Last month, Richard Schwartzstein authored his perspective on poor communication skills among medical students and beyond (1). I read this with great interest and wanted to share my insights as a doctor in training. In the UK, it was also noted that allegations about doctors’ communication skills had risen by 69 per cent in the […]
The BMJ Today: Should medical journals avoid discussing political issues that have a bearing on health?
• Politics, medical journals, the medical profession, and the Israel lobby–In July 2014, The Lancet published an “Open letter for the people in Gaza” from a group of doctors and scientists, decrying what was in their view Israeli military aggression against civilians in Gaza. Earlier this year, Reed Elsevier, publishers of The Lancet received a […]
Billy Boland: What does continuous improvement actually mean?
I don’t know if it’s just me, but I’ve found a lot of what’s written about “continuous improvement” practically impenetrable. On the face of it, it has a lot to offer. Who can argue with an approach that systematically drives up quality? The trouble is, I’ve always found the methodology elusive. I realise that I’ve […]
Chris Simms: Canada’s murdered and missing aboriginals
How would you know and what would it matter if the invisible disappeared? The self-described “invisible” are Canada’s aboriginal women, and the “disappeared” are the 1189 aboriginal women and girls who have been murdered or gone missing since 1980—young aboriginal women being five times more likely to die as a result of violence than non-aboriginal […]
Violet Shivutse: A seat at the table for caregivers in Kenya
A new report from UN Women, Progress of the World’s Women 2015-2016: Transforming Economies, Realizing Rights, calls for radical reforms to the global policy agenda thinking which will transform economies and make women’s rights and equality a reality. Included is a series of case studies from all over the world which illustrate how governments, organizations, […]
Richard Smith: Time for a drive to register all global births and deaths
If your birth is not registered then you don’t exist, and yet a third of global births are not registered. If your death is not registered then your wife (or husband) may have poisoned you and not been caught, but two thirds of global deaths are not registered. Registration of births and deaths also allows […]
The BMJ Today: Elections, pathogen genomics, and prescription supply problems
• In the wake of the UK general election, Chris Ham, chief executive at the Kings Fund, writes about the challenges facing the newly elected Conservative government. He asks what route politicians will take to balance savings in the NHS without compromising patient safety? He cautions politicians to be realistic in the timescale needed to […]
Mrunalini Gowda: How can researchers meet community needs?
This blog is my reflection on regular field visits as part of the urban health action research project that I am currently working on. The field site for the project is a very poor neighbourhood of Bengaluru called K.G.Halli. This neighbourhood has families who earn their living as daily wageworkers to a few upper middle […]
Richard Lehman’s journal review—11 May 2015
NEJM 7 May 2015 Vol 372 1860 This week the NEJM is offering everyone a free lunch, in the form of an open access article and editorial on the theme of “Re-interpreting Industry-Physician Relationships.” But as everyone knows, there is no such thing as a free lunch, especially when it comes to relationships between doctors […]
The BMJ Today: The NHS in the aftermath of the UK’s general election
• Gareth Iacobucci reports that the National Health Action Party secured just over 20 000 votes across 12 constituencies in the UK general election. In three constituencies, it achieved fourth place finishes. The National Health Action Party was formed by doctors and health campaigners in 2012 in protest against government policies for the NHS. • BMJ editors […]