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Expectant Fathers: How To Prepare For A Healthy Baby

Some of the most endearing moments I have witnessed as an obstetrician involved observing men in the labor room. There was the hip Jewish dad from Brooklyn who brought his Anita Baker tape and played it while his wife was in labor. Because she was one of my favorite artists, I was constantly in their room under the guise of watching the fetal monitor, just so that I could listen to the music. Another memorable moment was the dad who cried tears of joy when his wife was returned back to her room after having a c. section. The love and admiration that beamed in his eyes almost tempted me to ask him if he had a friend (this was of course, when I was single). The point is, expectant dads can play a significant role in helping their wives or girlfriends have a healthy baby. Here’s how: Read more »

*This blog post was originally published at Dr. Linda Burke-Galloway*

Vaccines: Top 10 Reasons To Get Your Shots

Vaccines have saved more lives than any other medical intervention in history. They are incredibly safe and effective and are well-tolerated by most people. In the US, the Centers For Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) carefully reviews all reports of adverse reactions that could be associated with vaccines. Over decades of review, they have found that the rate of potential severe reactions is so low that they cannot even calculate a risk.

There are many vaccines available for babies, children, and adults. Please check these vaccine schedules to make sure that you and your family are fully protected from vaccine-preventable diseases. (Or you can ask your doctor/nurse to review your vaccine needs with you in person.)

Vaccines for ages 0-6 click here.

Vaccines for ages 7-18 click here.

Vaccines for adults click here.

In case you have any doubts about the value of protecting yourself from disease, here are my top 10 reasons to get vaccinated: Read more »

Top 10 Most Creative People in Health Care

FastCompany published a list of the top 10 most creative people in healthcare.

1. Melinda Gates, cochair and trustee, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
2. Anthony Atala, director, Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine
3. Jay Parkinson, founder, Hello Health
4. James Heywood, cofounder and chairman, PatientsLikeMe
5. Thomas Frieden, director, Center for Disease Control & Prevention
6. Peter Neupert, vice president of Health Solutions Group, Microsoft
7. Steve Case, founder and CEO, Revolution Health Group
8. Hans Rosling, professor of global health, Karolinska Institute in Sweden
9. Douglas Melton, codirector, Harvard Stem Cell Institute
10. Anne Wojcicki, cofounder, 23andMe

But where are these guys?

Please tell us your tips!

*This blog post was originally published at ScienceRoll*

Heard Around The Blogosphere: Top 10 Quotes Of The Week

Forgive me for not keeping up with my own weekly feature: “heard around the blogosphere.” I’ve been very selfish lately, reading and chuckling to myself without sharing. Let me try to remedy that… Here are my top 10 amusing/noteworthy quotes from around the blogosphere:

1. Dr. Rob: “Santa: I suppose if a guy like me can deliver presents to all of the children of the world without developing a significant budget shortfall, perhaps Obama can deliver quality care for all Americans and save money.  I would suggest he talk to me before he tries, however, because it isn’t as easy as it looks.”

2. Terra Sigillata: “My hiking boots are old enough to go to college.”

3. Edwin Leap: “Disability is not a career choice.”

4. Ten Out of Ten: “At the interdepartmental meeting the surgeon was irritated at all the hospital cafeteria food being fried and suggested offering some healthy entrees.  Turns out they tried that once before but could never sell the healthy stuff.”

5. Respectful Insolence:  And then Carol Alt had to come along. Move over, Jenny and Suzanne, there’s a new model woo-meister in town, and she’s looking to out do you both with her vegan raw food woo after having been totally convinced by–you guessed it!–an anecdote.

6. Scalpel or Sword: “Sometimes, [in the ER] what looks like a quickie really isn’t, so one has to be careful.
PATIENT 1
Chief Complaint: sprained ankle (Great, send them
back!)

Nurses note: pt c/o twisted ankle and vaginal discharge for one week. (Never mind.)

7. Scanman: “Soon, specialists will uniformly be comprised of American medical graduates, while the majority of generalists will be composed of mid-levels and foreign-trained physicians. It’s an interesting demographic glimpse of the future American medical workforce… A new kind of caste/class system where the financially less desirable, menial jobs are relegated to second class citizens.”

8. KevinMD: “Primary care is associated with negative connotations such as bureaucracy, paperwork, and being perceived as the lowest physician on the totem pole. Or as this doctor puts it, “‘PCP’ now seems to be synonymous with overworked, underpaid ‘loser’ who at least by some people’s opinions aren’t carrying their weight.” Taking a tip from marketers, how about re-branding the profession?… “

9. GruntDoc: “C=M.D.  C=75% and that means I know 3 out of 4 diseases, and that ain’t bad.”

10. PearSoup: To pregnant mommy: “Mommy, If there was a fat person contest you would win! Yay!”


Latest Interviews

IDEA Labs: Medical Students Take The Lead In Healthcare Innovation

It’s no secret that doctors are disappointed with the way that the U.S. healthcare system is evolving. Most feel helpless about improving their work conditions or solving technical problems in patient care. Fortunately one young medical student was undeterred by the mountain of disappointment carried by his senior clinician mentors…

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How To Be A Successful Patient: Young Doctors Offer Some Advice

I am proud to be a part of the American Resident Project an initiative that promotes the writing of medical students residents and new physicians as they explore ideas for transforming American health care delivery. I recently had the opportunity to interview three of the writing fellows about how to…

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Latest Book Reviews

Book Review: Is Empathy Learned By Faking It Till It’s Real?

I m often asked to do book reviews on my blog and I rarely agree to them. This is because it takes me a long time to read a book and then if I don t enjoy it I figure the author would rather me remain silent than publish my…

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The Spirit Of The Place: Samuel Shem’s New Book May Depress You

When I was in medical school I read Samuel Shem s House Of God as a right of passage. At the time I found it to be a cynical yet eerily accurate portrayal of the underbelly of academic medicine. I gained comfort from its gallows humor and it made me…

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Eat To Save Your Life: Another Half-True Diet Book

I am hesitant to review diet books because they are so often a tangled mess of fact and fiction. Teasing out their truth from falsehood is about as exhausting as delousing a long-haired elementary school student. However after being approached by the authors’ PR agency with the promise of a…

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