I invited Jed Boardman to write this editorial as he seemed well placed to draw the results of the other papers together, and to put them into a wider context. I felt the piece that we published justified my confidence in him (and I note that Alan Cohen has not taken issue with the content). We have long left behind the idea that all our learning came from specialists, and almost all the editorials we publish are written by primary care doctors and researchers. While it would reveal insecurity to feel we should only ever listen to specialists, it would reveal just as much if we refused ever to listen to them. Inviting a specialist to comment is a sign of willingness to be open and learn from others, not of insecurity.
- © British Journal of General Practice, 2009.