Dr Jessica Watson, GP and NIHR Academic Clinical Lecturer, Centre for Academic Primary Care, University of Bristol with: Fiona Hamilton, poet; Terreka Baptiste, public contributor; Julie Clayton, Senior Research Associate (Patient & Public Involvement & Engagement), Centre for Academic Primary Care, University of Bristol.

Blood testing and poetry? At first sight this probably seems a strange combination. As GP and a researcher it has certainly taken me outside of my comfort zone.

As a GP I talk to patients about their blood tests every day, but it was only when I started to do research in this area that I began to get an insight into the lived experience of patients trying to navigate complex systems to  get hold of their results. My qualitative research brought up themes of uncertainty and anxiety, but I felt that writing academic papers didn’t do enough to give voice to the … Read more