Off duty

Dr Andy Ward explains why cycling is good for body and soul, and why helmet hair is a small price to pay for peace of mind - whether your a patient or a GP.

Professor Mike Pringle advises GPs on returning to work after a career break.

After emigrating to Australia Dr Amal Paul witnessed a flurry of GP interest in the same move. Here he provides a guide for doctors planning to emigrate.

Have you ever stopped and thought about what it is truly like to be the patient? Dr Kate Granger, a third-year registrar, on how it feels when the doctor becomes the patient.

Working in a malaria clinic in Uganda brought it home to me just how radically bed nets could change child health there, writes Dr Neil Fletcher.

Dr Tim Pickering discusses his experience working in a clinic for the Namibian San and training local healthcare workers to handle the challenges of poverty and violence. Also see a slideshow of photos.

More people die of lack of exercise than of smoking, obesity and diabetes combined, Dr Patrick Milroy writes – so his cycle tour of America should be a good ice-breaker when discussing the importance of a healthy lifestyle

When Dr Michael Laurino went to work in an HIV programme in South Africa he was reconsidering his decision to become a GP. Three years later, he's using the skillls he learnt abroad, back home

Medicine meets aesthetics in Lausanne where an exhibition of outsider art raises questions about how mental health affects a person's creativity. Registrar Dr J Mareeni Raymond brings a GP's perspective to the collection.

See a cartoon by Robert D. Dangoor about private versus NHS GPs.

Dr William Norman, a GP partner from Cirencester, gives his view of this year's Venice Biennale.

Read this short story from Sheffield GP Dr Jo Cannon's book entitled 'Insignificant Gestures'.

Sheffield GP Dr Jo Cannon always wanted to be an author - now, as her first collection of short stories is published, she has finally realised her ambition. Here she explains how life as an inner-city GP helped shape her writing...

A veteran GP who was struck down by a rare clinical condition which he had unknowingly suffered since birth is fighting back by raising money for heart patients using his talent as a wildlife photographer.

Dr Clare Barton, a part-time salaried GP in Raynes Park, south-west London, explains how she and her husband juggle two careers with 24-hour childcare

Dr Ann Tonge, a GP in Peasedown St John near Bath, recalls a close encounter while on holiday in Yellowstone National Park.

Ever wondered what it would be like to stand for Parliament? Dr Paul Charlson, a GP in East Yorkshire and chair of the Conservative Medical Society, describes how he became involved in party politics.

A GP and his practice staff are attempting to brighten the mood of patients in their waiting room - by supplying them with ‘Doctor, doctor’ jokes.

There is a body floating face down in the pool and as I try to push my way through the crowd to rescue him, trying to remember my BLS training, I realise that all is not quite as it seems…

Medicine has always been a career based on strength, Dr Jenny Wenman writes, but facing down the commissioning challenge GPs need more than ever to admit they are vulnerable too