Bedside Reading

Send us Fan MailAn episode with a difference this week as we celebrate changeover week for doctors in training in the UK.I've asked 12 GPs across the UK all with different backgrounds and interests each to recommend one book they think every GP should read. I'd argue they are all books any healthcare professional will benefit from reading.  A huge thank you to each and every one of them for being a part of this episode. You may recognise some voices as previous guests, you may recognise some names as big faces from medtwitter or the wider world of GPA huge thanks to:Pim Dhahan GP, Trainer and TPD  from North Birmingham Follow Pim on twitter here: https://twitter.com/DrPimPim Margaret Ikpoh GP Trainer East Yorkshire and Vice Chair of the RCGP. Follow her on twitter: https://twitter.com/docmagsy Hussain Ghandi GP Partner, trainer and the brains behind https://egplearning.co.uk/ Follow him on twitter https://twitter.com/drgandalfFrancesca Boffey First 5 GP from North Derbyshire. Follow her on twitter https://twitter.com/fboff7Dom Patterson GP, educator and founder of https://www.fairhealth.org.uk . Follow him on twitter https://twitter.com/DocDomPSelina Flinders GP and safeguarding lead in Bolsover.Catriona Davis a remote and rural GP who works on Islay. Follow her on twitter here https://twitter.com/catrionadavis Naveen Jayadev GP partner, trainer and TPD with a lead role for Differential Attainment in Derbyshire.Emma Cunliffe a freelance GP from North Yorkshire.Zuhriya Muazu salaried GP from Doncaster. James Thambyrajah GP, Vice-Chair RCGP South West Thames faculty.  Follow James on twitter https://twitter.com/JThambyrajah

Send us Fan MailI am so thrilled to welcome Rema Jyothirmayi back to Bedside Reading to talk about Kathryn Mannix's wonderful second book Listen.We loved exploring the etymology of the word "tender" and why Dr Mannix might have chosen this to describe tender conversations. Rema and I loved this book and it was wonderful to share a conversation about it in which we realised that some of the same stories had leaped out for both of us.  We explore the power of stories to change our behaviour.This is truly a book for everyone, regardless of whether they are a healthcare professional.  If you listen better, especially if you can listen well you will never regret it in any scenario.Follow Rema on twitter: https://twitter.com/RemaJyothirmayiWe also talk briefly about the poem "Night Sister" by Elizabeth Jennings which can be found here  https://www.scottishpoetrylibrary.org.uk/poem/night-sister/

Send us Fan MailWhat an absolute treat and privilege it was to speak to Dr Suzanne Koven http://suzannekoven.com/ about her incredible book Letter to a Young Female Physician. I thought we would talk about imposter syndrome and women in medicine but actually we had a truly fantastic conversation about all sorts of other topics especially the power of stories to connect, the fact that doctors must be human first and then medical. We explore honesty, coming to writing later in life and the value of acknowledging our own doubts, foibles and vulnerabilities.This book is an absolute gem.  Undoubtedly one I shall recommend and pass on to multiple other (particularly but not exclusively female) doctors .

Send us Fan MailWhat a joy to be back talking to Ed Pooley again, this time about the wonderful Counselling for Toads.   We talk about anthropomorphised animals as a safe way to explore feelings, transactional analysis, the role of therapy and so much more.follow Ed on Twitter: https://twitter.com/dr_edwardpooleyHis brilliant facebook community can be found here for many live (and on demand) videos around human communication can be found here https://www.facebook.com/groups/237884610488751Ed also recommended:Scripts People Live by Claude SteinerThe Games People Play by Eric BerneFor more about the Drama Triangle I especially like this short youtube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ovrVv_RlCMw

Send us Fan MailBolsover GP Dr Selina Flinders joins Tara this week to talk about Sir Michael Marmot's brilliant The Health Gap. We talk about health inequalities, the effect of the pandemic and how much more relevant this book sadly is in our post-Covid world. We go on to talk about poverty, intergenerational medicine, the role of the GP as a listener and how the Beveridge report remains just as relevant 80 years later.This is such an important book, it's also readable, accessible and thought provoking without being hard work or boring.  It's relevant to anyone working in healthcare and to be honest we think it's relevant to anyone who is interested in anything.We also talked about Julian Tudor-Hart's Inverse Care Law If you want a reminder: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R5zvzKcFHj8Selina also recommended Kristin Hannah's novel The Four Winds  and how the themes in that fit with everything Marmot has to say. We also mentioned Cecil Helman's classic book The Suburban Shaman

Send us Fan MailPaediatrician Natalie Francis and I had a great time discussing Jo Browning-Wroe's wonderful novel A Terrible Kindness. We talk about stigma, PTSD, defence mechanisms, love, jealousy, homophobia and so much more. Find Natalie on twitter: https://mobile.twitter.com/natalie_francisThis novel starts with the story of a young embalmer who travels to Aberfan, following the call to attend to assist with the rescue and preparation of the bodies of children after the disaster.  Jo Browning-Wroe's article in the Nw Statesman here https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/uk-politics/2016/10/unsung-heroes-aberfan is an introduction and background to the work they did and what William may have experienced.This is a sensational debut novel but one which did have me weeping in places

Send us Fan MailA very very special episode this week as Nicola Davis and I explore our best bits from the incredible dotMD festival in Galway which we attended this weekend.  This episode was recorded live at dotMD after a phenomenal 2 days of listening, thinking, reflecting, dancing and eating.Follow Nicola on twitter: https://twitter.com/drnicoladavisThe festival website is here http://dotmd.ie (sign up to get information about when they release tickets for 2023) their twitter feed is here: https://twitter.com/DotMDConfWe discussed many wonderful people and their talks and books, sorry to anyone we have missed mentioning by name here, we only had 33 minutes but we could have talked for hours!!!Here's our combined post conference reading list (to be honest we had to hold back but this is the list we discuss in the episode):Letter to a Young Female Physician  by Suzanne Koven (Tara has recorded a podcast episode with her which will be coming up very soon too!) https://twitter.com/suzannekovenmd and her website http://suzannekoven.com/book/Understanding the path to mastery by Roger Kneebone. He also has a wonderful related podcast called "Countercurrent" which can be found here https://rogerkneebone.libsyn.com/A Life in Trauma  by Chris Luke  https://twitter.com/DrChrisLukeCorkAfter the Storm by Emma Jane Unsworth https://twitter.com/emjaneunsworthDr Quin, Medicine Man  by John Quin https://twitter.com/jdmquin How not to be a Doctor by John Launer https://johnlauner.com/ and https://twitter.com/JohnLaunerConversations Inviting Change has a website here where you can learn more about this brilliant model and sign up for courses https://www.conversationsinvitingchange.com/Monica Lalanda was the incredible artist in residence her cartons can be seen on the dotMD social media pages, follow her here https://twitter.com/mlalandaVital Signs - Martin Dyer due out later in the year which contains this wonderful poem Ter Conatus by Bernard O'Donoghue https://poetryarchive.org/poem/ter-conatus/Benji Waterhouse's book will be out in 2023 and is very much on my list his website is here so you can keep a look out for it when it's released https://www.benjiwaterstones.com/about

Send us Fan MailThis week I'm joined by Ralph Emmerson, a GP, GP trainer and self confessed "Shackleton nerd" to talk about Alfred Lansing's 1950s record of the ill fated expedition to the pole led by Shackleton Endurance. It's a story that transcends time and has so much to offer when you reflect on the attributes of leadership that we need in crisis.  When we reflect on the Covid 19 pandemic, the loss of the traditional roles and rules and the ethics and morality of "doing what seems right in the circumstances" and how simply surviving is often the greatest miracle this book really comes into its own.  It's an adventure story, there's an ending we perhaps all know already but undoubtedly there's a human miracle story in there  for us all.

Send us Fan MailTRIGGER WARNING: early in the episode we talk about a termination for medical reasons of a much wanted pregnancy and there is discussion of  another bereavement.Susan Mathew and I discuss Mo Gawdat's Solve for Happy  and explore the happiness equation.  Among other things we explore whether the right self help book at the wrong time can be a thing, lessons we have both learned from this book and whether recommending bibliotherapy books to patients is something we should be doing more often.We talk about totems, happy lists, time out and little strategies we can implement in our day to day lives to boost happinessSusan also refers to the brilliant book The Chimp Paradox by Steve Peters which can be found here https://chimpmanagement.com/books-by-professor-steve-peters/the-chimp-paradox/

Send us Fan MailBrilliant to be joined again by Naren Senthil Nathan this time to talk about Lucy Kellaway's wonderful story of " how I changed by job, my home, my husband and my hair".  We talk about life stages, expectations, the power of education and the fact that retiring at 60 does not work well with the life expectancy and lifestyles of the 21 century.As a GP trainer I found the ideas around "unlearning" old career habits before being able to learn new skills a really powerful concept.