Abi Rimmer

The deaths of two children have prompted calls for patients referred to hospital by a GP to be assessed by a doctor. The Doctors’ Association UK (DAUK) campaign group has written to the health and social care secretary, James Murray,1 highlighting the deaths of 8 year old Ethan Hanson and 9 year old Dylan Cope. Neither child was assessed by a doctor while in hospital. Ethan was initially assessed by a GP, who raised the alarm about his condition and …

The UK government should introduce a legal maximum safe working temperature for hospitals and GP surgeries, the Doctors’ Association UK (DAUK) has said. The campaign group has written to the health secretary, James Murray, calling for a range of cooling measures in the NHS, such as air conditioning, to create safer working temperatures. The group made the call after its survey found that most healthcare workplaces were very hot or dangerously hot during the latest heatwave.1 And a government backed report from the UK Climate Change Committee said in May that UK hospitals urgently need cooling systems, as deaths and admissions were set to rise because of global heating.2 The DAUK conducted its survey of healthcare workers from 25 to 29 June. The highest ever June temperature in the UK was recorded on 26 June, at 37.7°C.3 Of the 1111 healthcare workers who responded …

GPs could limit appointments and cease non-contractual work as part of an escalation of collective action, the new chair of the BMA’s General Practitioners Committee for England (GPCE) says. Clare Bannon told The BMJ that she would like to see the options form part of the next phase of action, which GPCE is coordinating in response to BMA GP members overwhelmingly rejecting their contract for 2026-27 in March.1 However, decisions about upcoming action are yet to be made, with Bannon only taking up the post as chair on 9 July.2 She takes over from outgoing chair Katie Bramall, who held the position since 2023. Bannon said one of her key priorities as GPCE chair would be to achieve a significant increase in core practice funding: “There’s no point negotiating a new General Medical Services contract without new funding.” In February, it was announced that the 2026-27 GP contract deal included a £485m uplift to core practice funding.3 This is a 3.6% cash increase, which the government said was also the second real terms increase in GP funding in two years. The full uplift figure equates to an average …

It can be tempting to label yourself a failure, instead take time to reset before starting again, Abi Rimmer hears ### Annette Clancy, assistant professor of management at the School of Art History and Cultural Policy, University College Dublin “Feeling devastated after a failed exam is completely normal. Disappointment arises when reality falls short of our expectations, and the pain is rarely just about the result itself. It often touches deeper anxieties about identity, capability, and career trajectory. “Psychologist Carol Dweck, whose research at Stanford shaped modern thinking on motivation and achievement, offers a useful lens.1 She proposed that people tend to hold one of two beliefs about ability. A fixed mindset reads failure as proof of inadequacy; a growth mindset reads it as information about what can be changed through effort and learning. From the latter perspective, your distress is not a character flaw, it indicates that your career genuinely matters to you. That is worth remembering. “What to do next? First, let yourself feel it and talk about it. Suppressing disappointment rarely works and often prolongs it. Give yourself a day or two before switching into problem solving mode. Then review the exam objectively. Was it gaps in your knowledge? Time management? Exam technique? External pressures such as tiredness or personal stress? Being honest, without being harsh, is essential at this stage. Seek feedback from tutors or examiners where possible; specific, actionable information is far more useful than self-criticism. “Next, separate the event from your identity. Failing an exam means you did not pass that exam …

There are things both trainers and trainees can do to make space for learning during the working day, Abi Rimmer hears ### Michael Okocha #### Consultant colorectal surgeon and council member of the Royal College of Surgeons Edinburgh “In surgery, training is not separate from the work; it is how the craft is passed on. Yet the loss of the traditional firm structure, fragmented rotas, and relentless service pressure have progressively robbed teams of the time and continuity needed to learn together. “The solution is not always to find additional time, but to use the clinical day deliberately. Medical students should be welcomed as members of the team: introduce them, ask what they want to learn, give them meaningful tasks, and teach as you work. “Foundation doctors should be empowered to take ownership. Because they often move between shifts and teams, they may never see the outcome of their decisions. Updating them on a patient’s journey helps them understand their contribution and restores meaning to routine work. “Core trainees are eager to develop but are often under intense pressure to demonstrate progression for specialty applications. Opportunities should therefore be thoughtful and proportionate: port placement, fascial closure, defined elements of mobilisation, and supervised decision making can provide valuable experience without displacing registrar training. “Locally employed doctors may bring considerable experience from other systems. They should be actively included, offered responsibility, supported to present at morbidity and mortality meetings, and helped with career progression where this is their aim. “Registrar training requires a different approach. Trainees move through stages of conscious and unconscious competence, and trainers must recognise where they are. My best trainers consistently asked, ‘What would you do?’ and then challenged my answer. Even a routine hernia becomes educational when the trainer asks, ‘What if the bowel is adherent?’ or ‘What would you do if this bleeds?’ Explaining operative logic, anticipating complications, and rehearsing difficult scenarios develops …

A group of 21 doctors is suing the Federation of the Royal Colleges of Physicians of the UK over a mistake made in the marking of a high stakes exam. In February 2025 it was revealed that nearly a fifth (283 of 1451) of the doctors who took the second written component of the membership of the Royal Colleges of Physicians of the United Kingdom MRCP(UK) exam in September 2023 were affected by a marking error.1 This error went undetected until February 2025 and meant that 222 candidates (202 UK graduates and 20 international candidates) who originally “passed” the exam had actually failed and needed to resit it. A further 61 international candidates who had originally been told that they had failed the exam were informed that they had passed. The MRCP(UK) is …

Advertisements depicting AI generated NHS doctors selling a weight loss product have been condemned, with the doctors’ union calling for a crackdown. The online adverts featured a man and a woman before and after losing weight. In both cases, the people were wearing scrubs and stethoscopes and standing in front of signs that read “St Thomas’ Hospital” or “St Thomas’ Hospital NHS.” Both adverts seemed to be for a product called VitalMorn and claimed, “Drink this (every morning) and burn belly flab all day long!” The BMJ was unable to find evidence that any weight loss product under the branding VitalMorn exists. A spokesperson for Guy’s and …

There are strategies you can use to help advance your career despite feeling like you don’t fit in, Abi Rimmer hears ### Kath Higgins #### Consultant in diabetes medicine and founder of Leicester Women in Medicine “I answer this question from the perspective of a woman in medicine. Often the problem is framed around fixing the individual. But the ability to progress is less often about individual capability and more about culture and structures. Think about what is impacting you and your progress. Name the factors. “Many women recognise a gap between knowing what is right and feeling able to speak or act on it. Power, hierarchy, and culture can create that gap. Notice when you hold back—what’s behind that? “Power and hierarchy can lead to people staying silent, being over-accommodating, or hesitating to challenge. Consider the dynamics, systems, or biases that are contributing to the feeling that you need permission to act. “Being ready to progress is often judged through a cultural lens—shaped by biases, visibility, and expectation. Women may question their own readiness to advance in their career despite their capability. Practise naming your own readiness. Have confidence …

There are strategies you can employ if you think a senior colleague might have narcissist tendencies, Abi Rimmer hears ### Michael El Boghdady #### Surgeon and medical educator “Most of us have worked with someone who seems highly self-confident, craves recognition, and struggles to accept criticism. It is tempting to label such a person a ‘narcissist,’ but personality traits exist on a spectrum, and narcissistic personality disorder is a clinical diagnosis that should only be made by appropriately qualified professionals. “Rather than focusing on labels, pay attention to persistent patterns of behaviour over time. Does your boss consistently take credit for others’ work, react defensively to constructive feedback, or seem more focused on personal recognition than team success? Whatever the underlying personality, repeated behaviours such as these can undermine trust, reduce psychological safety, and contribute to a toxic working environment. In our study of surgeons, higher narcissism scores were associated with greater hostility and perceived stress, particularly when facing challenging situations.1 “If these patterns are present, the goal is usually not to change their personality but to adapt how you work with them. “Keep communication factual and concise. Document important decisions where appropriate. Present ideas in ways that emphasise shared goals and organisational priorities rather than seeming to challenge their authority personally. “Maintaining professional boundaries is equally important. Avoid …

It is possible to display emotions while remaining professional, Abi Rimmer hears ### Charlotte Smith #### Senior clinical fellow in emergency medicine “I’m not afraid or embarrassed to admit that I have cried at work on many occasions; through sadness, relief, despair, anxiety, exhaustion, and the many more different emotions that come with being a resident doctor in the NHS. Ultimately, to cry is to be human, and being human is central to being a doctor. “Having said that, context is clearly important. As an emergency medic, I am quite often faced with emotive or tragic cases, and while most of these pass by with professional detachment, there will always be some that for one reason or another leave a particular mark “While debriefing as a team in the immediate aftermath can be really helpful and should be encouraged, I often find that the real processing doesn’t happen until sometime later, when the dust has settled and private tears are shed in a quiet corner. This is totally normal. These tears remind us that we care, and caring is at the heart of our profession. “There have also been times that I’ve cried at work from overwhelm, frustration, and tiredness. While crying is a very legitimate response to all these situations, if you’re regularly crying because of overwhelming workload, lack of support, or bullying, it might be time to look at ways of tackling these problems, especially if the emotion is coming out during the working day. “In the shorter term, however, a quick five minute reset with a snack, a drink, and a walk down the corridor can often be hugely beneficial when it all feels like too much. And please, do let someone know if you’re struggling; medicine is hard, and no one need suffer alone.” ### Aaliya Goyal #### GP and occupational health doctor “Tears at work can be a response to genuine distress, and doctors …