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Same Sex Vs. Opposite Sex: What’s The Rule On Friendship?

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I’m stealing a post from Jay at Two Women Blogging entitled “Was Harry Right?” Here’s their post, and I discuss it below:

Was Harry Right?

Bluemilk got me started thinking about this. I first heard Harry’s thesis advanced by the resident I worked with on my med school psych rotation. She assured me that while I might think I had platonic friendships with men, the men didn’t see it that way. I was pretty sure they did see it that way. I wasn’t naive, I was engaged to be married and had done my share of dating and flirting — I knew what it felt like when a man was interested in me sexually and I knew the difference. I still know the difference, and I still have men friends. For most of my life, my closest friends have been men. Read more »

*This blog post was originally published at Shrink Rap*

The Beauty Of Life And Death, Too Easily Forgotten

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Yesterday I had a university student shadowing me in the emergency department. AF is a bright student, a hard worker who will make a wonderful physician. She is always curious and insightful when I ask her questions, or show her new things. Today,  she saw something that was new for her, but perhaps too common for me.

I walked into the room of an infirm, frail old gentleman who was gracious and polite, as was his family. It turns out he came to us with a terminal illness. I did not know it, but his physician was meeting him. So, as AF and I walked into the room, the patient’s physician walked in after us, and continued a conversation about hospice that he had apparently begun earlier in the day.

Realizing I had nothing to add, and would not be needed, I slipped away with my shadow behind. She looked at me, tears welling, and excused herself. Later she returned and explained that when she saw the wife’s wedding band, and knew what hospice meant, she could not restrain her tears. Read more »

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

“Baby On Board” A Motorcycle?

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Sidecar babyseatI’m at work the other day when I saw this great-looking motorcycle with a sidecar parked on the street. It looked like something out of one of those old James Bond movies. I thought it was pretty cool.

Upon closer inspection, Mrs. Happy noticed the sidecar was equipped with a babyseat inside. I don’t know about that. What do you think? Should a baby be carted around the city streets and countryside in the sidecar of a motorcycle while Mom and Pop bond with Mother Nature?

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

“Action” Movie Of A Different Sort

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Living In EmergencyFeeling sorry for yourself after a long, hot week of cranky patients and insurance hassles? Maybe a glimpse of someone else’s practice will make you feel better. Especially if that doctor is alone in war-torn Africa, treating vast numbers of patients without sufficient equipment and supplies.

The new film “Living in Emergency: Stories of Doctors Without Borders” is not a fun summer flick, but it’s a fascinating portrait of the work done by Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF)/Doctors Without Borders. The film follows several volunteers (some new, some veteran) through their stints practicing in dramatically underserved and sometimes dangerous areas.

Although the film does seem to be intended to garner support for MSF, it gives a surprisingly-nuanced picture of the organization and its members, revealing their flaws (lots of arguments and cigarettes) as well as their heroics. You might want to leave the popcorn and the kids at home, though, as some of the clinical footage is a little grisly.

*This blog post was originally published at ACP Internist*

Unease About Blogging And Social Media In Medicine

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Although it happened a few weeks ago, I only recently learned of the “retirement” of the blog called “Medic999” by EMS social media superstar Mark Glencourse who works in the United Kingdom. I only learned of Mark and his blog (which was recognized as the 2009 Fire/EMS Blog of the Year) in the past few months in association with the hugely popular Chronicles of EMS project (see the first episode on video here).

In stating why he was stopping his blog, unfortunately, I find similar thoughts being shared by the medical colleagues I know about why people either stop blogging or don’t ever start in the first place:

I find it a shame that the reason for this blog ending is the general lack of understanding of blogging and social media. I feel that I have promoted best practice, shared my passion for the job that I do, and hopefully have shown all readers what it is that makes EMS and those that devote their lives to it so special.

However, there still remains a general unease about social media and blogging in the health service. Read more »

*This blog post was originally published at Doctor Anonymous*

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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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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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