Overwhelmed by the relentless tide of bad news stories about UK primary care? Well, this is a good news story. A webinar organised by The Commonwealth Fund (a US philanthropic organisation originally created by the Harkness Family to identify policies and practice that could improve the US health system) discussed findings from the latest International […]
Category: Domhnall MacAuley
Domhnall MacAuley: The surgeons who are not doctors
“The surgeons who are not doctors.” Reading this headline, I expected a story on training healthcare workers as surgical technicians in some under doctored developing country. But no, it was in the UK. I was intrigued. Medicine is introspective, protective, and doctor centric; self regulating and self directing. Places at medical school are highly prized, […]
Domhnall MacAuley: The silent cost of caring
As he hung up his coat at the end of the morning, he stunned his nursing and junior colleagues: “I will be glad when I don’t have to do that clinic anymore.” It was a cancer clinic in a non cancer speciality. Everyone in outpatients thought he was wonderful; a caring clinician, a good listener […]
Domhnall MacAuley: Tranquiliser and analgesic dependence
“GPs warned to steer clear of tranquiliser trap,” Reading the headline—I expected the usual GP bashing. But, the headline misled and the story was based on a joint statement by the Royal College of General Practitioners and the Royal College of Psychiatrists, supported by medical, nursing, social work, and lay bodies on the risks of […]
Domhnall MacAuley: Matching doctors’ roles to skills and personality
“The thing that makes someone get up at 5am and run—we want it.” Besides the text was a picture of a running shoe. It was a recruitment advertisement for managers of Aldi, the low price supermarket store. The message was clear—they knew the type of person they wanted, and the reader knew immediately if it […]
Domhnall MacAuley on being a GP on Christmas Eve
Christmas Eve. Its a Monday. It will be dark leaving home but, with no morning traffic, the drive to the surgery should take just a few minutes. Few people around—a few early shoppers collecting their turkeys or in a last minute panic to pick up a late gift. With businesses closed and no schoolchildren, it […]
Domhnall MacAuley: “Seven Deadly Sins” and Lance Armstrong
The sports medicine book of the year? No, not some worthy academic text or edited works of the great and the good (and, yes, I did one of these this year myself), but, David Walsh’s new book—Seven Deadly Sins—charting the evolution of his doubts and subsequent investigations into Lance Armstrong and doping. David spoke last […]
Domhnall MacAuley: Jonathan Miller, Maeve Binchy, and the neurophysiology of general practice
Jonathan Miller is in the news again. His biography pushed him back into the limelight, and although the media focused on his ongoing spat with Sir Peter Hall, it reminded us again that while he was a gifted author, actor, artist, and theatre and opera director, he was first a doctor. He never quite escaped […]
Domhnall MacAuley: Creating winning teams
I spent time at the weekend in the company of some very successful people; high achievers in sport, health, and the public sector—each directing teams or organisations that perform at the highest level. It wasn’t a business seminar, leadership congress, or motivational event. There was no preening, competition, or posturing. No one stood out—they all […]
Domhnall MacAuley: The medical journal of the future
Editors, by definition, are different. The annual short course for medical journal editors brought together a bunch of bright energetic free thinkers—mostly doctors. These new editors bring their own perspective on the rapid changes in medical publishing: Journals are gradually migrating to the web, publishers are selling bundles, big journals are creating off shoots, and […]