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
The requirement by the MHRA that there should be a 15 minute wait following covid vaccination has led to a delays in the UK vaccination program. David Misselbrook questions the ethics of this decision.
2020 - what a year! I will be glad to be rid of it. Over the next few days BJGP Life will be looking forwards, not just to a better 2021 but also to a better world.
Why do we continue to examine GP trainees at 10 minutes when the RCGP itself has called for longer GP consultations? Greg Irving and colleagues question the status quo.
The BJGP gets in the mood for Christmas! We wish for a happy and peaceful Christmas to all our readers.
Jonathan Wells has had a busy and stressful year. He tells us how thinking differently about his time off has helped him to manage the stress of work.
It’s Christmas Eve and a disheartened Dr Scrooge has been considering resignation. But might his guardian angel, Clarence, be able to change his mind?
It's Christmas eve, and a dispirited Dr Scrooge is thinking of packing it all in. But might an unexpected visit change his perspective?
Nicholas Surridge brings us a case report about a remarkable case of vinyl-assisted Christmas psychotherapy.
BJGP Life is now able to reveal how the RCGP foiled a ghastly plot and saved the world in time for Christmas.
David Misselbrook previews a bumper week for BJGP readers.
Is the NHS a service that understands the female health burden and attempts to alleviate it? Judith Dawson investigates the evidence.
What do you do to help switch off after a busy clinical day? Read? Paint? Brick-lay? GP and post-CCT Fellow, Sophie Ingham, reveals her surprising discovery of D.I.Y as a therapeutic tool during the COVID-19 pandemic.
We doctors are pretty smart, yes? Chris Tiley identifies three critical areas of understanding that we need to get straight.
Missing the gymn or pool? Or just Covid enui? James Douglas challenges us to try wild swimming!
There is a growing research interest in doctor's "gut feeling" about diagnosis in consultations. But Covid has radically changed our consultations. Can our gut feelings catch up?
Marion Brown and Stevie Lewis urgently remind us to make sure we are not mistaking antidepressant adverse effects and/or withdrawal issues for medically unexplained symptoms, functional neurological disorders or chronic fatigue syndrome.
Isn't it great to know that with evidenced based practice we will always get it right? Charles Todd reminds us of a few home truths.
Should bereavement leave be a dependant on Employers' goodwill? Bert Leysen and Johan Wens survey the current situation in Europe and suggest a better way.
Anna Gordon reminds us that refugees are people like us, but in desperate need of our humanity.
Competing patient, family medicine and psychiatric perspectives complicate the management of distress and mental illness general practice and call for resolution. K. S. Jacob suggests some ways forward.
Some GPs seem invincible, gliding through their entire careers with a minimum of alarms. How do they do it? Retired GP, Ed Warren, muses on attitudes worth cultivating during a career as a GP.
During the current Covid-19 pandemic, operating procedures to deal with face-to-face consultations in primary care in the United Kingdom were clear in the need of separating services for patients with symptoms of Covid-19, and for shielded patients needing care. Pablo Millares Martin
Migrants are widely recognised to have complex and diverse health needs, but recent reform within the NHS includes the introduction of healthcare charges for many of them. These may create pressure on GP services, increase the disease burden and widen health inequalities,
We see the refugee crisis remotely, on our TV screens. Dr Peter von Kaehne decided to do something to help. We need to hear his story.
Many clinical situations force patients into disempowered vulnerability. Judith Dawson reflects on the etiquette of dressing and undressing within the consultation.
Many former GPs may want to move along a different career pathway, but when they retire from clinical work they encounter barriers. Mona Aquilina argues that we need to harness and leverage the skills and energy of these doctors and she gives
Advances in medicine have led to major improvements in end-of-life care. But when a patient dies should doctors be aware of any factors in funeral care that can help the relatives? Dr Sarah Jones, a doctor turned Funeral Director, and Dr Julie
Community palliative care delivery is changing dramatically in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. But what of the unintended consequences of such rapid change? Ben Bowers and his co-authors examine key issues.
Primary care is changing at an unprecedented pace and the COVID19 pandemic has shown how being adaptable is vital to the future of general practice. Ria Agarwal and Sarah Mitchell ask whether Physician Associates may provide a way forward for end-of-life care
Editorial comment - today we publish two articles on current challenges in palliative care and possible ways forward. Compare and contrast!
This year Covid-19 has been a backdrop to profound human loss. Anupma Parihar reflects on the role of patients' narratives in preserving the dignity of our our patients within the consultation.
The COVID 19 pandemic has resulted in a dramatic shift from face- to-face to remote consulting within general practice. But how will this impact ongoing patient care? Victoria Tzortziou Brown, Simon Gregory and Denis Pereira Gray examine the evidence.
As doctors we are committed to justice and an end to discrimination. So surely sex discrimination in medicine is a thing of the past? These four medical students from Kings are not so sure.
Afrosa Ahmed reflects on a telephone consultation that will change her patient's life forever. She missed the ability to reach out physically to her patient as she took in the news. We are human beings, who support one another in the consultation.
We are all hoping for a Covid vaccine that works. But even if we get one, will it be that simple? Ramiro Gilardino and Victoria Malek-Pascha consider five critical issues.
Why is the injustice of racism still an open sore in western culture? Paul Main takes our exploration forward with his review of two forceful books.
For a patient, time with their GP is everything; time to explain, connect, and trust. For the GP, time is just as essential. Not only for improved patient care, but for reflection on the enormous and constant changes to the profession. In
We are embodied social beings. We thrive on nurturing relationships. Touch forms a key part of those relationships in everyday life but is also a powerful form of communication for clinicians, allowing for wordless dialogue, presence and embodied empathy. Paquita de Zulueta
30 years ago we were told we were not treating pain adequately. There was a push to give people more analgesia. So, armed with our opioids and gabapentinoids we went and we medicated. But peoples' pain got worse. Katie Barnett examines what
Asthma treatment has improved markedly over recent years. But James Oxley wonders why we are not taking action to reduce environmental pollution from discarded inhalers.