As a junior surgical trainee, it is exciting to consider the prospect of virtual reality (VR) in surgical practice. Interestingly, VR technology as a surgical training tool was introduced to the surgical community over a decade ago, but due to insufficient scientific evidence of its efficacy there was a delay in adopting the technology. There […]
Category: Guest writers
Parashar Ramanuj: My biggest career disappointment
I didn’t get into core medical training (CMT) at the first time of trying. This was unplanned for, uncalled for, and in my mind unquestionably someone else’s mistake. I was a molecular man who was destined to tinker with the weights and measures of nephrology. Or so I had thought. Thinking back to that time […]
Andrew McDonald: The war of words about cancer
This autumn the National Theatre’s repertoire will include a musical about cancer. Be honest. What is your first reaction? Revulsion at the poor taste of those involved? Despair that the theatre hasn’t got anything better to do? Or a sense of relief that a serious topic is about to be stripped of its mythology? I […]
John Davies on his first shift as a doctor at the Olympic stadium
I had my first shift at the Olympic Stadium last night and it was my first opportunity to meet my colleagues. The medical service at the stadium is integrated, unlike the arrangements at the 2012 games in London. Nurses roam the stands and are on hand for any medical problems in the crowd, and the Field of […]
Hilary Powers: When to take vitamin D supplements
In late July 2016 the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN) and Public Health England (PHE) announced new recommendations on vitamin D. SACN reviewed the evidence at the request of the Department of Health, which asked whether the previous recommendation, that most people would get enough vitamin D from sunshine alone, was still appropriate. Some people have asked whether the […]
John Davies: The Olympic Games opening ceremony in an occupied city
Over the weekend, downtown Rio was like an occupied city. Traffic was diverted from whole streets so that military lorries could park en echelon, guarded at each end by squads of soldiers, while the nonchalant Cariocas, Rio’s residents, walked by. The biggest street of all, the Avenida President Vargas, normally four carriageways with a total […]
Clifford Mann: My biggest career failure
I had spent five years as a senior house officer in the late 1980s and early 1990s trying to decide on a specialty, sitting exams, and changing my mind several times. Eventually, having taken an accident and emergency post—largely to pay the mortgage—I finally found a subject that was sufficiently broad to gain my interest. […]
John Davies: Getting ready for Rio
As the Olympic Games approach, I’m beginning to make preparations. I’m going there! I got the bug at London 2012. They asked the public to volunteer because no games can happen unless thousands of people give their time and expertise. Staff are appointed in all trades and professions that are needed for such a mega event […]
Sarah Mitchell: It’s time to change end of life conversations for better care
What can we do to improve care for people who are dying? Someone dies every minute in the UK. In healthcare we know we need to improve what we are doing, but the messages in guidelines and strategies have changed little over recent years. Public health agendas in palliative and end of life care are […]
Collette Isabel Stadler: How poor provision of mental health services adds to the risk burden for children in care
If you are a 65 year old male smoker with hypertension, hyperlipidaemia, and a family history of cardiovascular disease, the QRISK calculator informs a physician that your chances of having a heart attack in the next 10 years are 47%. Health professionals leap into risk modification and disease prevention mode; you are referred to smoking […]