We all very much want to believe that aspirin can prevent pre-eclampsia, but since the first positive trial arguments have bounced back and forth. […]
Lancet 26 May 2006
Doctor of the Week: Erasmus Darwin
To millions of Americans today, the name of Darwin is taboo, associated with disbelief in the Word of God and its teaching of Creation. Oddly enough, this was the case in England even before Charles Darwin had been born. […]
Royal College of Surgeons pulls out of MTAS review
The Royal College of Surgeons has withdrawn from the MTAS review group, chaired by Professor Neil Douglas. Bernard Ribeiro, the college’s president, announced his decision in an open letter to Professor Douglas in which he said that the DH had failed to make adequate transitional arrangements for “a large number of well-trained, experienced and committed […]
Remedy UK loses high court case
Remedy UK’s legal fight against the Department of Health over the Medical Training Application Service (MTAS) came to an end today. The judge hearing the case ruled against Remedy UK’s call for the interviews carried out so far only to count towards temporary appointments, not substantive posts. […]
BMA chairman resigns over MTAS letter
In an unexpected move, the BMA’s chairman Jim Johnson has resigned after a storm of protest at a letter he wrote to The Times supporting the government’s reforms of medical education — and stating that continuing to use the flawed MTAS system for appointing round 1 candidates was the ‘best available solution’. His letter, written with Carol Black, chairman of […]
It’s your call
There’s nothing quite like being interviewed in your pyjamas. Lots of people have emailed, asking for hints and advice about phone interviews. […]
NEJM 17 May 2007 Vol 356
Asthma is a common, variable condition which in the UK is treated largely in primary care. Most adults who suffer from it don’t want to be using continuous treatment, but those with persisting mild asthma are usually solemnly admonished to use a steroid inhaler twice daily. […]
JAMA 16 May 2007 Vol 297
The origins of the English adjective “fit” are obscure, but over the last century it has come to mean “in good physical condition […]
BMJ 19 May 2007 Vol 334
Anyone mapping the patterns of diagnostic thinking in primary care must give a prominent place to the concept of alarm symptoms, often known as “red flags […]
Lancet 19 May 2007 Vol 369
One week after the New England Journal published the two FUTURE studies, The Lancet publishes three trials of a quadrivalent vaccine against human papillomavirus types 6,11, 16 and 18. And it is indeed a case of back to the FUTURE – the vaccine shows protection against new high-grade vulval and vaginal lesions when given before, […]