From this patient’s perspective, the ‘Easily missed’ and ‘Diagnosis’ series begun in the BMJ last year are particularly welcome. Many physicians are described informally as ‘diagnosticians’ but, as a layman, I wonder whether there may be a case for formalising such a specialty or sub-specialty. Editing the BMJ’s series of Patient Journey articles provides an […]
Georg Röggla: Peter Sawicki’s dismissal
Nutrition in Critical Care Medicine was the main topic in the lectures at the ‘Wiener Intensivmedizinische Tage’ in Vienna (February 10th to 13th, 2010), one of the biggest ICU meetings in the German speaking part of Europe. In the corridors the most discussed topic was Peter Sawicki’s dismissal as head of the German Institute for […]
Helen Jaques: Halfpipes and helmets – how Olympic athletes could reduce head injuries in skiers and snowboarders
The Winter Olympics this year in Vancouver have been particularly gripping, and not just for the close finishes on lots of the events. Thanks to the poor conditions, even the best skiers and snowboarders in the world have been crashing out in this year’s games. […]
Domhnall MacAuley: Bishops, doctors and, God
Remember being called to the headmaster’s office? Of course not. All you doctors were goody-goodies, never misbehaved. But, when I see the 24 Irish Bishops summoned to Rome after publication of the recent Murphy report on clerical child abuse, it looks just like Form 6c lining up to be carpeted. And you can imagine the […]
Martin McShane: Specialised
Commissioning of specialised services is done across the region. I had to drive to another county for the meeting where we were going to decide what to invest in. These are low volume high cost services currently costing about £600 million for our region. Historically it has had double digit inflation. That isn’t sustainable. […]
Louise Kenny: Gateshead to Guatemala
Strangely enough, I think I may have found it a more difficult transition returning back to work in the UK, than the initial challenge of starting work in Guatemala. Working in Guatemala was shocking for a number of reasons, but as I grew to understand the system and the culture, I found myself working harder, […]
What we’re reading 19 February 2010
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. […]
Helen Jaques asks what makes a good doctor?
Back in 2006 the British Medical Association asked almost 1,000 doctors what core professional values were most important for the practice of medicine, and the respondents came up with all the “C”s: competence, caring, compassion, and commitment. According to a new study in the Journal of Medical Ethics, however, another “C” needs to be added […]
Emily Spry: Five storeys up in Freetown
Most of my job here in Freetown requires skills not covered at Medical school or my GP training thus far. For a start, most of my role here is about management, coordination, and training. But, trying to get things done on behalf of a small charity in a poor country, there are many unusual demands, […]
Richard Smith: We don’t know how best to communicate the benefits and harms of drugs
Every day hundreds of thousands of doctors and patients around the world discuss the benefits and risks of drugs. You might think therefore that we know how to communicate the information well, but the European Medicines Agency (EMA) and the Food and Drug Administration agree that we don’t. Indeed, the EMA logically thinks that before […]