In the BMJ editorial office, we often come across interesting articles, blogs, and web pages. We thought we would share these with you. Some are medical, some techie, and some just general. […]
Richard Smith: Anna’s legacy
“Anna [Donald] has left a remarkable legacy to other patients like myself with advanced disease,” says Helen Owens, a patient with cancer, on the website Anna’s Adventure. Anna Donald, as many BMJ readers know, was a doctor, Rhode’s Scholar, and one of the founders of evidence based medicine who died of breast cancer last year […]
Helen Jaques: To BSc or not to BSc?
As a profession, doctors seem very fond of adding letters after their name: MB BS, BChir, MRCP, FRCS, MRCOG… the list goes on. So you’d think medical students would be keen to start the process early by snapping up the letters “BSc” while still at university. In the UK, medical students have the opportunity to […]
Tracey Koehlmoos: Meeting the Marlboro man in Jakarta
Last week my three boys and I were visiting friends on our first trip to Indonesia. Jakarta is enchanting…shiny, modern, glossy, and brimming with cultural charm: twisty roads, unique architecture, flamboyant flora, and great food. […]
Joe Collier: Sharing intellectual space
In a recent blog I suggested that relationships between students and teachers will have been changed in those medical schools where students address the staff by their first names. As I saw it, the practice of addressing teachers using surnames and titles will have provided some sort of barrier between teachers and taught. Where this […]
K M Venkat Narayan: Health Sciences Research: Is the United States Getting Complacent?
As the knowledge-driven, post-industrial global economy of the 21st century evolves, the role of research and training for research will become increasingly important. China seems to have heard that message. During a recent visit to China, I had the pleasure of interacting with investigators and doctoral students at the Institute of Nutritional Sciences (INS) of […]
Liz Wager: Should editors punish misbehaving authors?
I’ve been wondering about the role of journals in punishing miscreant authors. A senior publisher told me he was uneasy about COPE’s retraction guidelines because although they suggest that redundant publications should be retracted, they recommend that the first publication should remain. The publisher felt that this was condoning and rewarding multiple publication and that […]
John Garrow: Libel laws and patient protection
Professor A C Grayling has written about the recent, well publicised victory of Simon Singh in the appeal court (BMJ 2010;340:c1910). As almost everyone now knows, in a previous sitting with Mr Justice Eady, Dr Singh was set the nearly impossible task of proving that chiropractors were knowingly making false claims for the efficacy of […]
Domhnall MacAuley: Wayne Rooney’s ankle and the injury league
Wayne Rooney’s ankle injury may have cost Manchester United a Champion’s League place and could still influence their premiership hopes. It is unlikely that Cesc Fabregas’s injury affected the result between Arsenal and Barcelona, but it has had a major impact on the Arsenal team performance. And, Chelsea have a who’s who of international football […]
Emily Spry is back in Freetown
If you blinked, you probably missed it, but I’m back in Freetown after a short Easter jaunt to the UK to see my family and a few friends. I was surprised but delighted to be snowed on in the mountains in Wales; at least I can say that I experienced the legendary winter of 2009-2010, […]