Retract or be damned: the “bystander effect” is worsening the situation
We agree with Abbasi that this is a “dangerous moment for science,”1 and are worried…
Category: BMJ
Scarlett McNally: Changing surgery to support women surgeons
I sometimes worry that I’ve made things worse for the women surgeons of the future….
Donanemab leads to modest slowing of Alzheimer’s progression, study finds
The Alzheimer’s disease treatment donanemab leads to a modest slowdown in cognitive decline in the…
Saving the planet with reduced routine DMARD blood monitoring frequency
The recent paper from Nakafero and colleagues1 adds to a growing evidence base showing that…
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The best managers would be doctors
When Shakespeare wrote, “Now, gods, stand up for bastards . . . ,” he probably…
The NHS should focus on existing managers rather than hiring more
Limb cites a report by the Institute for Public Policy Research, which argues that increasing…
Habib Ur Rahman: orthopaedic surgeon who mentored Pakistani trainee doctors to gain experience in the UK
bmj;382/jul18_4/p1640/FAF1farahman180723.f1 Habib Rahman with his wife, Farzana RahmanHabib Rahman was a consultant orthopaedic surgeon in…
Cancer researchers vow to stick together after NCRI comes unglued
The National Cancer Research Institute (NCRI) announced its closure at the end of June 2023,…
Religion as a social force in health: complexities and contradictions
The relationship between religion and public health regularly makes headlines in the press, with both…
Helen Salisbury: By their budgets shall you know them
“Show me your budget, and then I’ll know what you care about.”1 This quote is…
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Iranian healthcare caught in political crossfire: a global call to action
Medical impartiality is a well established principle but the impartial practice of medicine has brought…
UK Supreme Court restricts scope of Montgomery duty of care to patients
The UK Supreme Court has delivered an important judgment clarifying a doctor’s duty to discuss…
Covid-19: Bring back mandatory mask wearing in health settings, say Scottish workers
Decisions taken to end the universal wearing of face masks in hospitals and doctors’ surgeries…
Humility is vital in science, even for The BMJ
It is reassuring to learn just how robust The BMJ’s processes are for appraising submissions….
Structural racism and sexism cause high maternal deaths and morbidity among Afrodescendant women in the Americas, says UN agency
Structural racism and sexism have harmed women of African descent in the Americas before, during,…
UK government is making slow progress on hospital rebuilds, say auditors
The UK government is behind schedule with its new hospital programme and has not achieved…
Screening for depression and anxiety in general practice
The United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recently recommended that all adults in general…
Ask the expert: Diagnosis and management of complications in pregnancy in primary care
What you need to knowDuring pregnancy, treat iron deficiency anaemia with lower and/or intermittent doses…
Mothers of the River: raising the ceiling for maternal care in the Amazon
Magaly Blas fell in love with the Amazon rainforest in 1999 as a medical student…
Community of spoon carving
I read with interest the article reflecting on spoon carving as a pastime and how…
Sixty seconds on . . . genetic studies
Here we go. What am I inheriting now?I sense some scepticism. But maybe that’s no…
Thomas Horner
Thomas Horner (“Tom”), born in Belfast, was one of five children. His childhood was shaped…
Elvira Arya
bmj;382/jul14_9/p1607/FAF1faElvira Arya (née Coelho) was born in Entebbe, Uganda, but returned to her ancestral homeland…
John Ashton Dodge
John Ashton Dodge died after a long illness aged 89. He was born in Cardiff…
Tackling covid-19 variants
Japan announced on 26 June 2023 that it may have entered its ninth wave of…
GP patient survey: Getting an appointment is harder but decline in satisfaction slows
Patients are increasingly finding it hard to access their GP and get appointments, according to…
Royal college calls on Scottish government to do more to attract consultants
The Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh has called on the Scottish government to increase…
Strikes are set to continue after government’s “final offer” of 6% pay rise, says BMA
The government’s “final offer” of a 6% pay increase for doctors and an extra £1250…
Aspartame is “possibly carcinogenic” but current recommended intake is safe, experts rule
The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) has concluded that the artificial sweetener aspartame…
International comparisons expose the UK’s poor performance on health
“You get what you pay for” most aptly summarises the UK’s position in recent international…
Diagnosis and management of sepsis in the older adult
What you need to knowDiagnosing sepsis in older adults is difficult, with organ dysfunction often…
A commitment to act on data sharing
The argument is simple enough. Ensuring that research is registered in advance, the findings reported…
ME/CFS: Researchers question credibility of NICE guidance
Guidance from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) on myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue…
Newborn health checks are unreliable for black and Asian babies, review finds
Neonatal assessments, including the Apgar score, are “not fit for purpose” for ethnic minority babies,…
Peer through this pupil
This is a ciliary body melanoma of the left eye in a man in his…
Tom Nolan’s research reviews—13 July 2023
Pulling up the anchorIs there a name for a cognitive bias for cognitive biases? The…
Type 2 diabetes, insulin, and dementia . . . and other stories
Insulin and dementiaObservational studies report that insulin use in people with type 2 diabetes carries…
Why I . . . am involved in musical theatre
“I had already decided at the age of four that I wanted to be a…
Celebrating 100 episodes of Sharp Scratch
This summer we celebrated our 100th episode of Sharp Scratch, our medical student podcast which…
India is failing the health data challenge
In March 2023 Siddhesh Zadey was sifting through data on the Indian government’s health insurance…
Adult social care: Workforce numbers improve slightly, but health leaders warn of challenges ahead
Health leaders have welcomed a 7% fall in the number of vacant posts for adult…
Generative AI for medical research
The global market for artificial intelligence (AI) for healthcare is booming. Currently valued at $15bn…
Leaders ȷoin NHS’s 75th birthday parties
bmj;382/jul12_3/p1592/FAF1faJack Hill/GettyTo mark the NHS’s 75th birthday the prime minister, Rishi Sunak, visited the Evelina…
Let’s find a way to work together
In 2015 I experienced varicella zoster virus meningoencephalitis and was left with an acquired brain…
John Launer: Nuclear war—it’s time to face up to the risks
As a child I lived through the Cuban missile crisis, when the United States and…
Linking census data to health records clarifies ethnic inequalities in health and care
Scobie emphasises outcome heterogeneity and the need for higher quality data, including missing and inaccurate…
Helen Salisbury: Physician associates in general practice
Last week, the tragic and avoidable death of a young woman was discussed in parliament.1…
Consider intramuscular injections for older people with vitamin B12 deficiency, says NICE
Clinicians should consider the use of intramuscular injections for people with vitamin B12 deficiency when…
Australia’s approval of MDMA and psilocybin for PTSD and depression is premature, say critics
Australia’s approval of MDMA and psilocybin for treating post-traumatic stress disorder and treatment resistant major…
One in four trainee doctors report discriminatory behaviours from colleagues, GMC finds
Over a quarter of doctors in training (27%) say that they have experienced microaggressions, negative…