In an age of industrialised medicine, how do we keep human connection at the heart of care? In this podcast, GPs Rupal Shah and Bob Clarke explore primary care stories where clinicians face moral choices. Drawing on their book and the “hermeneutic window” – a space for interpretation and meaning-making – they invite listeners to reflect on what matters to patients and how clinicians can rediscover meaning in their work.
The book “Finding Meaning in Healthcare” is published by Routledge www.routledge.com/9781032832166
This podcast is generously sponsored by The Della Fish Foundation.
In the final episode of this series, Bob and Roo talk about why a hermeneutic approach isn't 'soft'; what it involves; and why it might make us less busy in the end.
This podcast is generously sponsored by The Della Fish Foundation.
The book “Finding Meaning in Healthcare” is published by Routledge www.routledge.com/9781032832166
28 Feb 2026
Episode 17: Finding Meaning In Professionalism
In this penultimate episode, Rupal Shah and Bob Clarke talk to Professors Sophie Park and Sabena Jameel about how professional identity develops and how meaning is ascribed to professionalism.
This podcast is generously sponsored by The Della Fish Foundation.
The book “Finding Meaning in Healthcare” is published by Routledge www.routledge.com/9781032832166
18 Feb 2026
Episode 16: Taking Time for Non-Judgement
Why does it matter to have an on-going relationship with your GP? In this episode, Dr Rini Paul and Sarah Murray talk to Rupal Shah and Bob Clarke about how a moment of non-judgement many years ago created the conditions for a cherished relationship that has been therapeutic for them both.
This podcast is generously sponsored by The Della Fish Foundation.
The book “Finding Meaning in Healthcare” is published by Routledge www.routledge.com/9781032832166
29 Jan 2026
Episode 15: Side Effects
In this episode, Dr Emma Ladds talks to Rupal Shah and Bob Clarke about a time when she didn't follow guidelines; and how her on-going relationship with her patient affected her decision making as well as what happened afterwards.
This podcast is generously sponsored by The Della Fish Foundation.
The book “Finding Meaning in Healthcare” is published by Routledge www.routledge.com/9781032832166
19 Jan 2026
Episode 14: A Place of Safety
In this episode, Eugenia Lee tells Rupal Shah and Bob Clarke a story of a time when care and compassion proved to be better measures of efficiency than time.
This podcast is generously sponsored by The Della Fish Foundation.
The book “Finding Meaning in Healthcare” is published by Routledge www.routledge.com/9781032832166
21 Dec 2025
Episode 13: Exorcism
‘When I walked into the cubicle I found a woman in her twenties with long dark hair covering her face, and she was making these low growling sounds and muttering things I couldn't understand. Her family told me she'd become consumed by prayer, which was completely out of character, and had been saying that dark forces were entering her body.’ Marcus Lewis, GP and musician in North London was working in A&E when he met this woman and was told to ‘medically clear’ her. In this episode, he tells Rupal Shah and Bob Clarke what he chose to do instead.
This podcast is generously sponsored by The Della Fish Foundation.
The book “Finding Meaning in Healthcare” is published by Routledge www.routledge.com/9781032832166
21 Dec 2025
Episode 12: Missingness
In every general practice, we have missing people - the ones who can’t access our help, who miss appointments, who get discharged from secondary care. We can think of them as time wasters who won’t help themselves - or we could respond in another way. In this episode, inner city Dublin GP and author Austin O’Carroll tells Rupal Shah and Bob Clarke a story about a young man who should have been saved.
This podcast is generously sponsored by The Della Fish Foundation.
The book “Finding Meaning in Healthcare” is published by Routledge www.routledge.com/9781032832166
19 Oct 2025
Episode 11: You Won't Be Able To Go To Every Funeral
'You won't be able to go to every funeral, you know.' So as GPs, how do we choose which to go to, if any? Is it a sensible professional response to maintain boundaries and decline all such invitations or is there more at stake? Dr Andrew Papanikitas talks to Rupal Shah and Bob Clarke about his own experience and the moral choice he made.
This podcast is generously sponsored by The Della Fish Foundation.
The book “Finding Meaning in Healthcare” is published by Routledge www.routledge.com/9781032832166 (http://www.routledge.com/9781032832166)
19 Oct 2025
Episode 10: The Missing Man
The young man has missed his GP appointment on three separate occasions in the past year. Should he be sent another admonishing text message from the practice; or is there a different response, one that inserts presence into absence? In this episode, Dr Suni Perera talks to Rupal Shah and Bob Clarke about compassion in the context of missingness.
This podcast is generously sponsored by The Della Fish Foundation.
The book “Finding Meaning in Healthcare” is published by Routledge www.routledge.com/9781032832166 (http://www.routledge.com/9781032832166)
29 Sept 2025
Episode 9: You Suffer
In this episode, Rupal Shah and Bob Clarke welcome back Dr Jens Foell, who tells us the story of two very different responses to the utterance, 'You Suffer'. His story raises the question of what it means to be a GP. Are we containers, there to 'hold' the patient, even if this sometimes holds them back? Or should we move to becoming 'conveyors', helping people to move on from stuck situations?
This podcast is generously sponsored by The Della Fish Foundation.
The book “Finding Meaning in Healthcare” is published by Routledge www.routledge.com/9781032832166 (http://www.routledge.com/9781032832166)
29 Sept 2025
Episode 8: Where's the Bloody Oxygen?
John has an advance directive, stating that he doesn't want to go to hospital again. But when he is struggling to breathe, his wife becomes distressed and begs his GP to arrange admission. Whose wishes should get prioritised in this case? Can guidelines be ignored in certain situations? And should aggression ever be tolerated?In this episode, Dr Rowena Christmas tells the story of John and discusses with Rupal Shah and Bob Clarke the moral dilemmas that his case raised for her.
This podcast is generously sponsored by The Della Fish Foundation.
The book “Finding Meaning in Healthcare” is published by Routledge www.routledge.com/9781032832166 (http://www.routledge.com/9781032832166)
31 Aug 2025
Episode 7: More Tramadol Please
Is it true that we don’t see our patients as they are; we see them as we are? Can we be sure that we are seeing people clearly and are not blinded by our own biases and assumptions? In this episode, GP and author Dr Ben Hoban tells Rupal Shah and Bob Clarke how he responded differently to two requests for Tramadol. The questions that arise fit within the hermeneutic window.
This podcast is generously sponsored by The Della Fish Foundation.
The book “Finding Meaning in Healthcare” is published by Routledge www.routledge.com/9781032832166 (http://www.routledge.com/9781032832166)
31 Aug 2025
Episode 6: And it Hit Me
In this episode, GP and medical educator Professor Sabena Jameel tells the story of a life changing relationship with a patient. Through the lens of the hermeneutic window, she explains to Rupal Shah and Bob Clarke how a simple act of kindness saved someone’s life and fundamentally changed her own views about the role of a GP.
This podcast is generously sponsored by The Della Fish Foundation.
The book “Finding Meaning in Healthcare” is published by Routledge www.routledge.com/9781032832166 (http://www.routledge.com/9781032832166)
31 Aug 2025
Episode 5: Can I help her if she won’t help herself?
What is the role of the GP when patients can’t or won’t follow medical advice? In this episode, GP and medical educator Professor Anne Stephenson tells the story of how she tried to help a woman who is unable to lose weight and who is in chronic pain. Looking through the hermeneutic window, she discusses questions with Rupal Shah and Bob Clarke like: what is ‘holding work’ and can it be justified in an overstretched system? What should we do when we think we are no longer helping someone -and how can we tell?
This podcast is generously sponsored by The Della Fish Foundation.
The book “Finding Meaning in Healthcare” is published by Routledge www.routledge.com/9781032832166 (http://www.routledge.com/9781032832166)
31 Aug 2025
Episode 4: My Best Fiend
What happens when a vulnerable patient threatens to kill their GP? In this episode, guest GP and medical educator Jens Foell tells the story of his turbulent relationship with a man with drug dependency and a violent past – and the affection that developed between them despite the odds. He talks to Rupal Shah and Bob Clarke about how he responded to his patient’s demands for controlled drugs, to the death threats that were made and explains why this difficult relationship nevertheless brought him meaning.
This podcast is generously sponsored by The Della Fish Foundation.
The book “Finding Meaning in Healthcare” is published by Routledge www.routledge.com/9781032832166 (http://www.routledge.com/9781032832166)
31 Aug 2025
Episode 3: Why Give Her Tulips?
What place do small, human gestures have in modern medicine? In this episode, guest GP Jane Myat shares the story of a patient living with trauma -and the simple gift of tulips that opened space for healing, narrative, and connection. With Rupal Shah and Bob Clarke, she reflects on boundaries, creativity, and the hermeneutic window: how meaning-making transforms both patient and doctor.
This podcast is generously sponsored by The Della Fish Foundation.
The book “Finding Meaning in Healthcare” is published by Routledge www.routledge.com/9781032832166 (http://www.routledge.com/9781032832166)
31 Aug 2025
Episode 2: Should She Trust Me?
A young mother comes for her postnatal check. Her past notes suggest risk, her present story suggests strength. Should the GP press for more or trust what she offers? In this episode, Rupal Shah and Bob Clarke explore the ethical dilemmas at the heart of safeguarding, continuity, and trust. Through the lens of the hermeneutic window, they ask: what is our role as clinicians when vulnerability isn’t clear-cut?
This podcast is generously sponsored by The Della Fish Foundation.
The book “Finding Meaning in Healthcare” is published by Routledge www.routledge.com/9781032832166 (http://www.routledge.com/9781032832166)
31 Aug 2025
Episode 1: Introduction
Medicine today can feel rushed, remote, and transactional. But what if consultations could be more than box-ticking? In this series, GPs and medical educators Rupal Shah and Bob Clarke explore real stories from primary care where moral choices shape both patient and doctor. Drawing on their model of the “hermeneutic window” - a space for deeper understanding - they reveal how reconnecting with meaning can transform healthcare for patients and clinicians alike.
This podcast is generously sponsored by The Della Fish Foundation.
The book “Finding Meaning in Healthcare” is published by Routledge www.routledge.com/9781032832166 (http://www.routledge.com/9781032832166)
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