It’s easy to dismiss Twitter, a network that links people using messages of 140 characters or less, but it fills a genuine social gap. If Facebook is an archipelago of islands held together by social ties, Twitter is the shifting current that bathes them. Where Facebook is faithful, Twitter is promiscuous. Teaching thinking skills to […]
Category: Guest writers
Kailash Chand: The e-petition for the NHS passes 153 000 votes
The e-petition calling on the government to drop its Health and Social Care Bill has now reached 153 000 signatures to become the second most popular campaign on Number 10’s official petition site. It already qualified for a debate in the House of Commons, when it passed the 100 000 signatures milestone. Some 90% of […]
Susannah Baron: Will there be Lego in Africa?
I have to admit that after working for the NHS for 19 years I felt the need for a different challenge. I was four years into my appointment as a consultant dermatologist in East Kent, and although I enjoyed the clinical work, I was finding the fluctuations in health service politics somewhat exhausting. My sons, […]
Desmond O’Neill: Old ideas
The year has barely started, but it is a fairly safe bet that one of the stand-out albums of 2012 will be Leonard Cohen’s Old Ideas. For the many (including me!) allergic to the bedsit misery of his early work, there is reassurance about what old age can bring us in the drollery, bite, and […]
Richard Lehman’s journal review – 6 February 2012
JAMA 1 Feb 2012 Vol 307 467 We of a physicianly disposition may not like to admit it, but throughout history surgeons have been well ahead of physicians at looking critically at their outcomes. For example, rates of re-operation have appeared in case series reports for well over a hundred years, so this paper on […]
Rachel ter Horst: The tomorrow of neglected tropical diseases
Four acts in 90 minutes. A tight script that does not leave time for clapping. Nine men in dark suits and one woman on stage. That one woman is Margaret Chan, Director General of WHO. One of the men is Bill Gates. The stage is Uniting to Combat Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs), an event convened […]
COMET team: BRAVO for breast reconstruction
Women considering breast reconstruction after mastectomy for cancer face a myriad of choices. They need to decide if and when to have a reconstruction and which of the different procedures best suits their needs. To facilitate such complex and personal choices, women require information about previous patients’ experiences of surgery, particularly about cosmesis and psychosocial […]
Tiago Villanueva: Do young Portuguese doctors still want to work in Portugal?
About 10 months ago I blogged that an exodus of doctors from Portugal would be a sign of Portugal’s worsening economic situation. Medicine has always offered one of the few stable and prosperous careers. Most doctors are still in employment, and our income levels are usually above the national average as many doctors juggle professional commitments in both the public and […]
Anne Gulland: No news is bad news: how the papers filled their health pages over Christmas
The period between Christmas and 1 January is a quiet one for UK news outlets. The government and most major organisations hold back big announcements until the new year; and if there are no breaking stories about murders, natural disasters, or wars, filling those (albeit diminished) news pages and television and radio bulletins can be […]
Toby Hillman: Why do doctors get involved in leadership?
There can be a lot of disagreement when it comes to healthcare management and leadership. There are competing views about how far all doctors can be trained to be leaders, and how much impact leadership training can have on clinical outcomes. There are some studies and reports which suggest that organisations with a higher degree of […]