The argument is that, for decades, ‘business friendly’ governments have been allowing private interests to extract vast fortunes from the NHS and that over time the service has been increasingly reformed to make it ready for corporate takeover. This would make our
The title, ‘What is a doctor?’, neatly articulates a contemporary query. As the multidisciplinary team (MDT) becomes increasingly complex with additional moving parts, the role of the doctor becomes ever more difficult to describe. The memory of the ‘family doctor’ is fading.
Bassem Saab and Beatrice Khater use a series of movies used to teach and discuss professionalism with family medicine residents in Lebanon. Here they focus on relationships with the pharmaceutical industry.
"Henry Marsh is a retired veteran neurosurgeon, recently diagnosed with an aggressive form of prostate cancer. He perceives, with reluctant realism, the coming end of his own life and responds with this remarkable and very readable collage of a book." - David
In relying on a limited and necessarily technical professional vocabulary, we often deny ourselves precisely those tools which would help us understand and treat our patients’ difficulties, and indeed our own, muses Ben Hoban
This beautifully-produced, sensitive memoir and art history begins with a quote from Euripides, capturing the yearning of anyone who has been bereaved, “Come back! Even as a shadow, even as a dream”.
"Jane Monckton Smith argues that people rarely murder their partners or ex-partners on a whim. Rather, almost invariably, the killing is the culmination of a clearly defined eight-stage timeline. By breaking down the domestic homicide timeline into these eight distinct phases, Monckton
But being on one pole of a restrictions-versus-protections continuum is a long way from swallowing undiluted anti-vax Kool-Aid, isn’t it? ... Surely, being lukewarm on masking doesn’t mean you’re going to deny the evidence on vaccines?
Richard Armitage asserts that the art of effectively deploying this knowledge with professionalism and wisdom is rooted in the discipline of philosophy. In 2022-23 he attended a masterclass in bridging these two domains for healthcare professionals.
"Understanding Allergy is a book that I think will have a profound effect on my practice as a GP. It is packed full of interesting facts but crucially, it also does exactly what it says on the tin — it helps you
"I was startled to notice an under-confidence in my formulation of dermatological diagnoses, calling my supervisor to review patients more frequently than usual. It soon dawned on me that there was a pattern to my reticence. With my White patients, I was
This short book of handwritten text and drawings from life is useful for anyone involved with the process of dying and death. It takes less than 15 minutes to read the text and illustrations but you will probably want to read it
In his new book, Johann Hari, mindful of his own and his family’s inability to be fully present, addicted to technology and exhausted (and hating it) starts to explore the reasons why we have are all struggling to focus.
...people will only ‘buy in’ to a particular something if they first realise and understand why that something should be considered as valuable to them. Richard Armitage argues that we should 'Start with Why'
In the summer before COVID-19 it the UK, I read three works of fiction (one after another) that changed my perspective on the world and our place in it: The Wall, The World according to Anna, and The Ministry for Future
"I feel vindicated reading the book that I am doing the right thing. There needs to be a distinction between temporary human distress and mental illness." - Elke Hausmann reviews What Mental Illness Really Is ... (And What It Isn't) by Lucy
This is an outstandingly well-written debut novel and enables the reader to glimpse into the terrifying world of serious mental illness in an open and revealing way ...
Have you heard of brain reprocessing therapy or neuroplastic reprogramming? Elke Hausmann first heard about it during a webinar on work support options for NHS staff with long covid. This book gives hope in that it provides the tools that anyone can
We often consider the malfunctioning of the health service to be someone else’s fault; the government's, the GPs', the receptionist's … but if we reflect on how our expectations, as a society, have changed over time, perhaps we might find ourselves complicit.
Kevin Kelly collects sage advice. He edits them and adds some personal observations. His 21st century description is that they are like wisdom tweets. Terry Kemple is inspired to join in!
It is a brief and easily searchable quick reference. and it covers key ethical tools to think through a case and it covers key aspects of the law as well as a variety of practice specific situations, but has an interesting flaw...
Professor Joanne Reeve applies a new book on Mindlines and finds hope for UK primary healthcare
Hannah Barnes has fastidiously documented the decades of issues at GIDS in a way that raises concern about the treatment of gender dysphoric and highly distressed young people in the UK. The book doesn’t give any answers about how a gender service
I find Smith’s rage to be energising and I do not think that those of us who grew up before Smith during second wave feminism in the 1970s can sit this one out. To have the case for the importance of biological
Most people have never heard of Derek Parfit. He was a moral philosopher whose reasonings have probably influenced the way many of us (the non-philosophers who are stuck in the foothills of the mountain) think today. Terry Kemple reviews a new biography.
This is Jolyon Maugham: erstwhile homeless teenager, rags-to-riches tax lawyer, agitator, social media influencer and King’s Counsel with attitude. His arguments about why societal conflicts increasingly need legal recourse deserve careful scrutiny. The profession needs to understand his playbook.
Hannah Barnes has written a detailed account of what happened at the Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust’s Gender Identity Development Service (GIDS). Margaret McCartney reflects on the risk that healthcare organisations run when worries from staff translate into organisational defensiveness.
"The result is this honest, insightful, and compassionate book. It’s a guide to, and guide through, the hidden curriculum of untaught competencies without which a new doctor’s life can become a Kafka-esque nightmare of self-doubt" - Roger Neighbour reviews The Bleep Test:
What are the personal and human factors that most motivate and anchor our best healthcare? What best nourishes and sustains both patients and healthcarers to endure together life’s most difficult challenges? This book answers such questions with luminous and engaging clarity.
Womb is an unashamedly feminist book exploring anatomy, science and history related to the female genital tract.
Mindlines are not just internalised instructions for what to do. Mindlines are what we share, including the facts we know and the issues we care about. Because of their link to our professional identity, mindlines are also who we are. Trisha Greenhalgh
Daws quietly subverts our need to make things better and move on, which often makes the consulting room door a revolving one. The alternative is simply to listen, to our patients and ourselves, with a view to enabling change rather than forcing
We all need to enjoy learning about society from time to time (emphasis on enjoy). However, many of the concepts discussed in this book have a direct bearing on policy and practice in relation to primary care.
‘Dahlia and Carys’ can be read simply as a romantic thriller with kidnapping, daring rescues from active war zones and theft of antiquities. However, its strength lies in its exploration of some hard-hitting contemporary issues including sexuality, the fear engendered by the
"Knowing how our brains work best may improve how we lead and organise teams. It could feel like the difference between swimming with the current rather than against it" – Terry Kemple reviews The Social Brain: The Psychology of Successful Groups by
Andrew Papanikitas reviews this collection of practical reflections for practice by John Launer. Warning: contains concepts!
GPs are not the target audience of this book. It a well-written potted history of the technology of vaccination. GPs may, however, find the book to be a well-written, highly accessible, and generally accurate resource to recommend to their patients...
In 'Would you kill the fat man?' Edmonds takes a well-known philosophical thought experiment – commonly known as the ‘trolley problem,’ and explores it and its various iterations in a fun, fresh, stimulating read.
My assumption was of a middle class journalist parachuting in to a deprived area and reporting through his own middle class lens. How wrong I was – this is actually the extraordinarily reflective work of a man who grew up with
"Building Blocks in Paediatrics builds bridges. It builds a bridge between the everyday presentation of undifferentiated childrens’ problems and the core of paediatric medicine." - David Misselbrook reviews Building Blocks in Paediatrics edited by Alfred Nicholson and Kevin Dunne ...
