“We know what we need to do to avoid severe climate change. We know how to get it done. We have the technology, and we can afford it. But we don’t have the political will.” That’s the message I remember most clearly from the BMJ’s conference on climate change, and sadly as a human being […]
“Research highlights” is a weekly round-up of research papers appearing in the print BMJ. We start off with this week’s research questions, before providing more detail on some individual research papers and accompanying articles. […]
This week the World Health Organization and the Brazilian Government are jointly hosting the World Conference on Social Determinants of Health in Rio de Janeiro from 19 to 21 October (the Rio Conference). This conference came about as the result of a resolution at the World Health Assembly in 2009 to follow up the work […]
Drawing for surgeons is a two day course convened by Rowan Pritchard-Jones, plastic surgeon, and his art teacher colleague. The course is aimed at surgeons and trainees, from F1 upwards. As a medical student I didn’t quite fit these criteria, but I requested permission to attend-a request initially greeted with a degree of bemusement but […]
To care for older people one vital ingredient is needed…time. Nothing can be rushed. Everybody needs to be washed, have their teeth cleaned, their mouths checked and cleaned, and their nails and hair sorted out. Don’t forget the never ending call for the commode, and if they don’t need help to get to the toilet they will need […]
There are four horsemen of the apocalypse: conquest, war, famine (or pestilence) and death, and climate change will unleash all of them. I was at a BMJ conference recently that explored some of the health and security impacts of climate change and these grim riders were everywhere to be seen. Put simply, climate change will […]
Medicine is becoming increasingly specialised: there are now almost 30 sub-specialties within the Royal College of Physicians alone. This is partly in response to the exponential rate at which scientific knowledge is produced – it is simply not possible to stay on top of the latest developments beyond a limited scope of practice. Greater standardisation […]
JAMA 12 Oct 2011 Vol 306 1549 It has been a bad week for vitamin supplements. Worst hit, as usual, has been vitamin E. The SELECT trial began collecting 35 000+ healthy men with normal feeling prostates back in 2001 and randomised them to get a selenium supplement, a vitamin E supplement, both, or placebo. […]
Wet Tuesday. October. General practice. Year 28, day 11. Radio news. Car park. Medical bag. Waiting room- half full. Hi all. Open surgery. Password. Mouse. Press. Wait. Headache, blood pressure, fundoscopy, acne, GCSE abdominal pain, MSSU, delayed letter, hospital letter, hypertension, change prescription, foot injury, chest infection, recent hospital in ICU, flu vac, emergency contraception, […]
“Research highlights” is a weekly round-up of research papers appearing in the print BMJ. We start off with this week’s research questions, before providing more detail on some individual research papers and accompanying articles. […]