Authors

Case 1Jemima StewartJemima, 36 years of age, suffers with chronic lower back pain following a motor vehicle accident at the age of 32. The pain severely limits her activity and she has not been...

Case 1: MavisMavis is an office worker aged 58 years who presents with a 2-year history of worsening left knee pain and swelling that are now preventing her from playing golf. Her body-mass index...

Case 1: Mining town GPYou are a GP working and living in a town that hosts a large lead mine.Question 1When considering blood testing for levels of lead exposure in the town’s children, which of...

Case 1Ray PetersonRay, 49 years of age, is a builder's labourer. He presents with a few skin lesions he wants checked.Question 1In terms of the approach to skin cancer diagnosis which of the...

Case 1Depression and anxietyYou are keen to have a structured approach to consultations with patients who have depression and anxiety.Question 1You are aware cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) is...

Case 1Raymond WangRaymond, 29 years of age, has been sent in to see you by his partner, Eloise, to discuss fertility concerns. They have been trying to conceive for 18 months without success and...

One of the central tenets of general practice has to be becoming comfortable with uncertainty. When faced with the concept of being a generalist – that is, the expectation to know something of...

Self-care becomes particularly important in these situations and an awareness of any tendency to ‘take on’ the patient’s experience. We all manage this aspect of our work in different ways, be it...

A good 10 years has passed since I was sitting in that lecture theatre and in one sense, it seems that dream of gene-based medicine is as far away as it was back then. Cystic fibrosis in many ways...

Of the historical human epidemics, plague must be among the most deadly and enduring. It is widely considered responsible for three devastating epidemics: the first the Justinian plague, named for...

Humans have a long history of attempting to manipulate their fertility and so control the timing of the birth of their children. As knowledge around the biology of the menstrual cycle evolved, so...

I’ve recently made a foray into the world of medics on social media. Generally being one to keep personal life and work separate, this is something of a departure. The reason for this venture is a...

Knowing your patient really does add another dimension to the clinical assessment. The knowledge of who they are as people, their values and perspectives, gathered in increments over brief...

For me, the ‘return to work’ came at precisely the right time, but it is facilitating this for our injured or unwell patients that can often present a challenge in general practice. We have all...