June 30th, 2011 by Bryan Vartabedian, M.D. in Opinion
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There’s a temptation to think of Twitter as it once was. As recently as 3 years ago there were very few physicians using Twitter. Early physician adopters enjoyed a tighter experience than today. Everyone followed everyone and actually finding another doctor was cause for celebration. It was a cocktail party – less a tool as much as a place to goof off. It was easier in many respects.
But Twitter seems to be evolving from a curious toy to a more focused space of sharing among the like-minded. I see new docs play out this broader evolution of Twitter: near obsessive early preoccupation gives way to the question of how it can actually work for them. Experimentation with relationships gives way to connections that are more likely to give us what we really need.
We’ve hit a point where many physicians on Twitter are looking beyond the cocktail party. There are simply too many of us. As a consequence of nothing other than our numbers, we’re increasingly divergent. Values, interests, and motivations vary – we gravitate to the like-minded. In some respects Twitter’s evolving practicality is a good thing. But it comes with a cost. I don’t know how and if it can be countered.
As much as Twitter is different now compared to 3 years ago, don’t get used to it. Things never stay the same.
*This blog post was originally published at 33 Charts*
June 30th, 2011 by Paul Auerbach, M.D. in Health Tips
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My 86 year-old mother, who is generally in good health, slipped and fell recently and suffered a fractured femur. She was unfortunate to have suffered the accident, but had the good fortune to be discovered quickly, treated promptly and well by the paramedics who responded to her, and then to have a swift and skillful operation by an orthopedic surgeon to repair the fracture. Almost miraculously, she was standing upright (with a considerable amount of pain) the next day and had begun the rehabilitation process.
At her age—indeed at any age—a fractured femur is a very significant injury. This past year, I have learned of friends and others who have suffered falls and broken their legs, ankles, or backs, as well as others who suffered “pathological fractures.” The latter group had the bones break from normal daily stresses, without a traumatic incident, because the bones were weak and/or osteoporotic. More than a few of these injuries occurred outdoors, associated with stumbles on the trail or falls.
All of this highlights features of an excellent review article that was published this past year in the New England Journal of Medicine. Authored by Murray Favus, MD, it is entitled “Biphosphonates for Osteoporosis” (New England Journal of Medicine 2010;363:2027-35). Anyone who is contemplating taking or administering this therapy would benefit from reading this article. Read more »
This post, Osteoporosis Treatment With Bisphosphonates: Is Exercise Good Or Dangerous?, was originally published on
Healthine.com by Paul Auerbach, M.D..
June 29th, 2011 by Dinah Miller, M.D. in Health Tips
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For those who don’t follow the comment sections of posts, there have been commenters who have been telling us about the awful experiences they have had as psychiatric patients. In particular (but not exclusively) as hospital inpatients. Commenters have used terms like “abuse” and “humiliation” and describe awful scenarios. One person asked why the mean nurses don’t get fired, everyone knows they are mean including the staff. Others throw the baby out with the bath water, one bad experience. There is implication by at least one commenter that he/she would rather die (presumably permanently) rather than face a day on a psych unit again. The suffering in these posts is palpable.
To those who feel better after leaving comments on Shrink Rap, by all means, feel free to continue, but this will not change the world. May I put in a request? If you’ve had an awful experience as a patient on a psychiatric unit, please tell the hospital. One commenter said she (/he?) complained to the hospital administration and heard that some changes were made. My thoughts? You Go Girl! (If the commenter was a male, I’m at a loss. Way to Go, Joe! perhaps?) Complain, it can’t hurt.
Oh, you say, no one listens to psychiatric patients, they just say we’re crazy so they don’t have to listen. For an isolated complaint, you may be right, Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Shrink Rap*
June 29th, 2011 by Edwin Leap, M.D. in Humor, True Stories
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A physician friend of mine recently bragged that, while driving along a rural South Carolina road, he had stopped, chased a timber-rattler into the bushes, located said rattler, then urinated on it.
‘I wanted to say I had peed on a rattlesnake!’ He beat a hasty retreat (and I imagine a hasty zip-up) when the snake rattled and struck at the air. Who can blame Mr. Snake?
You can take the redneck to medical school, but you’ll just get a redneck with a medical degree.
Which brings me to me. I have to work on our tool-shed/work-shop in the morning. The tool-shed/work-shop is, however, over-run with red-wasps. I counted no less than ten nests inside. These are irritable, contentious creatures with no love of humanity. If they were humans, they would be Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at edwinleap.com*
June 29th, 2011 by Mark Crislip, M.D. in Health Tips, Research
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At home the kids’ current TV show of choice is How I Met Your Mother, supplanting Scrubs as the veg out show in the evening. Both shows are always on a cable channel somewhere and are often broadcast late at night. Late night commercials can be curious, and as I work on projects, I watch the shows and commercials out of the corner of my eye.
Law firms trolling for business seem common. If you or a family member has had a serious stroke, heart attack or death from Avandia, call now. The non-serious deaths? I suppose do not bother. One ad in particular caught my eye: anyone who developed ulcerative colitis or Crohn’s disease (collectively referred to inflammatory bowel disease, or IBD) after using Accutane, call now. Millions have been awarded.
My eye may have been caught because of my new progressive lenses, but I will admit to an interest in inflammatory bowel disease, having had ulcerative colitis for years until I took the steel cure. It also piqued my interest as these were three conditions among which I could not seen any connections. Accutane, ulcerative colitis, and Crohn’s. One of these is not like the other. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Science-Based Medicine*
