TY - JOUR T1 - April Focus JF - British Journal of General Practice JO - Br J Gen Pract SP - 242 LP - 242 VL - 56 IS - 525 AU - David Jewell Y1 - 2006/04/01 UR - http://bjgp.org/content/56/525/242.abstract N2 - Primary care, so we claim, is comprehensive; we try to deal with whatever problems our patients bring. We even point out to learners that this is one of the features to distinguish us from specialists, who are able to define quite clearly the limits of their expertise.Perhaps that is one of the reasons why registrars express some doubts about taking on the responsibilities of being principals (page 280), and why better careers advice in future may help to ensure that only those who can cope with such a limitless field will opt for a career in general practice (page 246).However, with no fixed boundaries there will always be problems where the extent of our responsibilities is ill-defined. For instance there has always been a debate about whether alcoholism is or is not a medical problem. The leader on page 247 argues persuasively that it … ER -