A “Deep Breath In” for GPs
BMJ 2020; 369 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.m1437 (Published 22 April 2020) Cite this as: BMJ 2020;369:m1437
- Jennifer J K Rasanathan, clinical editor,
- Tom Nolan, clinical editor
- The BMJ, London, UK
- Correspondence to: J Rasanathan jrasanathan{at}bmj.com
“Deep breath in ... and out. Again, deep breath in … and out.”
We tune in to patients’ breath sounds, seeking confirmation of a diagnosis—one more supporting piece of evidence to reassure anxious patients or to narrow the differential.
But since the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic arrived, saying “deep breath in” has been replaced by the need to take one ourselves: before looking at the morning news, before venturing out (or logging on) to work each morning, and before ringing the next patient on your list with the ominous note alongside their name: “fever and cough for a week, now feeling breathless.” Although chosen in what seems like a different era, the name for The BMJ’s new podcast for general practitioners—Deep Breath In—seems fitting for our troubled times.
Rebooting general practice
Before anyone in Wuhan fell ill, GPs had already been feeling the strain. In the UK, despite government promises of 5000 new practising GPs by 2020, there were 6.2% fewer full time equivalent GPs in 2019 than in 2015.1 Similarly, physicians in the US have been compensating …