Can a statement be a lie if if its author does not know (or want to know) that they are lying? John Spicer reviews an intriguing little book 'On Bullshit.'
John Launer reflects that Pather Panchali is a masterpiece in its own right but there are particular reasons why GPs might want to find time to watch it. Few other movies show such a profound understanding of family life among people living
Peter Toon reflects on registering overseas vaccinations in the UK and asks if there are lessons for the NHS as a whole
Kath Brown argues that although Covid has exposed our long-standing domestic drivers of poor health, we simply cannot ignore global health inequalities during a global pandemic. Vaccinating the world also in all of our interests.
What could we learn by comparing a GP to driver in the Grand Prix? Could your surgery be transformed by a Reception Revolution?
Christopher Lowe argues we all need to keep sight of the overall aim of technology: to improve efficiency for both patient and clinician.
Chris Dowrick reviews 'Humanity's conundrum' by David Zigmond. It is easy to become jaded and tired and to lose sight of the therapeutic purpose underlying all of our clinical encounters. Zigmond reminds us to stop, to listen and to respond.
'Perhaps a psychoanalyst would coax out of me that growing my nails is an act of quiet liberation; I can decide how long I want my nails to be, I can decide what I want to next choose for myself. taking control
An experienced GP writes about experiencing bipolar (type 2) disorder, in the hope it will help others to identify and manage the condition.
Martin Hewett argues that because of their understanding of their “duty of care”, doctors make micro-adjustments to their behaviours and work practices to cope with the increased work. This acceptance of the increased workload has two main effects: it sets a new
When you are with a patient and you get a sinking feeling in the pit of your stomach, accompanied by a wish that you were somewhere else, then you are probably facing an ethical problem, writes Peter Toon
Vasumathy Sivarajasingam argues that we need to talk about, and manage, the menopause much better, and reminds us about key aspects that make a huge difference to women's health
Satpal Shekhawat reflects on the problems of an exhausted primary care workforce facing no let-up in workload. Is there a leadership-based solution?
Margaret Jackson and Lesley Morrison argue that GPs should be discussing climate breakdown at every opportunity.
Patients in the UK are able to change the gender marker on their NHS patient record at any time on request, irreversibly removing previous gender identity from their medical record. Does removal of this information pose a challenge to high-quality care for
Peter Toon reflects that removal of mandatory isolation will mean that those who have COVID take on the ethical responsibility for the protection of others. It's complicated...
Primary care clinicians need to be confident business and healthcare management leaders soon after qualification. It's about time this becomes an educational priority to those with the power to shape the educational future of general practice.
Samar Razaq reflects on truth, medical opinion and the scholarship in the age of Twitter.
Matthew Davis and Ana Worthington argue that the arguments in favour of the recent Assisted Dying Bill at its second reading in the UK House of Lords are based on flawed evidence
Helen Burn explains that because legalised physician-assisted dying would likely involve GPs, GPs should think about their views on the issue.
Felicitas Selter, Kirsten Persson, and Gerald Neitzke discuss the similarities and differences in animal and human euthanasia as a source of moral distress for the practitioner.
Andrew Papanikitas, Peter Toon, Paquita De Zulueta, David Misselbrook and John Spicer launch the Ethics of the Ordinary column and reflect on the field of primary care ethics and its relevance
Basem Saab and colleagues from the American University of Beirut illustrate the complexity of COVID-19 requirements and air-travel, for which patients may attend their family doctor for advice and documentation.
Jason Heath, Sangeetha Sornalingam, and Max Cooper highlight the problems the #newnormal is causing to medical education and argue that recognition of this effect is needed before there is lasting damage to the future of the medial profession
What comes to mind when you hear the word bully? Most likely the stereotype of an older child picking on a younger child. But it's important to think of other forms, like the bullying that occurs in our workplaces. Joel Brown explores
As a practising GP, I have come to see myself as a fixer of problems. But does this problem-oriented approach to consultation squander the opportunity we have when we engage our patients in that narrow window? What if we were to re-configure
Louise Hyde argues that we could be doing a lot more to protect children from COVID in the UK
Gwenllian Wynne-Jones and Carolyn Chew-Graham outline the societal and personal impacts of supporting people back to work, and the effective role of primary care in the UK
The breadth of the scope of clinical care in general practice has often left the rather tragically lingering stereotype that GPs are the medical variety Jack of all trades and master of none. Joel Brown, family physician, combats this stereotype and offers
Maybe the human connection be used as a strength when it comes to health motivation. Mariam Sohail is inspired by a new father.
Lloyd Hughes looks at plans for an integrated Scottish National Care Service and considers the strategic challenges for general practice it poses.
We all live in our bubbles. These are where we live our versions of reality and avoid anything that might harm them. Our habitable biosphere on Earth is a bubble. Inside are the smaller bubbles that include our family, beliefs, habits, work,
Jack Monahan reflects on an elective in homeless medicine and reminds us that general practice can help address the cumulative disadvantages that put a person on the street.
Richard Armitage takes a critical look at the shift to offering more urgent than planned general practice appointments, and finds it is a complicated trade off between competing priorities
Stephen Opare-Sakyi argues that GPs should see patients as whole people, but should be seen as whole people as well - by governments, patients, and each other.
John Launer muses on what Mozart's Magic Flute can teach us about family medicine
Arthur Kaufman reflects on intergenerational tensions from the older British citizen's perspective. It is easy to see these being implicit or even explicit in the consultation.
Richard Armitage argues that COVID-19 booster campaigns are a golden opportunity for health promotion, which could decrease COVID-19 effects and have wide benefits as well. Commissioners take note!
Consultations about relationships prompt Bhupinder Goraya to reflect on the consultation relationship - could 'beginner's mind be the answer?'
Austin O'Carroll argues that the label of personality disorder is inappropriate and harmful to patients who have suffered adverse social environments in childhood. By simultaneously ignoring social causation and denying the possibility of therapy the diagnosis perpetrates a systematic injustice against those
As notice-boards overflow with helpful advice, are we entering an age of extreme wallpapering? Madge McClary argues we should stem this tide for the sake of all!