Patient rights and empowerment movements have grown exponentially over the last decade. Shared data movements and clinical decision making may employ slogans like “having a voice,” “nothing about me, without me,” and “give me my damn data,” all these expressions share the language of loss and blame. Vision and partnership are not built by crying […]
The BMJ Today: Aiming for a culture of safety not perfection
Do you believe in the “boundless capacity of medical science?” In a philosophical podcast to accompany this week’s analysis article, Professor Jerome Hoffman and Dr Hemal Kanzaria, of the University of California, suggest that efforts to reduce overdiagnosis and overtreatment should focus on changing physician and public attitudes towards medical error and uncertainty. […]
Yvonne Obura: Female genital cutting—improving doctors’ awareness
Female genital cutting (FGC) or mutilation (FGM) is the removal or injury of the external female genitalia for non-medical purposes. It is estimated that 125 million women and girls worldwide are currently living with the effects of FGC, and a further 30 million girls are at risk of being cut within the next decade. According […]
Carolyn Thomas: My experience of patient peer review
I’ve finally hit the “Submit” button on my patient review of a research paper submitted to The BMJ—and in time for its deadline. Hurray! This is the first project of this type I’ve ever been involved in, and at first blush I wondered if I would have anything at all meaningful to contribute—as a non-scientist who […]
Ahmed Rashid: Junk food history taking
“Listen to the patient and they will tell you the diagnosis.” Widely attributed to Sir William Osler, this quote is often shared with new medical students, and I often find myself repeating it to the undergraduate clinical students I currently supervise. Regardless of the specialty area or examination skills we cover, clinical history taking remains […]
The BMJ Today: Teenage pregnancy and sleepless nights
Teenage pregnancy (within the ages of 13-19) is a major public health concern. About 16 million females aged 15-19 and about 1 million girls aged less than 15 give birth. Complications during pregnancy and childbirth are the second cause of death in 15-19 year old females globally. A clinical review by McCarthy and colleagues looks […]
Aser García Rada: Abortion in Spain
This year´s Global Day of Action for Access to Safe and Legal Abortion, celebrated on 28 September, was especially welcomed in Spain. Earlier that week, Spain’s prime minister and leader of the conservative People´s Party (PP), Mariano Rajoy, announced the withdrawal of his plans to toughen up current abortion law. That law, which was passed by […]
Abdullah Aljoudi: An epidemic free Hajj
“Complete the pilgrimages … for the sake of God” Quran 2:196 The 2014 Hajj was epidemic-free, according to Saudi Arabia’s acting health minister. In addition to the regular Hajj health regulations, this year the Saudi government decided to ban pilgrims from Mano river Union countries (Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone) because of the Ebola threat. The World […]
The BMJ Today: The pitfalls of migration
I’ve been taking lots of travel histories lately. As a GP who sees lots of patients with fever, patients are even starting to pre-empt me (” . . . and I’ve never been to Africa”). This heightened awareness is unsurprising, given news that some countries are introducing airport screening for Ebola. But will this actually […]
Sanna W Khawaja: What can we learn from the locum?
When recounting the tale of my first ever shift as a bona fide doctor, the line “I was on call with a locum SHO and a locum Reg” tends to get the perfect reaction: sympathy and kudos. I follow “The Locum Doctor” on Facebook and have made many a witty (some would disagree) joke with […]