By August 2021, many of us were tired in ways that were hard to name.

The pandemic hadn’t just stretched healthcare systems — it had stretched people.
Clinicians were carrying exhaustion, grief, moral distress, and uncertainty, often quietly, often alone.

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So we created CUFA — Coming Up For Air.

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We described it simply as “a day about narrative medicine and the stories that shape us.”​
In truth, it was something more deliberate: a pause in the noise. A chance to listen. A reminder that medicine is not just what we do, but how we make sense of being human while doing it.

The day was built around three intertwined themes.

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Stories of Us

How we understand ourselves — and each other — in moments of struggle and change.

We heard about narrative medicine from Fiona Reilly, about journalism and truth from Ariel Bogle, about futurism and care from Anjali Jaiprakash with Kat Priddis, and about resilience from Neil Spenceley.

These weren’t abstract ideas. They were invitations to see patients, colleagues, and ourselves more clearly — especially when things are hard.

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Only Humans

Stories of adaptation, adversity, and knowing when something needs repair.

We listened as Dinesh Palipana spoke with Henry Goldstein about life changed irrevocably. As Emily Cadman reflected with Becky Platt on training through adversity. As Simon McCormick explored what it means to recognise when something — or someone — is broken, and when it’s time to stop pushing.

The message was quiet but unmistakable: competence is important, but compassion is essential.

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Uplift

Because survival alone isn’t enough — we also need hope.

Komal Bajaj spoke about getting up and keeping going. Rebekah Fenton explored identity in medicine. Hugh Montgomery, in conversation with Liz Crowe, reflected on uncertainty — in COVID, in life, and in leadership. And Mary Freer closed the day by bringing us back to the simple, radical idea at the heart of CUFA: go and be your best self.

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We also learned how to tell stories.

Matthew Dicks ran a storytelling workshop that reminded us stories don’t need polish — they need truth. That narrative isn’t performance; it’s how humans process experience.

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And CUFA was about people meeting people.

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It was where I first met Jonathan Kajjimu. At the time, he was a medical student — thoughtful, curious, already asking better questions than most. Today, he’s a junior doctor and one of the leading young researchers in Uganda — and someone I’m proud to call a mentee, collaborator and friend.

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CUFA showed us that conferences don’t just transmit ideas.
They create relationships. They shape trajectories. They give people room to breathe.

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Looking back, Coming Up For Air was exactly what it needed to be.

Not louder.
Not bigger.
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A moment of stillness in a hard year.
A reminder that stories help us survive difficult seasons and help us care better when we return to the work.

As we look ahead to DFTB26 in Glasgow, that same commitment to humanity, story, and connection remains at the heart of everything we do.

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👉 Join us for the next chapter in Glasgow
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​https://dftb26.com/​

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P.S. CUFA taught us that sometimes the most important thing a conference can offer isn’t answers — it’s space to breathe.