The IndoEuropean root WED, with its o-grade form WOD, meant to speak. Hence the Greek word for a song or lyric poem, an ode, ᾠδή, and derivatives such as odeon, epode, hymnody, melody and melodeon, monody, palinode, prosody, psalmody, rhapsody, threnody, comedy, and tragedy. A parody is “a literary composition modelled on and imitating another […]
Michael Mittelman: First understand your patient
I am an engaged and informed patient with multiple chronic conditions. I am a patient advocate and a health strategist, and I care deeply for the patient experience. I work in both for profit and non-profit organizations. So when someone talks to me or writes about patient centered care, collaborative care or health, relationship based […]
Kathleen Thomas: Hospital bombardment—the new weapon of war?
It’s been 18 months since I witnessed the decimation of our fully functional hospital in Kunduz, Northern Afghanistan by aerial bombardment. I still can’t find words to adequately describe the all-consuming panic, nauseating fear, and chest-clutching grief that clouded my judgement as I darted between my friends, my colleagues, their dying bodies ripped apart by […]
Daniel Sokol: The Charlie Gard case—an ethicist in the courtroom
Daniel Sokol provides an ethicist’s point of view on the latest hearing in the case of Charlie Gard […]
Angela Coulter: The global reach of shared decision making
We’ve known for several decades that sharing evidence and decisions with patients leads to better care, but it’s still rare for patients to be given written information about treatment options and a chance to discuss their preferences. While few clinicians openly disagree on the desirability of this approach, practical barriers can appear insurmountable—lack of time, […]
Juliet Dobson: Delivering access to contraception worldwide
Current economic and political climates are posing a threat to women’s sexual and reproductive rights […]
Stephen Bradley: Junior doctors can use the new contract to take back some control
The new contract for junior doctors poses many challenges, but it’s possible to use its terms to achieve a safer and fairer NHS […]
Billy Boland: Generation Y’s approach is a sensible strategy for resilience
I enjoyed reading Victoria Twigg’s piece on the training needs of Generation Y recently. It is obvious we need to think much more about what attracts people into medicine and why people want to stay given that we’re in the middle of a recruitment crisis. Having a conversation about the future and what sustains us […]
Gro Harlem Brundtland: Political commitment is the key to Universal Health Coverage
Universal health coverage is not just desirable, but eminently achievable […]
Richard Lehman’s journal review—10 July 2017
Richard Lehman reviews the latest research in the top medical journals […]