August 9th, 2008 by Dr. Val Jones in Medblogger Shout Outs
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What have doctors been witness to this week? Here are my top 10 choice tidbits:
Welcome to the wild world of medicine.This post originally appeared on Dr. Val’s blog at RevolutionHealth.com.
August 8th, 2008 by Dr. Val Jones in News
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Thanks to Dr. Deb for highlighting two interesting psychology research studies which offer new insight into lie detection. The first was conducted at my undergraduate alma mater, Dalhousie University, in Nova Scotia. After analyzing 697 videos of people reacting to emotion-evoking photos, researchers concluded that study subjects who tried to modify the natural response to a cute or alarming photo still retained flickers of the real emotion in their facial expressions. These “microexpressions” were identifiable by computer analysis of facial muscles, and may support the development of a new type of lie detector – a digital, facial expression analyzer.
The second research study found that people are less accurate in recounting false stories backwards than they are at describing a reverse chronology of true events. In other words, discerning truth from error may be as simple as asking someone to tell you what happened beginning at the end and working backwards. If they have a really difficult time keeping the facts straight – they are more likely be falsifying the information.
I don’t know if either of these lie detecting approaches (analyzing microexpressions or backwards story telling) will work on sociopaths and exceptionally good liars. But for the garden-variety fibber, they may just work.This post originally appeared on Dr. Val’s blog at RevolutionHealth.com.
August 7th, 2008 by Dr. Val Jones in Uncategorized
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My personal physician, Dr. Alan Dappen, will be interviewed tonight at the Doctor Anonymous show. The topic? A new model of medical practice – something I like to call “concierge medicine for the masses” because most people can afford it and they get first-rate treatment.
Sound too good to be true? Then ask him how he does it! The show starts at 10pm EDT tonight, August 7th. Hope to see you in the chat room…
Many thanks to Maggie Mahar who covered my recent interview with Alan here. I hope she’ll join the call!
Click here to listen to the podcast.
This post originally appeared on Dr. Val’s blog at RevolutionHealth.com.
August 7th, 2008 by Dr. Val Jones in Uncategorized
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For those of you unfamiliar with “Change of Shift,” it’s a regular summary of the best of the nursing blogs. This week it’s hosted by Kim at Emergiblog (she has a terrific blog that I’ve linked to in my blogroll). Please check it out!
Grand Rounds is the weekly summary of the best of the medical blogs. This week it’s hosted by Pure Pedantry. Please check it out!
This post originally appeared on Dr. Val’s blog at RevolutionHealth.com.
August 5th, 2008 by Dr. Val Jones in News
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Thanks to my friend Jen for highlighting this unusual “health story.” Apparently a type of fish (called “doctor fish” – not sure how I feel about that) found in Turkish hot springs thrive on dead human skin. They’ve been used in the past to treat psoriasis, a condition that produces skin cell overgrowth. And now, an enterprising salon has imported these fish to nibble off dead skin found on pedicure seekers’ feet.
Images of the movie “Piranha” came to mind for me until I read the fine print – these fish have no teeth, but use a kind of suction action to feed. Also, the silvery creatures are the size of minnows.
Some clients say that the process tickles, and it feels as if their feet are being “kissed” by hundreds of fishies. The salon owners claim that the fish have doubled in size since they were first unleashed on American spa-goers.
I suppose this is an “organic” way to live in a symbiotic relationship with nature’s creatures – but as a physician, I can only imagine all the potential fungus and wart viruses thriving in the warm fishy waters. [Shudder]
I’m going to stick with my pumice stone.
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You may also like: “Flip Flop Foot” and “Conversations at the Spa“This post originally appeared on Dr. Val’s blog at RevolutionHealth.com.
