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Opinion - Page 24

The Future of Medicine

The Changing Face of Medicine project is gathering momentum. As President of the BMA, Professor Pali Hungin launched a project to look into the impact of fast moving technological advances, the shifting role of the doctor, the adequacy of medical education, the
11 March 2020
7 mins read
Elizabeth Garrett Anderson at desk

Women in medicine: increasing in numbers but not regard

Throughout the last century we have witnessed major advancements for women in the UK, but gender inequalities continue to exist in the workplace. The NHS, established with the intent to treat everyone equally, is no exception. On average, female GPs — who
8 March 2020
4 mins read

My first year as a GP physician associate

When I first qualified as a physician associate (PA), I had no intention to work in general practice, at least until later in my career. I was unsure of the impact a PA could have in a GP setting prior to the
26 February 2020
2 mins read
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On cynicism. A post-election reverie.

David Misselbrook was a South London GP for 30 years. He was involved with GP training, CPD development and medical ethics. He now teaches Family Medicine and ethics for RCSI Bahrain. According to House, “patients lie”. Well, I guess most humans lie.
13 December 2019
3 mins read

Somewhere over the rainbow

Peter Aird is a GP in Bridgwater, Somerset. Judy Garland’s was not a happy life. Last weekend I went to see Renée Zellweger in ‘Judy’. It’s a remarkable performance in a film that portrays Judy Garland towards the end of her tragically
29 October 2019
5 mins read

Inspiring healthy lives

Rachel Handscombe is a GP partner in Derbyshire. She is an activity enthusiast and is keen to share the benefits of exercise to those she meets. I wore my 100 parkrun t-shirt to work today. I was curious as to what my
25 October 2019
3 mins read
Models of Laurel and Hardy on a bench

I’ll miss this when we are gone

Peter Aird is a GP in Bridgwater, Somerset. There’s a scene in Stan and Ollie, the film about Laurel and Hardy when towards the end of the film, Hardy says to Laurel: “I’ll miss this when we’re gone”. He speaks the words,
19 August 2019
4 mins read
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Ferris wheel and dark sky

Vanity Fair: growing wise and finding my reward

Peter Aird is a GP in Bridgwater, Somerset. General practice – the story so far: Last week many of us tried to satisfy our appraisers by proving that we had met their unilaterally determined and arbitrarily applied indicators of satisfactory professional development.
1 July 2019
2 mins read
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Power meter face

Managing power: happy to be ‘just a GP’

Peter Aird is a GP in Bridgwater, Somerset. Not so long ago, a school uniform committee was set up at the local educational establishment frequented by my children. Predictably enough, though nobody seemed to have a problem with the previously requisite attire,
24 June 2019
3 mins read

Painful conversations: A GP perspective on chronic pain

Paul Roberts was a GP for 30 years in Rochdale then Stoke-on-Trent.  He is chair of Willow Bank CIC (a social enterprise delivering primary care) and a director of North Staffordshire GP Federation. It doesn’t happen very often, but it is recognisable
25 April 2019
4 mins read
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Planetary health: everyone’s problem

Tim Senior is a GP in Australia and a BJGP columnist. Fans of Douglas Adams will recognise the scene.[footnote]Adams D (1982) Life, the universe and everything (Pan Books Ltd, London).[/footnote] There’s a spaceship landed at Lords cricket ground, but no one notices
22 April 2019
2 mins read
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Living in “The Citadel” in Sierra Leone

Michael Bryant is a GP who splits his time between South Wales and West Africa, where he works in paediatrics and as a medical educator. A J Cronin’s classic novel The Citadel is often credited as being partially responsible for the founding
15 March 2019
4 mins read
2

Be drunk and not a ‘martyred slave of time’

Peter Aird is a GP in Bridgwater, Somerset. How about impressing your appraiser with this as one of your PDP goals for the coming year: ‘Be drunk’. Charles Baudelaire (1821 – 1867) wrote: “You have to be always drunk. That’s all there
12 March 2019
2 mins read

Doctors as patients: share your experience

When you were the patient – how was it for you? An ancient Chinese proverb states: “No one can be a good doctor without first having been ill themselves.” We have recently published a book ‘What’s in a Story? Lessons from reflections
1 March 2019
3 mins read

Sense and sensitivity

Peter Aird is a GP in Bridgwater, Somerset. It is a truth universally acknowledged that fast and cheap won’t be good. Because good things take time to mature – they come about slowly. Be it a fine wine, a meaningful relationship or
30 October 2018
3 mins read

Brexit and the decimation of the NHS

Peter Burke is currently a portfolio GP in Oxford. A potted bio with declaration of interests is available at the end of the article. The Romans had a word, decimation. Decimation meant that if a Legion rebelled, one in ten soldiers, regardless
12 October 2018
8 mins read
5

Life is a dance: Blaming it on the boogie

Peter Aird is a GP in Bridgwater, Somerset. Recently The Guardian, and others, reported that doctors were alarmed that an online test which estimated cardiological health revealed that 78% of adults had a heart age older than their chronological age and were,
25 September 2018
4 mins read
2

A coffee-break conversation about part-time working

Luke Allen is a GP academic clinical fellow at Oxford University. A coffee-break conversation about flexible part-time working and relational continuity Sam (early-mid career GP): Hey, can I grab you for a minute to talk about my hours? Charlie (senior GP partner):
21 September 2018
6 mins read
2

And I guess that’s why they call it the blues

Peter Aird is a GP in Bridgwater, Somerset. Like the one whose taste in music veers consistently and increasingly away from societal norms and thus is destined to spend too much time sat in darkened rooms accompanied only by an empty bottle
14 September 2018
3 mins read
1

Prof Kamilla Hawthorne: GPs must focus on community-led care

Professor Kamila Hawthorne explores how NHS Wales can reprioritise its resources to better support and use the skills of its GPs to lead innovative, community-led care.  It has been a long, hot summer for general practitioners – in more ways than one.
6 September 2018
5 mins read

Do we care about sadness?

“All men seek happiness, this is without exception”. So wrote Blaise Pascal in his Pensées. But despite his assertion, and our best efforts, too many of us, it seems, find only sadness. In such circumstances we may well feel useless, but that's
18 July 2018
4 mins read
1

Aristotle and general practice: What do good doctors do?

Aristotle had it right when he asserted in his 'Metaphysics' that 'Those who wish to succeed must ask the right preliminary question'. More than 2000 years later, doctors would do well to listen to his advice. Before adopting each and every new
14 June 2018
4 mins read
1

Advanced Access – a step in the wrong direction

Peter Aird is a GP in Bridgwater, Somerset. If the recent film ‘The Darkest Hour’ is anything to go by, Winston Churchill would have liked a ‘Drinks by the Dram’ Advent Calendar – available last December on Amazon for a shilling short
31 May 2018
4 mins read
1

Is reflective practice safe?

Chloe Webster is a 4th year medical student, a yogaholic, creative writing enthusiast, and an aspiring future GP. You can read more of her articles. Back then, reflection didn’t really mean anything. It was just another word branded and thrown about through
28 May 2018
3 mins read
1

Life, Interrupted

Life was simple last summer. I was a happily busy wife and mother, enjoying work and keeping fit. I was in good shape, having lost a little weight, and felt great. Until one day when I developed a fever and myalgia. Looking
23 May 2018
2 mins read
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Why do you want to be a GP? The one question we don’t ask

The first question to practise before a job interview; the one we all know will make an appearance…right? Well, not if you’ve chosen to pursue a career in general practice. Whilst my colleagues were preparing evidence of their accomplishments and practising expected
18 May 2018
2 mins read
4

Life on the other side… my patient journey

Being a patient has certainly made me think a lot. About everything. From the constant waiting, to the unanswered questions, the consultation process, the umpteen tests that get ordered as a snowball effect (turns out once you start seeing doctors, we like
26 April 2018
7 mins read
10

25 tips on managing complaints: A personal defence strategy

Vernon Needham has been a GP partner, trainer, and police surgeon amongst many other roles in a varied career. He continues to work with the Wessex Deanery Professional Support Unit. Here he offers 25 tips for managing complaints and forming your personal
23 April 2018
3 mins read
1

The Uncomfortable Professional

The professionalism of general practitioners continues to be undermined as increasingly we are treated as naughty children who need to be brought into line. We need to make collective decisions on how to practice based on what we know as GPs to
27 February 2018
4 mins read
7

The Needle in the Haystack

Specialty bashing is not new or uncommon in the NHS. It is particularly directed at those training in general practice and has been a known problem for many generations. Despite a call for change, undermining of this specialty continues to haunt the
20 February 2018
3 mins read
6

Tough times for doctors and the best case fallacy

When the going gets tough, what about those who don’t feel tough enough to keep going? Peter Aird is a GP in Bridgwater, Somerset. Recently I watched the BBC adaption of ‘Little Women’. Despite the fact that it wasn’t the kind of
16 January 2018
6 mins read
3

Why I am still fighting for general practice

Peter Aird is a GP in Bridgwater, Somerset. GP practices are closing at an alarming rate with more and more GPs abandoning the profession as workload rises exponentially and recruitment continues to struggle to keep up with the number of
8 December 2017
7 mins read
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