“We’ve had a new admission into bed 3” “Great, I’ll be right there, what’s wrong with them?” “He’s got multiorgan failure but was intubated mainly for respiratory failure” “Ah ok, what’s wrong with him?” “ARDS” “Caused by what?” “Sepsis I think” “From what?” “Pneumonia” “What type?” “Um . . .” “Don’t worry, let’s see him […]
Sociology has tried, with mixed success, to define a realm of analysis that goes beyond the individual, and to grasp what is “in-between,” using names like “interaction,” “structures,” “communication,” or “culture.” I mention this because, if we want to come up with ways to improve the relationship between doctors and patients, we need to try […]
Journals have a responsibility to communicate clearly in ways that benefit patients […]
Hope for cure has traditionally been the patient’s best friend and the clinician’s strongest ally. Clinicians may avoid discussing their patients’ poor prognoses with them for fear that this might destroy their hopes or cause depression. [1,2] However, patients with serious illness usually want to hear the truth from their physicians and benefit from knowing the […]
While rates of smoking are slightly decreasing in some high-income countries, worldwide more and more women smoke, and 10 to 25% of women smoke during pregnancy. Smoking remains the first avoidable cause of preterm births (ten cigarettes/day causes a 3-fold increase), lower birth weight, placental complications and perinatal mortality. However, smoking during pregnancy is too frequently […]
As an intensive care consultant, the risk of “burnout” is ever present. Everyday, I will deliver devastating news to families when they least expect it. I will often make life changing decisions with limited information in a time critical manner. I will have passionate debates with other medical specialties over what is best for patients. […]
Two sets of recent asthma guidelines are markedly different, which is confusing for patients, doctors, managers, and funders, argue Dominick Shaw and colleagues. […]
Patients and their voices are starting to be heard in the world of medicine. From a low starting point, admittedly, but it is happening. Recently I was asked to take part in a BBC Radio programme about The Listening Project archive in the British Library, which hits 1000 submissions this month. The project is part […]
The Abortion Act prompts doctors to discuss abortion with women who have fetal anomaly, writes Jane Fisher. […]
When I’ve discharged patients, they’ve told me how “if only they taught DBT skills at school, I would never have needed to come into hospital.” We’re very proud of our dialectical behavioural therapy (DBT) groups: they teach mindfulness, distress tolerance, emotion regulation, and interpersonal skills. And now at last, we hear that the Department for Education […]