Pursuing a GP career after recovering from addiction
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What hidden issue does the episode introduce about doctors and addiction?
Hello and welcome to Talking General Practice, the podcast from GP Online. I'm Emma Bower, the editor of GP Online. On today's episode, we're sharing a conversation that was originally recorded for our sister podcast, MIMS Learning's Clinical Update. In this episode, MIMS Learning deputy editor Rhiannon Ashman speaks with Dr Michael Blackmore, a GP partner, chair of the RCGP's West Scotland faculty and a recovering addict, about the critical yet often hidden issue of addiction and recovery within the medical profession. In this candid and powerful conversation, Michael shares his personal journey of struggling with addiction while practising medicine, his path to recovery with support from services like NHS Practitioner Health and how his lived experience now shapes his clinical work.
He also offers insightful advice on spotting unhealthy coping mechanisms, breaking down stigma and where healthcare professionals can turn for help. This is a really fantastic interview about an important and often overlooked issue within the medical profession and Michael is really inspiring so I'm really pleased that we were able to share this with a wider audience. Just a warning before we start, this conversation includes discussion of suicide as well as addiction and drug use.
I'm Rhiannon Ashman, Deputy Editor of MIMS Learning, and I'm really pleased to have Dr Michael Blackmore with me today to talk about addiction and recovery, specifically looking at how this can affect medical professionals. Michael is a GP partner, RCGP Chair of West Scotland Faculty, and is himself a recovering addict. Welcome to the podcast, Michael. I really appreciate you being here.
Thank you for asking me.
So on this podcast, regular listeners will know we often focus on tips to provide the best clinical care for your patients. But as the saying goes, you can't pour from an empty cup. And with recent changes to GP appraisals, placing greater focus on health care professionals, well-being and compassion and respect for colleagues, I thought it was important to cover this topic. So although we're much more aware of the risks of burnout and stress among people in the profession these days, addiction seems to me to be a bit of a problem that's hiding in plain sight. And that's also why I'm so grateful to have come across Michael, who I know you've been so generous in sharing your own experiences with colleagues over the years and you're going to talk to us today.
So Michael, as I said in the intro, you've been very open about sharing your own experiences with addiction. And I think that for many clinicians, there's a sense of it's not going to happen to me because of their training. So do you have any idea of the sorts of numbers, percentages that are affected in the profession?
I think the numbers quoted by Claire Girarda from the Practitioner Health Programme is something like a 10 to 12% career risk throughout your career of using some sort of abnormal coping mechanism that can eventually trip you up if you don't do something about it or seek help.
Is there something about the kind of traits that are often found in healthcare professionals, you know, like being very driven, maybe perfectionism, perhaps being a bit hard on yourselves, combined with the kind of work hard, play hard, medical school thing, does that potentially put healthcare professionals at an increased risk of those coping mechanisms, like you said?
I think we can be very obsessive compulsive at times. And like you say, perfectionists, you kind of have to be to get into medical school. And then, you know, you do work really, really hard. When I was doing medicine, I was quite jealous of the people who were doing arts degrees who weren't in as much as me. And yes, we partied hard. There were medic pub crawls. And then there is the uncertainty of medicine. I struggled with the analysis paralysis sometimes that comes with difficult cases. And It was a choice of do I make this decision or this decision? And sometimes I struggled to make any decision and that was probably worse for the patient.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What hidden issue does the episode introduce about doctors and addiction?
0:01–4:54
2
How common are addiction‑related coping mechanisms among GPs?
4:54–7:47
3
What early experiences and personality traits pushed Michael toward substance use?
7:47–10:36
4
How did his drug use evolve and affect his clinical work?
10:36–13:13
5
Which services and organisations helped him finally seek help?
13:13–16:25
6
What did his time in rehab and recovery teach him about being a patient?
16:25–19:20
7
How has his recovery changed the way he practices medicine today?
19:20–22:23
8
What practical advice does he give to clinicians on spotting and addressing addiction?
22:23–25:55
Speakers
3 identifiedMore from Talking General Practice
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