January 30th, 2010 by Dr. Val Jones in True Stories
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Since I finished my residency training, I’ve applied for medical licenses in several states. It has been interesting to see how long it takes different states to process the same credentials. I wanted to give a quick hat tip to Maryland, for being the fastest, lowest hassle state so far. They processed my application in under 4 weeks, accepting my FCVS packet as verification for my medical school, residency training, and USMLE scores. Although the website suggests that the process may take up to 120 days, mine was fewer than 30. Thank you, Maryland Board of Physicians! Job well done.
In my personal hall of shame, however, is the Medical Board of California. I have been waiting since June, 2008 for my license. Yes, it’s been 567+ days. Read more »
January 29th, 2010 by Dr. Val Jones in Announcements, Video
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Thanks to a tip from FOX Business Network, Bill Gates has just announced that his Foundation is doubling its financial support ($10 billion over the next 10 years) to save children from vaccine-preventable illnesses on a global scale. This is very good news, and probably the best use of Gates Foundation money from an ROI perspective in healthcare.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OvAxIQhQU3o
For more information, check out the GAVI Alliance (on Twitter, follow: @)
Another helpful site: Immunization Action Coalition
January 29th, 2010 by Dr. Val Jones in Humor, Research
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Thanks to Harriet Hall, I found this hilarious spoof article from the BMJ which perfectly illustrates why “Evidence-Based Medicine” (EBM) alone is not sufficient for answering medical questions. The abstract perfectly illustrates why randomized controlled trials must be viewed within the context of general scientific knowledge rather than in isolation. The weakness of EBM has been an over-reliance on “methodolatry” – resulting in conclusions made without consideration of prior probability, laws of physics, or plain common sense.
EBM is valuable but not sufficient for drawing accurate conclusions… which is why Steve Novella and the Science Based Medicine team have proposed that our quest for reliable information (upon which to make informed health decisions) should be based on good science rather than EBM alone.
Parachute use to prevent death and major trauma related to gravitational challenge: systematic review of randomised controlled trials
Gordon C S Smith, professor1, Jill P Pell, consultant2
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January 28th, 2010 by Dr. Val Jones in Announcements
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My friends at the American College of Surgeons’ Operation Giving Back have come up with a really smart strategy to collect as much information as possible about surgical cases in Haiti. Thanks to a new data collecting tool, every surgeon who volunteers in Haiti can contribute to this case log. The potential result will be one of the most comprehensive registers of surgical care in a disaster situation. Depending on what we find, I think that this data could make a big difference in preparing surgical responses for future missions.
This is an example of crowd-sourcing at its best.
Here is a summary statement from ACS: Read more »
January 28th, 2010 by Dr. Val Jones in Announcements
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Seed Media Group’s Research Blogging Awards honor the outstanding bloggers who discuss peer-reviewed research. With over 1,000 blogs registered at ResearchBlogging.org and 8,500 posts about peer-reviewed journal articles collected, it is time to recognize the best of the best.
Any blog that discusses peer-reviewed research is eligible for nomination, and the winners will be determined by votes from their peers in the Research Blogging community. All finalists will be highlighted on ResearchBlogging.org, and winners will receive cash prizes totaling $2000.
Here’s how the awards will be chosen: Read more »
