This is a difficult time to be a health professional. There are substantial clinical and resource challenges and change seems to be the one constant in our health services. This article examines three questions: What makes these hard times? Why, as Christians, should we seek to influence decision makers? How...
Being a servant leader in the NHS Nick Land on how the Christian faith informs attitudes to work and leadership. When I became medical director the response of some colleagues was 'So, you've gone over to the dark side.' Some of this came from within the Trust; a lot more came from...
At various times in the year, the first week of January,or as Lent and Easter approaches, I find myself discussing whether making resolutions is biblical. On the one hand 'it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift...
In 2002 the British Medical Journal published an article on 'Unhappy Doctors'. (1) The authors noted declining morale among doctors worldwide, investigated this, and found it was not to do with workload or pay (important though these were). Rather the key factor appeared to be change in the 'psychological compact'...
I have been asked to introduce myself as Chair of the new CMF Graduates' Committee. I am Nick Land, a 46-year-old consultant psychiatrist based in the north east of England. I am married to Helen who works as a part-time GP in inner-city Middlesbrough. We have three sons (16, 14...
A culture of gross drunkenness and violence, a civic life with rising crime and corruption, a society marred by social dislocation and sexual immorality, a church confused, divided and ineffectual – this is 21st century Britain – but also a picture of late 18th century Georgian England, where a small...
This is the second of two articles seeking to answer some of the questions that Christian students raise when they start psychiatry attachments. In my first article[1] I outlined a biblical model through which we can begin to make sense of the different secular models for mental illness from a...
Many Christian medical students find their psychiatry attachments daunting. They are in an environment where people talk about feelings, emotions and values, but in a way that may seem hostile to the gospel. This article aims to answer some of the questions that often confuse Christian students. For example: How...
'...a rapid response unit for investigating doubts about doctors performance' was The Times' description of the new 'National Clinical Assessment Authority'(NCAA)(15 Feburary, p8). John Denham, Health Minister, described it as a 'new approach to the problem of poorly performing doctors'.[1] Formed as part of the implementation of 'Supporting doctors, protecting...
The Oxford English Dictionary defines schizophrenia as "a mental disease marked by disconnection between thoughts, feelings and actions, frequently with delusions and retreat from social life". Everyone agrees that schizophrenia is very serious disorder. Splitting one's thoughts, emotions and actions is bad for you. The end result can be confusion,...