Predicting the future

The local radio station telephoned. It was the Tuesday morning after a bank holiday and the waiting room was full. Muffled coughs and children's voices from the other side of the consulting room door warned that morning surgery would be busy. The computer screen flashed. Running late already. The programme researcher explained that they would like to do a story about our conference on primary care and the new genetics in May and could I do a live interview. It would last only a few minutes.

It was hard to think of a reason to decline. The university would benefit from exposure on the airwaves and the publicity could draw attention to our research programme. But, there is always a risk on live radio. The questions are unpredictable and interviewers are not always sympathetic to doctors. Besides, the purpose of our meeting was to draw attention to the uncertainty, and to explore the potential future impact, rather than trot out simple facts and sound bites. Anything I might say would sound …