The Holy Grail (COD) is the cup or platter used by Christ at the Last Supper, and in which St Joseph of Arimathea received Christ’s blood. As such, it is a metaphor for anything that is eagerly sought after. There is much in medicine that is eagerly sought after—not least, magic bullets (qv)—and there are […]
Billy Boland: Coping with change
The only thing certain in life is change. So the sooner we’re able to tackle dealing with change the better. I’m naturally an optimist as a rule, but the fortunes of the NHS over the immediate and long term future are enough to test even the sunniest of perspectives. I marvel at managers faced with […]
Claire McDaniel: Mixing business with medicine
Twice a week, in the evenings, I cheat on one of the greatest loves of my life. I sneak away from my friends, slip out of the library, and leave the responsibilities of medical school strewn across my desk. I don’t respond to texts. I ignore emails. I miss meetings. I’m exhausted because of it. […]
Ahimza Thirunavukarasu: Thinking about empathy
I’ve thought a lot about empathy recently. As a junior doctor on a psychiatry rotation, this is unsurprising, as interacting with people with acute mental health problems on a daily basis requires more patience and understanding than any of my previous roles. But it is one of the reasons I’ve enjoyed the rotation. I’ve learnt […]
Richard Lehman’s journal review—2 November 2015
NEJM 29 Oct 2015 Vol 373 Noddy meets oncology 1679 PARP stands for poly(adenosine diphosphate [ADP]–ribose) polymerase. For every child who grew up in England since the 1950s, it is also the noise that Noddy’s car makes. Now there is a PARP inhibitor called olaparib which costs about £900 a week for treating metastatic cancers […]
Rebecca Stout: Refugees and their right to access healthcare in the UK
Over the past few months it would be very difficult to have missed the news stories reporting on the Syrian refugee crisis. Civil war has now continued in the country for more than four years and the World Health Organization states that there are currently “12.2 million people in need of humanitarian assistance, with more than […]
Global Health Curriculum group: A changing world and what it means for medical training
This month the BMA released a report on the need for pre and post-graduate medical education and training to adapt in the face of a rapidly “changing world.” We are pleased to see recognition of the need to update postgraduate competencies. However, as doctors in training who are dedicated to the integration of global health into current […]
Mary E Black: On public health—Roy Lilley gets it wrong
Roy Lilley—blogger, NHS and social care agent provocateur, fettered by none, master of the timely hyperlink, and coiner of deliciously irreverent names for the great and the good. I do chuckle when he refers to Simon Stevens as Tarzan. I read all his blogs—his often acid shots are compelling . . . unless they are […]
Jeffrey Aronson: When I use a word . . . A twist on the Nobel Prize
As I was saying, bile and gall, from the same linguistic roots, mean the same things. At least, “bile” means a secretion of the liver, anger, ill temper, and bitterness, and so does “gall”, although there are meanings of “gall” (impudence, for example) that do not belong to “bile”. The King James’ Bible, does not […]
Paul Glasziou and Iain Chalmers: How systematic reviews can reduce waste in research
If you asked a member of the public “Should researchers review relevant, existing research systematically before embarking on further research?” they would probably be puzzled. Why would you ask a question with such an obvious answer? But in the current research system, researchers are only rarely required by research funders and regulators to do this. […]