‘A potent force’: Editor shares vision for AJGP

Dr David Wilkinson is a firm believer in the power of the Australian Journal of General Practice (AJGP) to boost his profession.  
 
Now the publication’s Editor-in-Chief, he is perhaps uniquely placed to understand how to galvanise it for the good of general practice.
 
The editorial role is one of many hats he wears, giving him an unusually broad insight into general practice straddling academia, clinical practice and professional development.
 
Previously the Dean of Medicine at the University of Queensland, and the deputy Vice Chancellor at Macquarie University, he continues to supervise students and is actively involved in large research grants.
 
Perhaps most crucially, as the RACGP’s national clinical lead for CPD since 2022, and a GP at a rural general practice in southern Queensland, he doesn’t need reminding of the importance of staying relevant.
 
‘AJGP is a very important publication and has the potential to be very helpful to members, a potent force in developing the profession, and a powerful channel for debate and discussion,’ he told newsGP.
 
He points to a strong rise in GP authors, a trend he is keen to nurture further still.
 
In 2022 fewer than one in every 10 authors were GPs, a figure that rose to 15% last year.
 
For the two supplements in 2024, more than a quarter of authors (26%) were GPs, while in the first two months of 2025, more than a third of articles (36%) had a GP author.
 
‘Our strategy of strongly encouraging GP authorship and co-authorship, and commissioning from GP authors seems to be working,’ Dr Wilkinson said.
 
‘We quite often reject papers written by non-GPs as these papers often lack the “GP voice” or fail to understand the work from a GP perspective.’
 
As an aside, he mentions AJGP’s sister publication check, for which he is the clinical lead, and has its proportion of GP authors at 66% so far this year – a significant rise from 46% in 2023.
 
For Dr Wilkinson, however, there is no room for complacency, and he is working to boost GPs’ contributions further still.
 
‘I would urge GPs to write for the journal,’ he said.
 
‘You might start with a Viewpoint or a Professional article if you have something to say, or contribute to Beyond the Clinic Door with a reflective piece beyond direct patient care.
 
‘You could also write a clinical article or a clinical case study. We all see challenging, interesting and complex cases each week. Why not write one up for us?’
 
Another priority is to keep moving the publication with the times.
 
That includes increasing its digital presence, with trials exploring the reach of new technologies underway.
 
Publishing the highest quality GP research is of course a given, but Dr Wilkinson is also seeking to expand the journal’s breadth by commissioning more articles across wider ground – a strategy he says is already working well.
 
He sees the journal as an integral part of the RACGP, and an important platform for promoting up-to-date policies, guidelines and strategy.
 
Importantly, he sees a key part of his role as developing the journal as a dynamic channel for debate, discussion and opinion.
 
With those goals in mind, Dr Wilkinson believes the future is bright for the long-lived publication, which first appeared as the Annals of General Practice in 1956.
 
‘If we get it right, the AJGP will continue to be a key source of clinical articles and case studies for GPs and trainees,’ he said.  
 
For more details about the journal, and to contact the editorial team, see the journal’s website.
 
Log in below to join the conversation.

AJGP Australian Journal of General Practice