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Creative Cakes For People With Diabetes

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You know when you’re skimming through the newsfeed on Facebook, and something totally grabs your face and says “LOOK AT ME I AM THE AWESOME?”

Yes, that’s precisely what happened when I stumbled upon Faye’s photo of Novolog-inspired cake pops.  (You did read that correctly.  Here, look:)

We're gonna need a bigger bottle.
Photo – and cake pops – by Faye!

Faye has been living with type 1 since the age of 9, and for her 18th diaversary she wanted to make something special and bolus-worthy. Her current obsession has been cake pops (making them and feeding them to her non-d friends, even though I can safely say that some of her d-friends would happily go chompies on one), so when she saw the bright orange candy melts at her local AC Moore, a lightbulb went off – NovoLog cake pops! It was too funny (and ironic) to pass up. It’s a celebration of living with diabetes for 18 years, and it’s also a tribute to the diabetes community and a reminder to find the humor in our journey. Read more »

*This blog post was originally published at Six Until Me.*

New York State Wants To Dictate What Doctors Can Wear

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From AMA Medical News:

New York physicians may have to take off their neckties, jewelry, wristwatches and long-sleeved white coats when caring for patients if a bill under consideration in the state legislature becomes law.

The bill, proposed in April in the state Senate, calls for a “hygienic dress code council” within the New York Health Dept. to consider advancing a ban on neckties and requiring physicians and other health professionals to adopt a “bare below the elbow” dress code in an effort to slash hospital-acquired infections.

Even though there’s no data that this does anything to reduce hospital acquired infections.

But that doesn’t matter.

So why stop there? I say, doctors should do the ultimate for their patients: the Full Monty.

*This blog post was originally published at Dr. Wes*

An Honest Hospital Pin

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I’ve discovered the perfect tool to improve doctor-nurse communication skills.  Let’s see.  Hundreds of nurses.  Dozens of floors.  Day shifts.  Night shifts. This pin pretty much sums it up. Any questions?

*This blog post was originally published at The Happy Hospitalist*

Strange Requests In The Emergency Department: Virginity Testing And More

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As the country wrestles with the cost of health-care, and as various media outlets address the role of emergency departments, I thought this little guide-might be helpful!  I pulled it out of my archives from several years ago.  Enjoy!

All too often, I discharge a patient and think to myself, What instructions can I give for this? Sometimes there are problems and questions that don’t have obvious solutions or answers. And in these situations, coming up with something useful for the patient to read at home is, to say the least, difficult. I’ve come up with a few based on some of the enigmas I see at Oconee Memorial Hospital.

Virginity evaluation: The emergency physician has not determined the status of your daughter’s virginity. In fact, the emergency physician does not wish to know the status of your daughter’s virginity. Furthermore, this doesn’t constitute an emergency. Unfortunately, no one has so far developed any simple home kits for making this determination. If you do, please notify the emergency department so that we can refer other families to your product. If you wish to know more about your daughter’s sexuality, try talking to her. If you found her naked in bed with a boy, you don’t need us.

Drug use evaluation: The emergency physician has not performed a random drug test on your teenage son. He has no complaints, is not suicidal, and has no apparent medical problem. This is not a family counseling center. If you want to know if he is using drugs, talk to him. Admittedly, he is a surly, unpleasant, disheveled, and foul-mouthed young man, whose multiple piercings make him look like a Stone Age erector set. But finding out if he is using drugs simply doesn’t constitute what we like to call an emergency. If he isn’t using drugs, be certain that repeated trips to the emergency department accompanied by screaming parents will certainly give him good reason to start.

Whole body numbness: It simply isn’t possible to be awake, walking, talking, and functioning and be entirely numb from head to toe. Admittedly, your ability to overcome the sensation of sharp needles and other painful stimuli is impressive, and may herald a future career with the CIA. For now, however, our physician has determined that the one thing likely to be numb on your person is your skull. Read more »

*This blog post was originally published at edwinleap.com*

Kudos To The CDC For Creative Health Messaging: The Zombie Project

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This is good.  I knew the CDC was socially tuned-in but this came as a surprise:  Preparedness 101: Zombie Apocalypse .  It’s every American’s guide to dealing with a zombie attack.  You come thinking zombies but take away principles for emergency preparedness.  Well done, CDC.

The real take away for those of us looking under the hood: effective health messaging should be creative and fun.  While we’ll never be able to measure the true effectiveness of this approach in an emergency, expect the post’s massive traffic to convert important links on emergency preparedness.  Hopefully the CDC will release stats on the effectiveness of this campaign.

I’d like to write more, but I’m goin’ to make my kit.

*This blog post was originally published at 33 Charts*

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