In this issue we address several important and timely topics.
A wide-ranging review of medical education in the UK has recently been published. Lord Greenaway’s Shape of Training review makes some recommendations that have provoked widespread comment – and concern in some quarters. The College’s Trainees & Members’ Committee (T&MC) has become one of the most active trainee groups in the UK and led on the development of a joint trainees’ response to the review. In this issue Rosemary Hollick, T&MC Chair, considers the Greenaway report.
It is often said that doctors may be doing their best for their patients but fail to look after themselves and their colleagues. The subject of burnout in physicians is addressed by Lee and colleagues. Ackroyd and Adamson discuss the benefits of mentoring, especially during the early years as a consultant.
Are we providing too much medical ‘care’ for some of our patients? Wilson et al. discuss new guidelines on polypharmacy in the elderly, and we have two papers discussing a new era of medicine which is evolving – minimally disruptive medicine.
We have an account of the Japanese Hospital in Broome, Australia. This tells of the challenges the Japanese doctors faced but also highlights the beneficial work they did treating pearl divers suffering from the bends. Challenges of a different sort are discussed in the paper about Wellcome and Balfour and their work improving public health in the Sudan in the early years of the last century.
Martyn Bracewell
Editor
