August 21st, 2010 by Edwin Leap, M.D. in Better Health Network, Humor, True Stories
Tags: Chest Pain, Demanding Patients, ED, Emergency Department, Emergency Medicine News, Emergency Room, ER, Medical Humor, Medical Staff, Medicine Story, Patient Control, Power of the Patient, Powerful Patients
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Here’s my column in the August edition of Emergency Medicine News. A person who seems powerless may hold an entire emergency room hostage!
Magic Words: ‘I Have Chest Pain’
Propped in her bed, frail and weak, the little grandma sighed. Her complaints were legion: weakness, poor appetite, poor sleep, joint pain, cough, dry mouth. Her daughter, eyes rolling, was trying to balance three reasonable emotions. She desperately wanted to go home and rest after spending the day in the ER. She truly wanted to avoid her mother’s admission to the hospital, and she was, graciously, sympathetic to the physician who brought the bad news.
‘Mrs. Adkins, I know you feel poorly, and I’m sorry. But I have to say, I can’t find any reason to admit you to the hospital. You’re right as rain. Isn’t that great?’
‘You mean, I’ve been here all this time, and had a gallon of blood drawn, and all them x-rays and a CAT scan, and there ain’t nothing wrong? I can’t believe that. I feel terrible.’ When she said the word terrible, she smacked her lips and looked away. She propped her hands on her lap and intertwined them; and she managed a subtle, but expressive, sniffle. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at edwinleap.com*
August 20th, 2010 by Steven Roy Daviss, M.D. in Better Health Network, Health Policy, Humor, News, Opinion, Research, True Stories
Tags: Addiction Medicine, Controlled Substances, Drug Abuse, Drug Control, Herbal Incense, Home Chemists, Homemade Soap, JWH-018, K2, Medical Humor, Methamphetamine, Pharmaceuticals, Poison Control, Pseudoephedrine, Red Devil Lye, Research Labs, Spice, Substance Abuse, Substance Manufacturing, Synthetic Cannabinoid
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By ClinkShrink
There’s always something new, even in the world of substance abuse. Lately I’ve been reading a lot in the media about K2, a synthetic cannabinoid that’s being sold (and outlawed) in many states. It’s commonly mixed with herbal incense and smoked. Nicknamed “spice,” it was originally created by scientists and called JWH-018.
Apparently some states’ poison control centers have been getting calls about it due to the physical symptoms it can cause, specifically palpitations and GI problems. The part of the story that I thought was interesting was the fact that originally only 250 milligrams of the stuff was created, in an “official” research lab, but that home chemists quickly took up the experiment and it’s now a part of our national drug culture. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Shrink Rap*
August 20th, 2010 by Happy Hospitalist in Better Health Network, Humor, Opinion, True Stories
Tags: Biology, Bodily Organs, General Medicine, Healthcare Economics, Heart, How Organs Work, Kidney, Lungs, Medical Humor, Most Important Organ, Organs in the Body, Skin
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My medical student has apparently had a discussion with his classmates regarding which is the most important organ in the body. Is it the heart? The lungs? The kidneys? What do you think?
My medical student thinks it’s the kidney because of the complicated functions it must perform. I think it’s the skin because it holds everything together and keeps our economy going. What do you think? What is the most important organ in the body and why?
*This blog post was originally published at The Happy Hospitalist*
August 17th, 2010 by Berci in Better Health Network, Humor, Medical Art, Opinion
Tags: Becoming a Ph.D., Clinical Genomics, Doctor of Philosophy, Illustrated Guide to the Ph.D., Medical Art, Medical Humor
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I started my Ph.D. in clinical genomics last year and sometimes it really feels like what is shown in this figure. Click HERE for the full series of pictures.
*This blog post was originally published at ScienceRoll*
August 15th, 2010 by Steven Roy Daviss, M.D. in Better Health Network, Humor, Opinion, True Stories
Tags: Being Called "Doctor", Doctor of Medicine, Doctor of Philosophy, Doctor's Personal Story, General Medicine, M.D., Medical Degrees, Medical Humor, Ph.D.
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By Dr. ClinkShrink
I took my car in to the shop last week to visit his Car Momma. I’ve been going to this garage for years and I know most of the mechanics. I’ve run into Car Momma at the hair salon with her head wrapped in a towel. I’ve heard about her son, his school activities and her home renovation projects. She’s heard about my vacations and seen my climbing pictures. I’ve always been on a first name basis with the people I know there.
This time, I had to leave the car and get a rental. I left a voice message with the rental desk and when the rental guy called me back at work I answered the phone with my usual “Dr. ClinkShrink.” Now, my garage knows what I do for a living, and it’s just never been an issue or really even a topic of conversation once the novelty wore off. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Shrink Rap*
