Bruno Rushforth on the roles we play

It’s amazing how quickly one adapts. The first couple of days were a bit of a shock, but I soon accepted my fate and – rather worryingly – began to take on the role of the underling almost willingly. I remember how the same thing happened when I’d started medical school. Having worked prior to […]

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Juliet Walker: BMJ in the news

More than half of carers looking after relatives with dementia report acting abusively towards them according to a research paper published last week on bmj.com. The researchers, from University College London, found that a third admitted significant abuse, such as frequent insulting and swearing, and only 3 out of 220 carers admitted occasional physical abuse. […]

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William Lee on “A Short Stay In Switzerland”

Last night the BBC aired “A Short Stay in Switzerland”, a one-off drama based on the true story of a terminally ill doctor who killed herself in Zurich with the help of Dignitas, an organisation specialising in assisting suicide (read obituary). Assisting a person to commit suicide is illegal in the UK, though there have […]

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Siddharta Yadav on changing perceptions of HIV/AIDS

There is a famous proverb in Nepali which says we learn something either by reading about it or by facing it. I prefer the latter because of the everlasting impression that “facing something” leaves, in contrast to the hazy-sketchy memories of reading. I have been reading about HIV and AIDS since my first year in […]

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Juliet Walker: BMJ in the news

The media has picked up on two research papers and a linked editorial, published this week, which address postnatal depression and how it can be treated without taking antidepressants. The studies show that the support of health visitors and other women who have experienced postnatal depression can help new mothers deal effectively with the condition. […]

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Elizabeth Loder on academic-industry interactions

It was a Boston day so cold that my morning assortment of emails included a message suggesting that hospital employees should be on the lookout for indoor puddles that might indicate frozen, burst water pipes. As I walked across the medical school campus towards the Tosteson Medical Education Center, I did not anticipate that this […]

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Mark Clarfield on children in the crossfire

Two days ago a terrible tragedy occurred in Gaza and the day before that in Israel – both involving innocent children. In Gaza, an errant tank shell hit the building in which 55 year old gynecologist Ezeldeen Abu-alaish and his children where residing. Three of his daughters were killed outright and a number of others […]

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