June 5th, 2011 by Edwin Leap, M.D. in Opinion
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This is my column in June’s EM News.
‘But you’re a rich doctor, right?’ Have you had that conversation? There’s a certain expectation of physicians, that we’re all just filthy rich, overflowing with boxes of cash tucked neatly away beneath our gilded beds.
When we were building our house, our builder talked with my wife: ‘Jan, I want you to meet me to look for counters and cabinets. Don’t bathe the kids. Put them in dirty play clothes and don’t wear anything nice. Don’t ever tell them your husband is a doctor.’ He’s a wise man. What he knew was that the word ‘doctor’ means ‘cash.’ Or at least, means ‘cash’ to the popular mind.
I wonder if this perception is the reason patients come to the emergency department and say things like this: ‘I don’t have any money to go to the dentist, so I came here.’ It’s the belief that we come to our jobs already in possession of large amounts of money. Granted, there are some physicians who come from wealthy families. The majority, however, do not. And no one does that to any other professional. ‘I’d like a house built to order, and I know you’re a rich contractor. I can’t pay you, so get to work! Or else I’ll sue!’
Nevertheless, from patients to insurers, real-estate agents to contractors, attorneys to government and hospital officials, the belief is straightforward. MD means ‘Mucho Denaro.’ Witness the hospital in Pennsylvania that recently began Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at edwinleap.com*
June 5th, 2011 by CodeBlog in Expert Interviews
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Ready to learn more about nurses who work beyond the bedside? Nurses who work in the Cardiac Catheterization Lab (CCL) play an important role in cardiac care. Amy Sellers, RN BSN CCRN CSC CMC blogs at Nursing Influence and graciously agreed to give us a peek at what a nurse is responsible for doing in the CCL.
Amy has worked in the Cath Lab for about 6 months now. She previously worked in CVICU for almost 5 years before deciding that she needed a new challenge. She is paid hourly and works three 12 hour shifts per week (all daytime Mon-Fri) with lots of opportunities for overtime and call shifts.
A cath lab is an area of the hospital that uses fluoroscopy and contrast dye to check for narrowing/blockages in arteries or veins in the body. Using special equipment, they are able to perform angioplasty (open the arteries with a balloon), place stents, insert IVC filters (a filter that is inserted into a large vein which prevents blood clots that form in the leg from getting to the lungs) as well as inserting pacemakers/ICDs. ICDs are Implantable Cardiac Defibrillators. They detect if a patient’s heart goes into a lethal rhythm and provides a shock to the heart if necessary to get it beating correctly again.
What do you do all day? Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at code blog - tales of a nurse*
June 4th, 2011 by ChristopherChangMD in Health Tips, Opinion
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Without going into TOO much detail of how I know this… I have personally observed that the TRIA Laser Home Removal System
does work after observing its use and its effects over a 6 month period of time. And before anybody asks… no… I was not paid to write this nor did I get a free one to try. Rather, someone I am close to bought it off Amazon.com and I was a skeptic on-looker.
In any case, the caveat being that I know it works (admittedly anecdotal) as long as the hair is dark (ideally black or brown) on very light colored skin (ideally white).
The way laser hair removal works is Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Fauquier ENT Blog*
June 4th, 2011 by DeborahSchwarzRPA in News
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New York Times article highlights transplant donor and recipients at New York-Presbyterian Hospital
UK NHS Organ Donation Checkbox
As organ transplantation has advanced and improved in recent decades, more and more patients’ lives are saved every year. But the most pressing problem in organ transplantation has yet to be solved: the shortage of donor organs available to the thousands of people waiting on lists for a new kidney, liver, lung, heart, or other organ. People who intend to donate may not indicate their wishes to family members before their death, or families are reluctant to make that decision in the midst of profound grief and loss. For others, donating an organ was just never something they knew much about or even considered.
When they do choose to donate a loved one’s organs, families usually remain anonymous, as do those whose lives they save. Perhaps that is why articles like the one in the New York Times on May 16, 2011, touch and inspire readers so deeply. This version of an increasingly common story captures the essential soul-searching, as well as the profound gratitude, hope, and solace, that marked the meeting of Mirtala Garcia and the people who received her husband’s organs. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Columbia University Department of Surgery Blog*
June 4th, 2011 by Berci in Opinion, Video
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My old friend and mentor, Ves Dimov, MD at Clinical Cases and Images shared some great instructions about how to start using social media as medical professionals.
– Start on Twitter, expand to a blog as natural progression.
– Input your blog posts automatically to a Facebook like/fan page.
– Listen to the leading physicians, nurses and patients’ voices on Twitter, and reply.
– Comment on blogs.
– Do not be afraid to share your expertise.
– Comply with HIPAA and common sense.
Also here is what Ves thinks about using Twitter.
I have published a series of similar entries on my Medicine 2.0 page.
*This blog post was originally published at ScienceRoll*
