{"id":646,"date":"2019-07-24T15:48:27","date_gmt":"2019-07-24T15:48:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/randomthoughtsltd.com\/?page_id=646"},"modified":"2025-10-14T11:54:08","modified_gmt":"2025-10-14T11:54:08","slug":"perspectives","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/randomthoughtsltd.com\/?page_id=646","title":{"rendered":"PERSPECTIVES"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A blog by Judith Harvey<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

About the author . . .<\/h4>\n\n\n
\n
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Judith Harvey <\/strong>has written regular articles for the Sessional GP<\/em>, the newsletter of the National Association of Sessional GPs (NASGP) for over twelve years. Her reflections range widely on practical, ethical and cultural aspects of health and medicine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Judith has now published her previous articles from the NASGP website as a new book Perspectives: A GP reflects on medical practice and, well, just about everything . . .<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Judith was a research scientist, ran the VSO programme in Papua New \nGuinea and taught in a Liverpool comprehensive school before going to \nmedical school. She has been a partner, a salaried GP and a locum, an \nLMC chair and a long-time supporter NASGP. For eight years her charity, \nCuba Medical Link, enabled medical students to go to Cuba for their \nelectives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

SEE ALSO: Judith Harvey on NASGP<\/a><\/h5>\n\n\n\n

Women Who Dared to Be Doctors<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

First published in the NASGP Newsletter <\/em>in July 2025<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The BMJ declared: \u201cIt is high time that this unnatural and preposterous attempt to establish a race of feminine doctors should be exploded.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
Women Who Dared to Be Doctors<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Would You Rather Be Abducted by Aliens?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n

How Stress Affects Your Body<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

First published in the NASGP Newsletter <\/em>on 20 May 2024<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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After 25 years in one home I am now moving, and I find that every step in the process provokes stress and anxiety.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
Would You Rather Be Abducted by Aliens?<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Repurposing: the Reward and Risk of Thinking Again<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

First published in the NASGP Newsletter <\/em>on 24 April 2024<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The speed of AI exploration will be a game-changer. No hunches needed.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
Repurposing: the Reward and Risk of Thinking Again<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

An Urgent Need<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

First published in the NASGP Newsletter <\/em>on 31 March 2024<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Local authorities have no duty to provide public conveniences.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
An Urgent Need<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Bet you can\u2019t eat just one<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

First published in the NASGP Newsletter <\/em>on 13th January 2024<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Snacks don\u2019t give the brain time to suppress ghrelin production, so it goes on and on stimulating eating. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
Bet You Can’t Eat Just One<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Eye of Newt and Toe of Frog?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

First published in the NASGP Newsletter <\/em>on 4th September 2023<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Can a \u2018primitive\u2019 invertebrate possibly do better than us?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
Eye of Newt and Toe of Frog?<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

It Ain\u2019t Over \u2018til It\u2019s Over<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

First published in the NASGP Newsletter<\/em> 26th June 2023 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Photo by Carolyn Brown<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018There\u2019s your science and my science\u2019 is their mantra. No there isn\u2019t.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
It Ain\u2019t Over \u2018til It\u2019s Over<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

The Nitty Gritty<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

First published in the NASGP Newsletter<\/em> on 22nd May 2023 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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I was phoned at 2am by a woman demanding I come out to an address way out of our area to prescribe treatment for nits.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
The Nitty Gritty<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

The Museum of Broken Relationships<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

First published in the NASGP Newsletter<\/em> on 6th March 2023<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cYou have to learn to live in another country in which you\u2019re an unwilling refugee.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
The Museum of Broken Relationships<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Even Can-Kickers Need a Road Map<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

First published in the NASGP Newsletter<\/em> on 25th January 2023<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Around 1000 newly qualified IMG GPs receive their licence to practise and a deportation order in the same post.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
Even Can-Kickers Need a Road Map<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Living with the Shaking Palsy<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

First published in the NASGP Newsletter<\/em> on 7th November 2022<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Whatever compound Joy Milne is detecting could be a game-changer.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
Living with the Shaking Palsy<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Sleep Knits Up the Ravelled Sleeve of Care . . .<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

First published in the NASGP Newsletter<\/em> 10th October 202<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The influence of circadian rhythms on illnesses and treatments is barely mentioned in medical curriculums.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
Sleep Knits Up the Ravelled Sleeve of Care . . .<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

A Fortunate Woman<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

First published in the NASGP Newsletter on 6th June<\/em> 2022<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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It turned out that ‘A Fortunate Man’ <\/em>was not entirely believable.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
A Fortunate Woman<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

From Kildare to Kay<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

First published in the NASGP Newsletter<\/em> 18th April 2022<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Non-medical friends stopped watching because they felt it couldn\u2019t be realistic.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
From Kildare to Kay<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Who\u2019s Speaking?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

First published in the NASGP Newsletter<\/em> on 28th February 2022<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Opera meets biomedical research.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
Who’s Speaking?<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Sniffing Danger<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

First published in the NASGP Newsletter 1st November 2021<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Biodetection dogs can identify Parkinson\u2019s, malaria, bacterial infections and Covid-19.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
Sniffing Danger<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Stakhanovism: It Hasn’t Gone Away<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

First published in the NASGP Newsletter in August 202<\/em>1<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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‘Good enough’ has to be good enough.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\n
Stakhanovism: It Hasn’t Gone Away<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Sans Teeth, sans Eyes, sans Taste, sans Everything<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

First published in the NASGP Newsletter in June 202<\/em>1<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The young may think and learn more quickly, but old dogs can<\/em> learn new tricks.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
Sans Teeth, sans Eyes, sans Taste, sans Everything<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

The Health of the Nation: Who\u2019s Keeping Score?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

First published in the NASGP Newsletter in April 202<\/em>1<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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European Stone Stacking Championship \u00a9 Sally Anderson Photography<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What if we had a single measurement for the nation\u2019s health?<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
The Health of the Nation: Who\u2019s Keeping Score?<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

76 Days<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n

First published in the NASGP Newsletter in February 202<\/em>1<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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What was it like when covid struck Wuhan?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
76 Days<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Searching for the Sweet Spot<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

First published in the NASGP Newsletter in December 2020<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Can we make the healthy choice the cheap choice?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
Searching for the Sweet Spot<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

How Do We Let Down the Drawbridge?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

First published in the NASGP Newsletter in October 2020<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Social exclusion is alien to the NHS, one of the few institutions which is open to all<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
How Do We Let Down the Drawbridge?<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Learning to Live with Masks<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

First published in the NASGP Newsletter in August 2020<\/em><\/h5>\n\n\n\n
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Masks are going to be with us for a long time to come. We\u2019d all better get used to them.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
Learning to Live with Masks<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Beware the Old Normal<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

First published in the NASGP Newsletter in June 2020<\/em><\/h5>\n\n\n\n
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What good has come from this unprecedented social experiment? And how do we preserve it?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
Beware the Old Normal<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

A Lockdown Diary<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

First published in the NASGP Newsletter in April 2020<\/em><\/h5>\n\n\n\n
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When we look back on this strange period, the experience of all of us needs to be acknowledged, I\u2019m going back to time BC (Before Covid-19) to track how swiftly we moved from complacent normality to a fearful wartime footing.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Lockdown Diary<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Antimicrobial Resistance: Can We Outrun Evolution?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

First published in the NASGP Newsletter in February 2020<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

This was written at the end of January 2020. Since then Covid-19 has trumped almost every other medical challenge, but in the future we will need effective antibiotics all the more<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Antimicrobial Resistance: Can We Outrun Evolution?<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Doctors under Siege<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

First published in the NASGP Newsletter in December 2019<\/em><\/h5>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Bashar al Assad, President of Syria, Damascus, April 2011<\/strong> <\/h5>\n\n\n\n
Doctors under Siege<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n

I’ve Seen the Future of General Practice and . . .<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

First published in the NASGP Newsletter in October, 2019<\/em><\/h5>\n\n\n\n
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Social prescribing transforms 21st<\/sup> centu<\/strong>ry lives.<\/h5>\n\n\n\n
I’ve Seen the Future of General Practice and . . .
<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Quiet, Please!<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

First published in the NASGP Newsletter in August 2019<\/em><\/h5>\n\n\n\n
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Noisy environments aren\u2019t a new phenomenon, but we are only now recognising how noise endangers our health.<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n
Quiet, Please!<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Now Wash Your Hands<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

First published in the NASGP Newsletter in June 2019<\/em><\/h5>\n\n\n\n
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A century after Semmelweis published his paper on reducing the spread of infection in maternity wards, his advice reached the Department of Health. <\/h5>\n\n\n\n
Now Wash Your Hands<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Singing in the Brain<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

First published in NASGP Newsletter in April 2019<\/em><\/h5>\n\n\n\n
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When words fail, music may find a way into a failing brain<\/h5>\n\n\n\n
Singing in the Brain<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n

Eating People is Wrong<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

First published in the NASGP Newsletter <\/em>in February 2019 <\/em><\/h5>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
There is a link between Troms\u00f8, the Arctic capital of Norway, and the Fore district of Papua New Guinea, and it is cannibalism.<\/h5>\n\n\n\n
Eating People is Wrong<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n

Getting under Your Skin<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

First published in the NASGP Newsletter in December 2018<\/em><\/h5>\n\n\n
\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n
Body Worlds is an exhibition of plastinated bodies. What issues does plastination raise?<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n
Getting under your Skin<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Fringe Medicine<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

First published in the NASGP newsletter <\/em>in October 2018 <\/em><\/h5>\n\n\n
\n
\"\"<\/a>
<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n
Medics have a long-standing relationship with the annual August circus that is the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n
Fringe Medicine<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n

A Viper\u2019s Nest of Treasures<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

First published in the NASGP Newsletter in August 2018 <\/em><\/h5>\n\n\n
\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n
Since the antihypertensive captopril went on the market in 1981 it has probably saved many more lives than have been lost to the pit vipers from which it was obtained.<\/h5>\n\n\n\n
A Viper’s Nest of Treasures<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n

Understanding Denial: a Visit to the Faroe Islands<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

First published in the NASGP Newsletter in June 2018 <\/em><\/h5>\n\n\n
\n
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What can public health in UK learn from the Faroes about changing cultural traditions?<\/h5>\n\n\n\n
Understanding Denial<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Sin City: the Redemption<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

First published in the NASGP newsletter in April 2018<\/em><\/h5>\n\n\n
\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n
The UK is losing the ‘war on drugs’. We might learn from Colombia as it recovers from decades of violence brought about by its illegal manufacture and export of cocaine. <\/h5>\n\n\n\n
Sin City: the Redemption<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Whacking Moles<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

First published in the NASGP Newsletter in February 2018<\/em><\/h5>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
What do dead plants in doctors’ consulting rooms say about them? Maintenance is boring but we ignore it at our peril.<\/h5>\n\n\n\n
Whacking Moles<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n
Return to Top of Page<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A blog by Judith Harvey About the author . . . Judith Harvey has written regular articles for the Sessional GP, the newsletter of the National Association of Sessional GPs (NASGP) for over twelve years. Her reflections range widely on practical, ethical and cultural aspects of health and medicine. Judith has now published her previous articles … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “PERSPECTIVES”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-646","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/randomthoughtsltd.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/646","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/randomthoughtsltd.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/randomthoughtsltd.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/randomthoughtsltd.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/randomthoughtsltd.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=646"}],"version-history":[{"count":292,"href":"https:\/\/randomthoughtsltd.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/646\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9677,"href":"https:\/\/randomthoughtsltd.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/646\/revisions\/9677"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/randomthoughtsltd.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=646"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}