Wise words - making visible the hidden wisdom of everyday practice

You will know that our most recent PACT Project is investigating the hidden workload of general practice. Connected to this, WiseGP are joining with PACT to explore the hidden wisdom of general practice.

Our colleagues in practice often pass on gems of wisdom, gained through years of complex problem-solving work…the ‘hidden knowledge’ of general practice. We want to make this ‘hidden knowledge’ visible, in particular to support early career stage GPs in their everyday practice. Without the support of this hidden network of knowledge, early career GPs maybe more likely to over-medicalise problems, over-investigate and overburden patients.

Here are a few examples of the ‘hidden knowledge’ we want to make visible:

“Use the tool of time...even puzzling presentations will often become clear in time.”

“When you hear hoofbeats, think of horses, not zebras.”

“Treat the patient, not the blood result.”

We aspire to share examples of our hidden knowledge online, to make visible more of the hidden workload of our everyday practice - Wise GP’s complex problem-solving work (knowledgework). We’d like your help to do so, and you can win a £50 Amazon voucher!

Please contribute to our survey by 13th June 2025 and help us build a library of our hidden knowledge to share. Have you developed any gems of wisdom through your everyday practice? Have more experienced colleagues shared any wise words with you?

If you have completed the survey and wish to be included in a prize draw for a £50 Amazon voucher, please email our team on gppact@gmail.com confirming that you have contributed. Please quote the phrase 'Wise words’ in the email.