BJGP Life – The home of general practice and family medicine

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When good doctors fail exams

6 August 2026

One lesson many trainees learn too late is that medicine cannot be our entire identity ... Because when our entire identity depends on our performance, every setback becomes a crisis.

Overheard at a possible future cafe

Ursula le Guin wrote a book called Changing planes in which the mind-altering properties of airports enable bored passengers to travel to other planes of existence, but independent coffee places work well for me.

5 August 2026

I don’t want no scrubs

Then, for no reason, I popped the shirt and trousers back on and I noticed something remarkable.

4 August 2026

One generation died. The next asked why: the case for measuring Lipoprotein(a)

That finding did not change the cardiac arrest. It did not remove the need for secondary prevention. It did not prove causation. Yet it changed the conversation completely.

3 August 2026

Opinion and Clinical

Opinion

I don’t want no scrubs

Then, for no reason, I popped the shirt and trousers back on and I noticed something remarkable.

4 August 2026

Clinical·Opinion

One generation died. The next asked why: the case for measuring Lipoprotein(a)

That finding did not change the cardiac arrest. It did not remove the need for secondary prevention. It did not prove causation. Yet it changed the conversation completely.

3 August 2026

Arts·Opinion

Disclosure Day (A Sci-fi thriller shows us that empathy rules OK!)

From a medical perspective the fascinating strand though this action-packed movie is the claim that empathy is what makes us human.

1 August 2026

Editorial comment·Opinion

So much universe, and so little time

I am frequently dismayed to hear that reading in general is another activity that is being put off until retirement, along with painting, or dancing, or learning about medical ethics. Well. This month we bring the universe to you.

31 July 2026

BJGP Long Read·Bright Ideas and Innovation·Opinion

What we count, and what we miss: a case for measuring GP workload differently

The publisher of the national workload metric is telling us the metric is incomplete -the number that drives contract negotiations, workforce planning, commissioning, and the political conversation about general practice. We're managing a workforce crisis with a yardstick its own producers admit

30 July 2026

International·Opinion

Enough of complaining at the coffee break – It is time for action!

Advocacy is not a rock star on stage; it is a choir. It is every primary health care organisation, every family doctor, pulling in the same direction. My dream is that family medicine becomes a standard participant in every health policy conversation...

29 July 2026

Opinion

Patients will not remember you for how well you achieved your measurable performance indicators

After retiring, I found myself wondering how my patients — many of whom I had known for over three decades — might remember me. Unsurprisingly, none of my retirement cards thanked me for adhering to guidelines or achieving Quality Outcomes Framework (QOF)

28 July 2026

Opinion

Logos, ethos, pathos: evidence-based medicine through the lens of rhetoric

I would like to propose that Aristotle's theory of rhetoric may offer a useful framework for understanding how evidence, expertise, and patient values are brought together in clinical practice.

27 July 2026

Opinion·Stories

What tango can help us re-discover in medicine

"It all starts with the embrace, that is the most important part, and then we just walk together, slowly", my friend Jose said to me last night at a milonga in Madrid ...

24 July 2026

4

Book Reviews

Book review

The Quantum Gene, by Brian McKinstry

This is a plot involving geniuses, billionaires, governments, spies, academic skullduggery, corruption and eco-terrorism... solid beach reading.

2 mins read

Book review

Magnifica Humanitas: On safeguarding the human person in the time of artificial intelligence, by Pope Leo XIV

The central message of the encyclical is that humanity, with all its greatness and weakness, must never be replaced or surpassed. Technology should remain a tool that serves human beings, not a force that defines or controls them.

3 mins read

Book review·Opinion

Your health as the climate changes: Disease and death on a warming planet, by Scott G Fraser

This book is informative and shocking but also surprising. It quite literally brings home the biggest global health threat of the 21st century (so far).

3 mins read

Arts·Book review

Exhibition review: A Second Life by Tracey Emin

"Emin, through her art, has converted the chaos generated from sexual abuse and poverty in early life into a beautiful lens for us to understand ourselves and our patients better." - Hector Watson and Elizabeth Walton review Tracey Emin's A Second Life, exhibiting at Tate

3 mins read

1

Book review

Self-defence: A myth busting guide to immune health, by Daniel M Davis

...our immune system is a complex and story-laden set of ideas with implications... Naturally, all manner of amusing and occasionally annoying myths abound. There is 'healthy' and enjoyable approach to immunity in this book.

3 mins read

Book review

Book review: The Morbid Age: Britain and the Crisis of Civilization, 1919–1939

The Labour government of 1945 acted on the Beveridge report and, amongst a raft of achievements, created the welfare state and the NHS. However, the seeds of these accomplishments were planted earlier, during the morbid age.

7 mins read

Book review·Opinion

My Fourth Time, We Drowned by Sally Hayden

'My Fourth time, We Drowned,' challenges us to be human. As doctors we have the unique opportunity to address the injustices described in the book at an individual level.

5 mins read

Book review

Book review: The Golden Rule: Lessons in Living from a Doctor of Ageing

The Golden Rule is a 'lesson in living from a doctor of ageing' and it is full of hidden gems and pearls of wisdom from Lucy Pollock's ability to acutely observe beyond what is and isn’t being said. It exudes warmth and intelligence.

4 mins read

Book review

Book review: Gloria Don’t Speak

"This book gives Gloria a voice. It needs to be read widely by anyone involved in the care of people with learning disability or neurodiversity." - Peter Lindsay reviews Gloria Don't Speak by Lucy Apps

3 mins read

Book review

Understanding health, illness and society: a patient centred approach to healthcare by Alexis Paton

I have found another slim sociology text that takes the fight for health justice to audiences whose attention and focus is under siege. Alexis Paton channels her talents as a bioethicist, journalist, and a social scientist, reconnecting this topic with a sense of righteous outrage.

3 mins read

International

International·Opinion

Enough of complaining at the coffee break – It is time for action!

Advocacy is not a rock star on stage; it is a choir. It is every primary health care organisation, every family doctor, pulling in the same direction. My dream is that family medicine becomes a standard participant in every health policy conversation...

4 mins read

International·Opinion

Medical tourism: the good, the bad, and the ugly

Medical tourism doesn’t reduce NHS workload. It splits it. The funded, planned, well-resourced part of care happens elsewhere. The complications, the uncertainty, the chronic follow-up land back in general practice. Without warning. Without resource. And without anyone having agreed to it.

4 mins read

International·Opinion

Wielding a double-edged sword: how can learners use AI well in reflection?

Dialogue with a supervisor is precious, but there are physical limits to how often and how long it can occur. AI was always available, ready to work through my reflections whenever I needed.

3 mins read

International·Opinion

Gatekeepers at the exit

General practitioners, while bearing uncertainty about the need for specialist intervention, sustain continuous and comprehensive relationships with patients. I would argue that super-aged societies also require gatekeepers at the exit from medicine.

2 mins read

International·Opinion

The Strait of Hormuz and global antibiotic security

War effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz in March 2026... the waterway carries petrochemical feedstocks that manufacturers in India use to produce active pharmaceutical ingredients for millions of generic drugs, including antibiotics, worldwide.

5 mins read

Long Read

What we count, and what we miss: a case for measuring GP workload differently

BJGP Long Read·Bright Ideas and Innovation·Opinion

The publisher of the national workload metric is telling us the metric is incomplete -the number that drives contract negotiations, workforce planning, commissioning, and the political conversation about general practice. We're managing a workforce crisis with a yardstick its own producers admit cannot do the

6 mins read

The ethics of looking after family and friends, a call for more helpful guidance and education

BJGP Long Read·Opinion

Being a doctor when a loved one is ill can be a very difficult place to be. Guidelines do not generally reflect the reality on the ground and in the main emphasise the negative aspects of intervening. Monica Aquilina reflects on the issues...

9 mins read

5

Ambivalent care: when patients feel unheard and unsupported

BJGP Long Read·Opinion

As a clinician, do you find it challenging to treat patients with symptoms that are difficult to understand, explain or manage?

11 mins read

Medical societies in the 19th Century: How they influenced general practice

BJGP Long Read·Stories

Many of these societies may be historical relics, but their contribution to the development of general practice in the nineteenth century should not be forgotten.

7 mins read

Undervalued and unsustainable: The economic reality of GP minor surgery services

BJGP Long Read·Opinion

When the price of a portion of fish and chips has tripled in 20 years but the tariff for a joint injection remains static, something has gone seriously wrong with how we value general practice.

5 mins read

24

Trainees and students

When good doctors fail exams

AiT·Opinion

One lesson many trainees learn too late is that medicine cannot be our entire identity ... Because when our entire identity depends on our performance, every setback becomes a crisis.

4 mins read

Between FOMO and FOBO: A GP’s Search for “Enough”

AiT·Opinion

No matter how much we carry out, there is always somebody doing something bigger. And if we are not careful, we begin to measure our worth against impossible standards.

3 mins read

1

Teaching the art of noticing – a poem

AiT·Arts·Opinion

I noticed that you started the conversation ... before she sat down...

1 min read

1

AI detection in GP training – A hidden burden on supervisors

AiT·Opinion

As generative AI tools become more powerful and accessible, concerns about the authenticity of reflective writing are growing. Can we recognise AI‑generated text? How do we know whether a reflection is truly a learner’s own thinking?

3 mins read

Personal Protective Equipment (A Poem)

AiT·Arts·Opinion·Stories

The clinell wipes held in emerald green... They’re for my body... But what the hell Is there for my soul? A poem.

1 min read

BJGP Interviews

BJGP Interviews Podcast

BJGP TV | Research

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4

Countdown of BJGP Top 10 research 2022

Qualitative research keynote at BJGP conference 2025

Peer review workshop at BJGP conference 2025

BJGP Conference

BJGP conference highlights, 2026

Visualised podcast – BJGP Top 10

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Trainees and students

BJGP Interviews

BJGP Interviews Podcast

BJGP TV | Research

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BJGP News and Editorial Comment