from diagnosis and earlier intervention from those that are temporary, self-limiting, and prone to harmful medicalisation, remains challenging. Here, Margaret McCartney and colleagues argue that a framework to consider some diagnoses as ‘delicate’ will aid in the

7 October 2022

11 mins read

4

BJGP Long Read·Opinion

Are some kinds of patient-data too sensitive to be digitally recorded?

The recent cyber-attack on NHS systems, on the background of zero-days and zero-day exploit markets, raise concern for the safety of digitised patient data – those that are often used in primary care settings – are they too sensitive to be digitally

3 October 2022

8 mins read

1

BJGP Long Read·International

Can we take the heat?

With climate change resulting in increasing temperatures all around the world, what exactly does heat do to our cells and vital organs?

1 October 2022

5 mins read

Tackling overprescribing: a must for climate action

The NHS has committed to becoming net zero by 2040. With medicines totalling 25% of the NHS' carbon footprint, one way to reduce the carbon footprint of health care is to simply do less health care - here, Theo Bartholomew and Samuel

28 September 2022

7 mins read

1

BJGP Long Read·International·Opinion

Nuclear power plants in conflict settings: a public health concern

Richard Armitage argues that the abuse or neglect of nuclear facilities in conflict settings represents an international public health concern

26 September 2022

5 mins read

Do you still need your licence to practice? – some reflections for British GPs

In this article we out some issues for consideration for those considering the process of ‘retirement’. We aim to offer some experience to inform others’ thinking, and also to set out issues that bodies such as the RCGP still need to address.

25 September 2022

6 mins read

BJGP Long Read·Opinion

Too cold at home: the challenge of fuel poverty and long-term health outcomes

This winter, several long-term issues are coming to a head to create a perfect storm: high fuel prices, poor housing quality, a lack of sustainable energy strategies, and families sliding into low income during a cost of living crisis. Nada Khan reviews

23 September 2022

4 mins read

BJGP Long Read·Opinion

Show me the money! What’s really going on with reported GP earnings?

A British newspaper has argued that GPs were given 'record pay rises in Covid pandemic'. Richard Armitage unpicks the truth and the implications of GP earnings and productivity over the last two and half years.

22 September 2022

6 mins read

Arts·BJGP Long Read·Stories

Diagnosing Faria

Alexandre Dumas’s 19th century French novel, The Count of Monte Cristo, doesn’t usually make the list of standard medical texts but perhaps it should not be so readily dismissed. It captures the spirit of an age when medicine was undergoing a revolution...

18 September 2022

3 mins read

1

BJGP Long Read·Opinion

Switching to imperial: a ton of problems for healthcare

Richard Armitage explores the health implications of adopting imperial units, and finds the prospect quite alarming!

12 September 2022

5 mins read

1

BJGP Long Read·Book review

Book Review: Why We Get the Wrong Politicians, by Isabel Hardman

Cassandra-like, the author warned us, and we did not listen. This is not a book about a political party or ideology however, it is about politicians and political life in the UK. Hardman’s book is divided into three sections: Why we get

10 September 2022

4 mins read

2

BJGP Long Read·Clinical

Osteoarthritis: an overlooked target for health improvement

While it makes no contribution to mortality statistics, the morbidity, economic cost and primary care workload generated by osteoarthritis is of sufficient proportion to render the condition a significant public health problem worthy of urgent investment of resources.

9 September 2022

4 mins read

1

BJGP Long Read·Opinion

Doctors prescribing financial support – a poisoned chalice?

A leaked memo from the UK treasury recently suggested GPs should assess the financial health of their patients and recommend financial support to those in most need. Nada Khan considers some of the arguments and research -discussion welcome!

8 September 2022

3 mins read

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