Question: what was the most close call practical you had to do

Jamie Hynes answered on 13 Jul 2021:

I think this question is about risk- without being aware of it consciously, there’s risk in each decision we make- a treatment, a management decision, a choice of words and tone and how we use it. Handling risk and tolerating the uncertainty involved are key aspects of General Practice- the NHS would collapse in a day if we chose to avoid risk and refer everything we see into the hospital- our role is to treat and manage what we can, and control the flow of patients who need to be seen in a hospital setting- thankfully the small minority of NHS contacts each day.
By dealing with risk day in and day out we learn to listen to that gut instinct, built on through experience that says when things are getting too close to call. We learn from the times we get it worng, and retain those many experiences where things go well.