Just as some people proudly announce that they are alcoholics, I’m proud to tell the world that I am a Cochrane reviewer. There cannot be many BMJ readers who don’t know what that means, but just in case it’s a calling, something akin to joining a monastery. In support of my work, I have studied […]
Category: Guest writers
Sarah Walpole: from medic to media – on the health effects of Tar Sands
Seeing the call for medics to attend this year’s Camp for Climate Action, I was keen to lend support for a worthy cause. I’m usually a reluctant responder when it comes to calls for a doctor in the house, however, so I elected to attend under the guise of journalism and take on medic duties […]
Chibuzo Odigwe: How healthy is the giant at 50?
I tend to think of Nigeria as a giant, and with a population of about 150 million, it may be easy to see reason with me. It is once again that time of year when the drums, gongs, and flutes roll out across the country for the National Day celebrations. This year’s celebration is extraordinary, […]
Martin McShane: My nose is out of joint
As is my wont, I was skimming the BMA news and hovered over the “See one, do one” column about working and surviving as a junior doctor. It was a well written and entertaining piece about getting behind the real reason for a patient’s presentation. A youngish, male patient presented with nasal symptoms but, in […]
Andrew Burd on (alleged) child rape in hospital
The very concept of child rape is abhorrent and deeply unsettling. That it should happen in a hospital is deeply disturbing. On Saturday 2 October, the leading English language newspaper in Hong Kong, the South China Morning Post, reported that a 13 year old boy had been arrested for assaulting a 5 year old girl […]
Richard Smith: Who are the “medcomms community?”
Have you ever heard of the “medcomms community”? I suspect not, but they are shaping your world. It might be worth spending two minutes reading this blog to learn more about this shadowy crew. […]
Vasiliy Vlassov: WHO in Moscow
WHO-Europe had its big meeting in Moscow this month. It was an amazing mixture of bureaucratic exercises, real health care politics, and interaction with local events. You may not find the details of this meeting on the WHO website, but if you wonder what it was about you may go to see the programme buried […]
John Appleby and Nancy Devlin: Which English hospital is best at hips?
Earlier this month, the first set of data on post-operative patient reported outcome measures (PROMs) was published by the Department of Health. For the first time, this has provided a patient-based assessment of changes in patients’ health-related quality of life following hip replacement. The data also cover surgery on knees, varicose veins, and groin hernias. […]
Thilo Govender: What about the children?
2003 – it was the best of times and it was the worst of times for people in South Africa with HIV/AIDS. The national minister of health at the time promoted treatment based only on a diet of vegetables – beetroot, to name just one. The Treatment Action Campaign and clinicians were resolute in the […]
Esohe Omoregie: What’s wrong with public health?
The other day, I had my first weekend on-call as an SHO. My consultant asked me the inevitable question about my career plans. I resisted the urge to stay in line with her specialty of choice, geriatrics. This has often been a tack of mine and many other trainees to facilitate smooth passage through any […]