I have never thought of social networking tools as something that might be terribly relevant for me. I cancelled my Facebook account because the number of ensuing emails annoyed me. And while I use Wikipedia all the time, and enjoy doing so, I always thought that Twitter, for example, is clearly for “over-sharers”—why would I […]
Category: Editors at large
Peter Lapsley: Whither the general physician?
From this patient’s perspective, the ‘Easily missed’ and ‘Diagnosis’ series begun in the BMJ last year are particularly welcome. Many physicians are described informally as ‘diagnosticians’ but, as a layman, I wonder whether there may be a case for formalising such a specialty or sub-specialty. Editing the BMJ’s series of Patient Journey articles provides an […]
Georg Röggla: Peter Sawicki’s dismissal
Nutrition in Critical Care Medicine was the main topic in the lectures at the ‘Wiener Intensivmedizinische Tage’ in Vienna (February 10th to 13th, 2010), one of the biggest ICU meetings in the German speaking part of Europe. In the corridors the most discussed topic was Peter Sawicki’s dismissal as head of the German Institute for […]
Helen Jaques: Halfpipes and helmets – how Olympic athletes could reduce head injuries in skiers and snowboarders
The Winter Olympics this year in Vancouver have been particularly gripping, and not just for the close finishes on lots of the events. Thanks to the poor conditions, even the best skiers and snowboarders in the world have been crashing out in this year’s games. […]
Domhnall MacAuley: Bishops, doctors and, God
Remember being called to the headmaster’s office? Of course not. All you doctors were goody-goodies, never misbehaved. But, when I see the 24 Irish Bishops summoned to Rome after publication of the recent Murphy report on clerical child abuse, it looks just like Form 6c lining up to be carpeted. And you can imagine the […]
Helen Jaques asks what makes a good doctor?
Back in 2006 the British Medical Association asked almost 1,000 doctors what core professional values were most important for the practice of medicine, and the respondents came up with all the “C”s: competence, caring, compassion, and commitment. According to a new study in the Journal of Medical Ethics, however, another “C” needs to be added […]
Domhnall MacAuley: Of melancholy, despair and, Dr Gachet
Dr Gachet has the world weary look of a country GP. His portrait, which hangs in the Musée d’Orsay, always spoke to me louder than Van Gogh’s sunflowers or other celebrated paintings with their vibrant colours and, almost childlike, optimism. It has a depth of feeling, concern yet distance, and an overwhelming sadness. Unlike other […]
David Payne on Sarah Silverman and other TEDettes
US comedian Sarah Silverman courts controversy. She’s outspoken and provocative. After performing at the technology, entertainment, and design (TED) conference I attended in California last week, she deservedly received rapturous applause from a liberal audience that days earlier had shown near-unanimous support for gay marriage. Silverman described how she wanted to adopt a terminally ill […]
David Payne: What the world needs now
The woman who warned me I wouldn’t sleep was right. Even after just one day of talks about technology, entertainment and design (TED) at the Caflifornian conference of that name (What the world needs now, is this year’s theme) my head feels as it’s about to explode. […]
David Payne on ideas worth spreading in 2010
I just shared a sofa with a 25-year-old Canadian inventor, a Texan neuroscientist turned fiction writer who authored a recent BMJ editorial on synaesthesia, a former lawyer and journalist who now runs a global technology company, and a social entrepreneur whose mother took her out of school each summer to see the world. Some of […]