Charlotte Ralston and Ciaran Walsh You can always spot the new medical students on a hospital ward. They look unsure—intelligent, but professionally gangly and ill at ease with their surroundings and the people that fill the unfamiliar and intimidating hospital space. Uncertainty and self consciousness may be reinforced by distrust from patients and ward staff. […]
Andrew Furber: What is the role of public health in a modern democracy?
According to Winston Churchill, “Democracy is the worst form of government, except for all the others.” For good or ill we elect our representatives, they have the democratic mandate to make decisions, and if we don’t like them we vote for someone else next time. Part of good public health is informing and influencing the […]
The overdiagnosis community targets solutions
Documenting overdiagnosis is the easy part. The real challenge is how to manage it […]
A good start for WHO: but the new DG election process needs an independent monitoring body
Ilona Kickbusch, Gian Luca Burci, Austin Liu A new election process After a “rollercoaster” year the World Health Organization (WHO) elected its ninth Director General (DG) in May 2017. The new DG has received many congratulations, but it is equally important to congratulate the WHO for opening up the process by which the DG was […]
Matt Morgan: The ward round is broken
We need a new way of working, argues Matt Morgan […]
A collective effort is needed to encourage patient centricity in ophthalmic research
Alastair K Denniston and Xiaoxuan Liu “Why is it so hard for you guys to have us in the room?” a patient asked. Addressing an audience of leading eye researchers, UK funders of research, patient and public engagement teams, the medical media and policy makers, she was one of several patients participating in a recent workshop […]
Sara Turle and Andy Heeps: Having a patient in the room has changed the way we look at serious incidents
How can doctors work productively with patients, and what is the impact of doing so? […]
Richard Lehman’s journal review—14 August 2017
Richard Lehman reviews the latest research in the top medical journals […]
Alice Hodkinson, David Spitzer, and Iona Heath: Overdiagnosis of end of life
Doctors are much more likely to cause problems by underdiagnosing end of life than by overdiagnosing it […]
Nikolina Skandali: How can Greece tackle its shortage of healthcare staff?
The number of doctors leaving Greece to work abroad is causing a shortage of medical staff in Greece. As a medical student, I have experienced both the British and Greek medical educational systems. I completed my undergraduate medical degree in Athens and I am now finishing my doctoral studies at the Department of psychiatry, University […]