December top picks: festive season at The BMJ

Hi Barbie. It turns out that working at The BMJ at Christmas time is really cool. Being a first generation medical student, I didn’t grow up with copies of The BMJ Christmas issue. With it’s offbeat and zany research and comment, some favourites from Christmas past have investigated disappearing teaspoons in staff break rooms and whether Peppa Pig encourages the inappropriate use of primary care resources. This year’s Christmas BMJ looks at the doctors that I did grow up with—that is, Doctor Who, and doctor Barbie. As we reach the 60th anniversary of the BBC science fiction television show, Doctor Who, this study, the aptly titled TARDIS study found that the titular character “the doctor” working during the festive season is indeed associated with lower population mortality rates.

Doctor Barbie, and her esteemed colleagues in science, were descriptively analysed in the Christmas issue. Although …