Outside the Box

Abstract

The BJGP is one of my favourite journals and you, gentle readers, have never given me any trouble. But this month, I bid you farewell. Here’s why. I recently became Dean for Research Impact in my medical school. Until recently, our universities used to get a block grant from the government just for being there. From 2014, when the results of the ongoing Research Excellence Framework become available, a proportion of their income will be awarded on the basis of the ‘impact’ of the research they do. It can be economic (for example, creating jobs or generating profits for industry) or sociocultural (contributing to civil society or improving public understanding of science), but in our medical …