Richard Smith: A day of wisdom, song, dance, and bonding in Bangladesh

Bangladeshis love to sing, dance, make music, recite poetry, talk, eat, and let off steam. So icddr,b day, the day of what may be the largest  health research institution in a low income country, centres on performance—on a stage erected in the car park. And the two highlights of the day were performances of two […]

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Matt Morgan: The (free) elephant in the burnout room

As an intensive care consultant, the risk of “burnout” is ever present. Everyday, I will deliver devastating news to families when they least expect it. I will often make life changing decisions with limited information in a time critical manner. I will have passionate debates with other medical specialties over what is best for patients. […]

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People, paint, and power: Enhancing working environments and staff wellbeing

“Art washes from the soul the dust of everyday life.” ~ Pablo Picasso Working within the NHS it is easy to find oneself questioning whether our clinical work spaces reflect their vital therapeutic role. Too often our working environments are cold, harsh, and uninspiring. Nowhere more so was this the case than the junior doctor […]

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Liz Wager: How much of a conflict of interest is too much for a peer reviewer?

One of the conundrums of peer review is that reviewers need to be knowledgeable about the research being reported but shouldn’t have conflicts of interest. The trouble is that the best-qualified people are often too closely connected to either the research or the authors. This problem is amplified in small research fields and for journals […]

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