It’s the first week of August and in the NHS that can only mean one thing. Changeover has arrived and thousands of newly qualified doctors are let loose on the wards.

For decades, patients and doctors alike have joked that it is best to avoid a hospital stay in August. Lately, this myth has been gathering evidence with suggestions of increased mortality around the changeover period. [1] Whilst by no means conclusive, the trend shouldn’t be ignored. more…

I’ve always thought of myself as a feminist and have never consciously made career decisions based on my gender. However, male medical colleagues often comment that my Jackie O-inspired work wardrobe does not necessarily fit with being a feminist. Some have even suggested that I am “more feminine than the average female doctor.” This raises the interesting question – are femininity and feminism mutually exclusive in medicine? more…

In his BMJ blog last week, David Kerr asked whether Twitter would ever be used for healthcare.  As soon as this blog was posted, the Twitter healthcare community was buzzing with responses including: “It already is [being used for healthcare]: we are developing healthcare through our discussions,” “Does he mean the same Twitter that is currently being used to drive discussion and debate in healthcare?” and “Yes! It will be as normal as phones.” more…

For a medic still just under thirty, I have deviated from the traditional medical career path several times. Working as a healthcare management consultant, setting up a start up enterprise and being on secondment to the Department of Health have broadened my understanding of the healthcare landscape.

The controversy over the planned NHS reforms has got me thinking about clinical leadership.  Empowered clinical leaders will be crucial to implementing the reforms and the NHS should look to other industries for lessons on developing future leaders.  Whilst junior doctors are treated as bottom of a hierarchy, their private sector counterparts are nurtured, trained and valued. Retaining and investing in talent is big business. Other industries wouldn’t dream of labelling the next generation of leaders with the pejorative term “junior.” Yet this is exactly what we do to future medical leaders. more…