Bedside Reading

Send us Fan MailJohn Boyne's novel The Heart's Invisible Furies has one of the most powerful opening chapters of anything I've ever read. It has stayed with me and is an extract I've used in teaching a variety of times always with excellent results.  It was a joy to find someone else who'd loved the book too in the form of Bedside Reading's first pharmacist guest, Kerry Parry https://twitter.com/kerryparry8We talk about snapshots into peoples lives, the changes of the 20th and 21st centuries, the AIDS crisis, shame, stigma and so much more.

Send us Fan MailWhat a treat this week to welcome author and retired GP Malcolm Alexander to Beside Reading to talk about his wonderful book Close to where the heart gives out  which is one of my top reads of 2022 so far.We talk about his experiences as a remote and rural GP, the ultimate arch nemesis that was a pair of Wrigley's forceps, the process of writing, doctors as patient, confidentiality and so much more

Send us Fan MailI'm delighted to be joined by London GP and podcast fanatic James Thambirajah to discuss Dean Burnett's book Psychological.  James and I explore the importance of being able to explain complex medical concepts in lay language and think about the power of bibliography to help patients and especially relatives to gain an understanding of mental illness.I'm not sure that GPs are the natural designed audience for this book but that doesn't mean we didn't both gain a lot from it and it's certainly one I'll be adding to my list of resources for patients and relatives.

Send us Fan MailWhat a treat to be joined by a  member of #medtwitter royalty. Ben Lovell and I had such a great discussion starting from Kristen Johnston's memoir Guts.  We talk  about whether being nosy is a prerequisite for being a good doctor (yes), how we treat addicts in the NHS (often badly), why as HCPs working in a visibly flawed system we are so conditioned to be defensive of the NHS even when it is failing.This book is a fantastic, raw and open insight into the lies people tell themselves when they are functioning addicts, what it might take to mean they may make a decision to change (top tip, it's not what doctors say to them) and a observational portrait of the NHS from the perspective of an American. It is funny, tough and insightful and I can guarantee reading it will make you a better clincian

Send us Fan MailWelcome back and welcome to Season 2. It is o exciting to have you back listening to us. I absolutely loved recording this episode with Emma Pickett IBCLC talking about Room by Emma Donoghue.  We talk about attachment, infant feeding, breastfeeding older children, toddler manners and more. If you want to follow Emma on Twitter find her here: https://twitter.com/makesmilkSOME USEFUL RESOURCESAssociation of Breastfeeding Mothers https://abm.me.uk/GP Infant Feeding Networkhttps://gpifn.org.uk/Breastfeeding for Doctorshttps://www.paediatricfoam.com/2018/09/breastfeeding-for-doctors-101-part-1/Breastfeeding Helplinehttps://www.breastfeedingnetwork.org.uk/We offer breastfeeding support on the phone, every day of the year, 9.30am to 9.30pm. Call Charges to all helplines apply. Calls to 0300 numbers cost no more than calls to UK numbers starting 01 and 02 and will be part of any inclusive minutes that apply to your provider and call package.National Breastfeeding Helpline: 0300 100 0212The National Breastfeeding Helpline is a helpline run in collaboration with the Breastfeeding Network (BfN) and the Association of Breastfeeding Mothers (ABM). All the volunteers answering calls are mums who have breastfed, and all have received extensive training in breastfeeding support. Calls are diverted to the next available ABM or BfN volunteer. The Helpline is funded by the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities and the Scottish Government.Support is also available in Welsh and Polish via the National Breastfeeding Helpline – call 0300 100 0212 and press 1 for Welsh and 2 for Polish.Discount on Emma's new book: Supporting Breastfeeding Past the First Six Months and Beyond  if you use this link direct from the publisher https://uk.jkp.com/products/supporting-breastfeeding-past-the-first-six-months-and-beyond?_pos=1&_sid=26bd70c70&_ss=rand use BSREP15% for 15% off the publisher's price

Send us Fan MailIt's the end of series 1 and today's episode is a flipped one where Ed Pooley is interviewing me about Malcolm Gladwell's talking to strangers. This audio recording was originally a videocast as part of Ed's phenomenal Facebook educational group "Difficult Conversations: Understanding Communication & Psychology in Health" which can be found here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/237884610488751Ed and I talk about connection, the TV show Friends, historical events, assumptions, fallacies and what it is to be human.This conversation was the final push I needed to start Bedside Reading and it is so lovely to be able to share this with you, my listeners as we close the first series for a little Easter Break

Send us Fan MailJoin Tara and Kate Smith, A GP in Oxfordshire as we talk about the book that changed  Kate's career:  Stuart a Life Backwards by Alexander MastersIf you are interested in Homelessness Kate has kindly drawn up a huge list of resources for further reading/watchingFictionEven the Dogs by Jon MacgregorHow to find a home by Mahsuda SnaithBiographyFour Feet Under by Tamsen CourtenayAutobiographyPavement for my pillow by Chris KitchFrom the Inside: Life in a Women’s Prison- by the Charity Worker who should never have been there by Ruth WynerDown and Out in London and Paris, by George OrwellWriting projectsWe are here – Stories if Home, Place and Belonging ( www.homelesswriting.org )www.haveawordwithyourself.co.uk   www.outofhome.org.uk (photography project employing homeless photographers to document their experience during Lockdown)www.thepavement.org.ukhomeless organisations (those mentioned in the book specifically)https://wintercomfort.org.ukWillow Walk Cambridge | Help for people who are homeless (riverside.org.uk)Emmaus UK | the charity working to end homelessnessMuscular DystrophyMuscular Dystrophy UK | Muscular Dystrophy UK

Send us Fan MailTara was excited this week to talk to another Tara who loves books almost as much as she does! Tara McCormack is an Emergency Department Nurse in Sydney and part of the https://dontforgetthebubbles.com community.Follow Tara McC on twitter https://twitter.com/codebluenurseyWe discovered our shared enjoyment of this book as part of an online book group and there's literally so much to talk about. We talked about carers, about narratives, effective communication and so much more.  Some resources below may help if you want to know more.https://carers.org/about-caring/about-young-carershttps://www.childrenssociety.org.uk/what-we-do/our-work/supporting-young-carershttps://dontforgetthebubbles.com/communicating-clearly/

Send us Fan Mail In honour of world poetry day on 21st March, in a slight change to the format this week I'm delighted to welcome Dr Vicky Thomas (aka @LittleDoctorVic  on Twitter) to talk about some of her poems, published and unpublished. We talk about writing as therapy, about clinical supervision and how it's almost impossible to be a doctor and not be political.Some of Vicky's poems are published in the NHS anthology These are the hands  https://www.poetrybooks.co.uk/products/these-are-the-hands and in Night Feeds and Morning Songs  which was discussed on this podcast back in December 2021.

Send us Fan MailAnother pandemic, 104 years before I met Jenny Slough to talk about it but the parallels with 1918 Dublin and 2020/21 London are uncannily familiar.  We talk about Emma Donoghue's brilliant Novel The Pull of the Stars and find shared comfort in remembering that pandemics whilst usually once in a lifetime are events which have happened before and history allows us to start to feel reassured there will be an after.Jenny's own experiences of redeployment which we touch on in this episode are beautifully and thoughtfully explored here  in an NHS living well podcast:  https://keepingwellncl.nhs.uk/podcast/in-conversation-with-jenny-family-liaison/