A great Norwegian success story. Celebrated at Kleivstua in the pine forests of the national park as the sunshine and snow flurries competed for the Nordic Spring. This was the ten year anniversary meeting of the Oslo Sports Trauma Centre. And what a story… When we invited Roald Bahr to write his clinical review on […]
Category: Editors at large
Richard Hurley: Replace the war on drugs with a war on harm
Illicit drugs should be decriminalised. Prohibition has not achieved the stated aim of reducing supply, and criminalisation acts as a barrier to reducing harm in users. Punishment of drug users through criminal justice is costly; is ineffective in terms of public health, particularly the spread of HIV; and infringes on the human rights of users, […]
Domhnall MacAuley: Paddy the cricketer
Rain stopped another Ireland giant killing exploit at cricket’s ICC World Twenty20 yesterday. Having beaten Bangladesh and Pakistan in 2007, victory over England would have been the ultimate achievement. But, of course, it was Eoin Morgan who led the England innings. And, when an Irishman is the great new hope of English cricket you might […]
Tony Delamothe on the assisted dying debate at the Maudsley
Finally made it to a Maudsley debate (28 April 2010), after years of noting their carefully worded topics and starry lineups. This one was no exception. Household names were debating the motion that: “This house believes that doctors should be allowed to assist some people with suicide.” […]
Domhnall MacAuley: Behind every tragedy is someone’s secret hope
Every time the telephone rings, it could be you. Waiting for a transplant is long and difficult. With renal dialysis you are hopefully quite stable, but with other conditions it may be a race against time. Every phone call could be your lifeline so the telephone becomes the focus of your day. Silence weighs heavily. […]
Sally Carter: George Bush and female circumcision
Last week I went to an interview with a writer who I’d never heard of. And now I can’t stop thinking about her, which of her books I should read, and the link between George Bush and female circumcision. The talk was part of PEN International’s Free the Word! festival at the South Bank in […]
Tessa Richards on volcanic ash disrupting the conference circuit
Iceland’s unpronounceable volcano has much to answer for. The economic impact of its ash cloud has been immense and its growing. Thousands of airline passengers are still stranded. Quiet skies may be a treat and politicians’ Dunkerque gestures a diversion, but lives are being disrupted, and attendance at international medical conferences decimated….. […]
Domhnall MacAuley on Dubai writing and education workshops
One of the last arrivals before the Icelandic volcanic dust closed European airspace, planes were parked bumper to bumper on the tarmac with thousands crowded into the airport terminal. As part of the BMJ outreach and partnership programme, I had just arrived back from Dubai where, together with Jenny Lewis and Mark Tracey, we shared […]
Helen Jaques: To BSc or not to BSc?
As a profession, doctors seem very fond of adding letters after their name: MB BS, BChir, MRCP, FRCS, MRCOG… the list goes on. So you’d think medical students would be keen to start the process early by snapping up the letters “BSc” while still at university. In the UK, medical students have the opportunity to […]
Domhnall MacAuley: Wayne Rooney’s ankle and the injury league
Wayne Rooney’s ankle injury may have cost Manchester United a Champion’s League place and could still influence their premiership hopes. It is unlikely that Cesc Fabregas’s injury affected the result between Arsenal and Barcelona, but it has had a major impact on the Arsenal team performance. And, Chelsea have a who’s who of international football […]