Andrew Griffith's Blog, page 26
October 27, 2012
The Doctor as Patient – Sunrise Rounds | Sunrise Rounds
More on doctors from Sunrise Rounds treating family and friends and the risks involved (see earlier post Why doctors shouldn’t treat their family and friends). Again, one of the main risks relates to the affective fallacy, and how that may cloud a doctor’s judgement. However, people being people, it is somewhat natural for related doctors and patients [...]
Humility and humanity is required of us to best respect our patients
Although the author could have developed further this piece on how to equip medical students and doctors to cope with the emotional pressures of working with patients and their families, it does capture the challenge of providing dispassionate advice with empathy. Quote: “Turmoil.” The advice that is generally given, by those in medical school, courses [...]
Is the Standard of Care Good Enough for You? | Journal of Participatory Medicine
While it is hard for patients to evaluate relative levels of expertise of medical and health care, there have been a number of rating systems developed that may help provide guidance. Interestingly, this post tends towards evaluation by reputation and word-of-mouth, rather than more objective measures like outcomes. See earlier post An Ounce of Evidence. Evaluating [...]
October 26, 2012
Life, Interrupted: Changed by Cancer – NYTimes.com
Nice piece by Suleika Jaouad on how cancer forced her to focus on the now, not the long-term ‘big picture’. Also has video of her speech and story at a cancer fundraiser. Favourite quote and well said: I bristle when the word “gift” is used in the same sentence as “cancer.” There is no upside [...]
Laughter as a Form of Exercise – NYTimes.com
Not only intriguing from the common aspects of laughter and exercise, some interesting observations about how the beneficial impact increases in group situations. Quote: Why the interplay of endorphins and laughing should be of interest to those of us who exercise may not be immediately obvious. But as Dr. Dunbar points out, what happens during [...]
Preparing for your doctor’s visit: 10 things to always bring
Not a bad list. Should one be a regular patient, some of these are not needed. The last two are coping strategies for the inevitable waiting (patient as being patient). A medical card or history Changes to your medical record. Your medications. A list of alternative therapies. A journal of your symptoms. A list of [...]
Millions May Be Taking Vitamin D Unnecessarily, Analysis Suggests – MedicineNet
More confusion about vitamin D levels and supplements from a new study. Quote: “The IOM [Institute of Medicine] guidelines are so different than the Endocrine Society’s guidelines that this study will just add to the controversy,” said lead study author Dr. Holly Kramer, an associate professor of medicine at Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood, [...]
Ontario Medical Association accused of demonizing snacks after call for junk food warnings | National Post
A good piece covering the debate over food labelling, initiated by the Ontario Medical Association’s (OMA) recommendation to combat obesity by adopting a similar approach to that used for tobacco products. The label mock-ups make the point. Another variant of the issues raised in Bloomberg’s ‘big gulp’ ban in NYC, and expect further such polarized [...]
October 22, 2012
Bone-marrow transplant pioneer E. Donnall Thomas dead at 92 – The Globe and Mail
A name I had not heard of before, but one that I should be grateful to, as E. Donnall Thomas was one of the pioneers in bone marrow and stem cell transplants, starting in the 1960s and 1970s. He practised at Seattle’s Fred Hutchison Cancer Research Centre. Some good obits below. Quote: “He was brilliant, [...]
Curbing the Enthusiasm on Daily Multivitamins – NYTimes.com
Some notes of caution on the recent study showed multivitamins had a minor but positive effect in reducing certain cancer rates among men (Multivitamins modestly lower risk of cancer in middle-aged and older men, study finds). Quote: Generally speaking, people who take vitamins are a relatively healthy bunch to begin with, experts say. They tend [...]
