Is there any such thing as “IRL” ?

Social media is all pervasive – it is nigh on impossible to see an advertisement nowadays without a hastag, facebook, pinterest or twitter handle attached.  Social media has been credited with sparking revolutions, riots and bringing down criminals, and is even used by the Pope to spread his message to the world. Perhaps it isn’t […]

Read More…

Can do, or should do?

Modern medicine is advancing at an eye-watering pace, and treatments are being utilised for ever-widening patient groups, who might not have been offered similar therapies even a few short years ago.  In this context, it is increasingly important to know that these remarkably effective, expensive, and life-changing treatments are aligned with the wishes of our […]

Read More…

Proper preparation and planning… part 2

I have blogged previously about the readiness of medical students to take on the role of a doctor when they exit medical school. The previous paper I looked at highlighted that a significant proportion of medical students felt unprepared for the jobs they were ostensibly trained for, and that this proportion was variable across the […]

Read More…

Medicine – a team sport

  Medicine could once be practised in isolation – indeed, young doctors often found themselves working alone – a situation evocatively described by Bulgakov in his ‘Country Doctor’s Notebook.’  Nowadays, it is almost impossible to work in isolation, and team working is the norm.  Atul Gawande wrote about the different approaches of Cowboys and Pit […]

Read More…