I recall when I first attended a medical science teaching committee meeting at St Andrews University in 1995. I was overawed by the complexity of running a medical curriculum, bringing all the academics on board, and agreeing teaching plans. I was there because someone thought it was a good idea to have a student in […]
Martin McShane: The money
I was at a conference, struggling with one of those sharp sticks on which a bit of chicken was impaled whilst holding a plate of food in the other hand, when I noticed a short, bald bloke checking out the conference buffet. It was Greg Dyke. He had come to talk to about 250 managers […]
Peter Lapsley: ACHCEW – bless you!
No doubt, countless pressure groups will be beavering away, bending the new government’ s ear, each with its own agenda and promoting its own interests. Few will take account of the “bigger picture” or consider whether their aspirations have widespread support. […]
Edward Davies: Dads and depression
One in 10 men suffer from “postnatal depression”, The Journal of the American Medical Association has just informed me. Postnatal depression in men often goes “undiagnosed”, and “men are as likely as women to suffer from postnatal depression,” say various reports. Apparently it’s at its worst between 3 and 6 months post partum and in […]
Julian Sheather: Pain and its uses
I am a terrible coward. I flee pain as the gazelle flees the lion. On a bad day I am living proof of Jeremy Bentham’s universal dictum: that the sole motive of a human being is to avoid pain and achieve pleasure. For this reason alone I am a champion of medicine. If I am […]
K. M. Venkat Narayan: Indian diabetes census – just don’t count on it!
The Union Health Minister of India, Mr. Ghulam Nabi Azad recently announced a plan to hold a diabetes census across the country. “We intend to start mandatory testing for diabetes in the age group 25-70 years across the country in the next two years. The idea is to figure out the actual number of the population […]
Domhnall MacAuley: Epidemiology pitfalls and high jumps
Cyclists sweated and panted alongside the car as we climbed the switchbacks of Holmenkollen mountain. At the top, a huge metal and concrete ramp stretched up towards the sky. And at its base, steep tiers of concrete seating circled the sunken gladiatorial arena. […]
Richard Smith: Where are the women leaders?
At the end of my class on leadership at Warwick Medical School comes a dreadful moment. I’ve enjoyed myself and am packing up, when the only student left, a woman, says to me “Why were no women leaders mentioned?” I don’t panic, but I at once recognise that we’ve discussed many male leaders and not […]
Domhnall MacAuley on a great Norwegian success story
A great Norwegian success story. Celebrated at Kleivstua in the pine forests of the national park as the sunshine and snow flurries competed for the Nordic Spring. This was the ten year anniversary meeting of the Oslo Sports Trauma Centre. And what a story… When we invited Roald Bahr to write his clinical review on […]
Andrew Burd on Chinese chopper attacks
There is a specific utensil found in the kitchen of all Chinese homes; a finely balanced rectangular blade with a keenly sharpened edge that is used for peeling and parring, slicing and dicing, skinning, deboning, gutting and cutting but most of all, chopping. […]