Apart from universities as a whole, the recently released QS World University Rankings also include a list of their selection of the top 200 medical and life sciences schools in the world. In theory, rankings seem like a good idea. After all, parents of budding doctors-to-be will be reassured that their offspring will benefit from […]
Category: Columnists
Richard Smith: A thousand year old village in China
My first inkling that this wasn’t going to be a routine village visit was when I noticed that our coach had a police escort. Then when we arrived at the village of Lianghu in Shanxi province in China I saw the huge, highly decorated arch that is the entry to the road to the village. […]
Martin McShane: Toffee popcorn
I went to see a film with my son. He bought a packet of toffee popcorn. I love toffee popcorn but it has little nutritional value and in excess would be bad for you, but as it was available I couldn’t resist it! For some reason the experience came to mind when I read a […]
Tiago Villanueva: Spanish doctors and the revolution in the streets of Madrid
We’ve all seen the recent images on television in Spain, with tens of thousands of people taking to the streets of Madrid and occupying its main squares. After Tunis and Cairo, the Spanish capital has been seen some of the people’s momentum that toppled governments and dictators just across the other side of the Mediterranean. […]
Sandra Lako: coordination and clinical work
A lot of the work the Welbodi Partnership does is to coordinate and facilitate projects and training programs within the hospital. Our aim is capacity building – helping others to improve their skills rather than coming in to solely provide patient care. We believe that in the long run more patients will receive high-quality treatment […]
Martin McShane: No rules
I read the King’s fund paper on management in the NHS. It should be read widely. Some politicians and professionals understand that successful organisations have good management. Some even understand that bureaucracy is a product of a set of rules. A bureaucrat can’t be a bureaucrat without those rules. The rules I have to work […]
Richard Smith: My boots – an obituary
My boots died last week as I walked the Cornish coastal path from St Just to St Ives. One comfort was that they died together. The sole of one boot detached five miles out of St Just, and the sole of the second detached just a few miles later. After taking me a thousand miles […]
Tracey Koehlmoos: The tide is turning for the private sector in developing countries
You cannot live in Dhaka, where I live and work, without seeing the necessity of the private sector for health. The private sector provides the overwhelming majority of outpatient curative care, while the public sector is used for a larger proportion of hospital deliveries and preventive care. For example, about 90% of care for children with […]
Des O’Neill: Death and transfiguration
Death, suffering, and the after life – what a way to finish a geriatric medicine congress! I had at first viewed the invitation to the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra concert as an unexpected bonus to an extremely stimulating and hospitable Austrian and German Geriatric Medicine Congress the week before last. Yet when viewed through the lens of […]
Douglas Noble on the BMJ Group Awards 2011
The 3rd BMJ Group Awards took place on 18th May. All the great and good in healthcare, national and international, assembled for 13 awards, including the prestigious lifetime achievement award. As the medical bigwigs entered the palatial Hilton Metropole Ballroom in triumphal procession, they were greeted with flashing multicoloured lights, rock music, and a definite […]