TY - JOUR T1 - The absurd general practitioner JF - British Journal of General Practice JO - Br J Gen Pract SP - 394 LP - 394 DO - 10.3399/bjgp20X711929 VL - 70 IS - 697 AU - Sati Heer-Stavert Y1 - 2020/08/01 UR - http://bjgp.org/content/70/697/394.abstract N2 - I’ll always remember consoling a couple who had recently lost their child to leukaemia. Less than 10 minutes later a lifelong smoker was telling me they were expecting their centenary birthday card from the Queen.An individual working as a GP runs the risk of becoming an automaton. Evidence-based medicine and professional standardisation contribute to uniformity and, by definition, a reduction in diversity. It is both risky and strenuous to act outside of established clinical behaviours, and instead we acquiesce. The automaton GP is unable to deviate from the prescribed sequence of actions but can sleep easy at night without contemplating the true terror of clinical life. Nevertheless, it may only take one tragic clinical outcome to change a clinician and undermine their entire mode of practice. This brief moment of reflection is dangerous: we decide whether working in a familiar yet obscure world is more preferable than becoming a stranger in our own … ER -