TY - JOUR T1 - November Focus JF - British Journal of General Practice JO - Br J Gen Pract SP - 809 LP - 809 VL - 54 IS - 508 AU - David Jewell Y1 - 2004/11/01 UR - http://bjgp.org/content/54/508/809.abstract N2 - MANY years ago I was strongly influenced by an idea of David Metcalfe's, illustrated with a simple line diagram, showing how GPs occupy the space and form an essential link between the hard edged world of hospitals, governments, and authority in general, and the more ill-defined world of our patients, with its fuzzy edges indeterminate size, and protean, ever-changing shape.This month we have a paper on the experiences of teenage mothers (page 813). The official world sees teenage pregnancy as a major problem, and we are exhorted to play our part in bringing down the scandalously high United Kingdom (UK) rates. But this paper shows that, for the mothers themselves, there were lots of positive feelings and experiences, and there is a strong sense that their lives have been enriched by motherhood, despite their young age.The familiar example of our position is as the gatekeeper between primary and secondary care. The … ER -