David Oliver: Fear in medical practice

Last week Helen Salisbury wrote in her BMJ column about the fear of getting things wrong as a GP.1 Medical practice, by its nature and the disposition of many doctors, has always entailed worry, however well trained or confident we are. But, if worry becomes more generalised anxiety or escalates to fear, the threat to our mental health or ability to function in demanding jobs seems stark.

The BMA recently published a report on what needs to change to improve NHS doctors’ working lives.2 Before reading it I’d become conscious of growing fear and anxiety, in myself and in colleagues. If I was running scared—a long serving doctor, secure in my job, with a series of national leadership roles behind me—then …