I thought I might be broken in gently to the new job, but I arrived last Friday in Santiago, and was thrown into a 24hr on-call in the ER on Saturday, which was thankfully remarkably quiet. Sadly I have had to convert to transatlantic terms, as when I use the term A+E, my American colleagues […]
Richard Smith: Remember “the disappeared”
The most interesting, and certainly the most chilling, experience I had in four days in Buenos Aires was to visit the memorial to “the disappeared.” […]
Vidhya Alakeson on President Obama’s healthcare speech
It is a peculiar trait of American politics: long presidential speeches broadcast at prime time. Just as Bill Clinton did thirteen years ago, yesterday, for an hour, President Obama tried to convince the American people that they had more to gain from healthcare reform than they had to lose. After a summer in which the […]
Domhnall MacAuley: Equity, human rights, and access to care
Often the only visible links between a conference and the host city are the presence of intense young researchers with carefully rolled posters and middle aged delegates with matching bags, wandering aimlessly through the streets. But, by inspired by Zeno Bisoffi, conference chairman, the 6th European Congress on Tropical Medicine and International Health engaged directly […]
Síle Lane on keeping libel laws out of science
Good science depends on open, critical discussion. Where medical science is concerned, if doctors didn’t voice reservations and medical publishers don’t air disputes, many people might think them irresponsible. But the libel laws in England mean robust criticism brings a risk of ruin that is chilling scientific and medical debates. It does this so effectively […]
Tracey Koehlmoos: How zinc can save 400,000 lives annually
In the August 17th issue of Time magazine, there was an article that discussed the introduction of zinc as a treatment for childhood diarrhoea in Mali. The article has raised international awareness on the lifesaving use of zinc to prevent an estimated 400,000 child lives per year globally. However, two important points were not addressed […]
Liz Wager: It’ll only take 5 minutes …
I’ve reached an age where various bits of my body don’t seeem to work as well as they used to (you’ll be able to find out which ones if you read on). I am also an avid believer that prevention is better than cure, and I actually believe some of the health advice I receive […]
Richard Smith: A crime against knowledge
Firsthand personal experience of a great crime can make it real in a way that full intellectual understanding will not. Spend two hours in close contact with an African AIDS orphan, and you’ll know what I mean. […]
Joe Collier on the need for ‘oholisms’
From the outside, most people appear to conduct themselves in a normal, essentially humdrum, manner. However, in many (possibly most) of us there are odd, and often secret, compulsive behavioural traits which, in extremes, can dominate a person’s life and occasionally be a wrecker. Classic examples of such behaviour are the compulsive alcohol drinker (as […]
Fiona Godlee: Why we’ve joined 10:10
I’ve just signed up, on behalf of the BMJ Group, to a commitment to cut our carbon footprint by 10% by the end of 2010. For more information on the 10:10 campaign, go to 1010uk.org. […]