October 18th, 2008 by Dr. Val Jones in Announcements, Humor
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I have been a fan of The Onion for many years. Its authors have mastered the art of news satire, and although they’re often irreverent, they’re equal opportunity lampooners. I always wondered what The Onion’s writers were like in person, and yesterday my wish to know them better came true at the National Press Club.
The writers are “20-30 somethings” with a wicked sense of humor and a healthy dose of self-confidence. They describe themselves as “schlubs” who have many “schlubby” friends. Most got their start working as reporters for small, midwestern newspapers. They dress casually and claim to be paid very little.
Of course, I bounced up to the panel as soon as the event was over and congratulated them on their science reporting and asked them to reveal to me who wrote the spoof article on medical peer review. It’s one of my favorite Onion articles of all-time, as it follows the science paper of a 5th grader (he wrote it about otters) as it undergoes peer scrutiny, shredding and denial for publication. You can read the article here.
Sadly, the panel members denied any memory of the otter article. I countered with my appreciation for their video news “Most Children Strongly Opposed To Children’s Healthcare” and they nodded politely. One writer asked me if I thought their scientific spoof articles were on-target, or if they betrayed their major lack of understanding of science in the first place.
“Well, as you writers well know,” I said, “‘science is hard.’ But you seem to be getting the right messages across. The medical community needs more reports like ‘Fifth Grade Science Paper Doesn’t Stand Up To Peer Review.’ There’s not much to laugh about in healthcare these days.”
I snapped a few photos of the mysterious authors for my fellow Onion fans. Do you have a favorite Onion article or headline?
P.S. When asked why the paper was called The Onion, one of the panelists said that the first team of writers were so poor they ate onion sandwiches to survive (eww), so they named the paper after their food of choice. The company currently employs about 30 people (20 for video production and 10 newspaper writers). Fortunately those present at the event did not seem to have onion breath.
Onion Breath Test
October 17th, 2008 by Dr. Val Jones in Friday Funny
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I’m introducing a new feature to the blog: a weekly cartoon posted every Friday. If you’d like to subscribe to the cartoon feed (perhaps you’d like to feature the weekly cartoon on your website?) please contact john.crotty@getbetterhealth.com
Enjoy your weekly dose of humor from Dr. Val! By the way, what time on Friday should I publish these do you think? I’d appreciate your feedback.
October 17th, 2008 by Dr. Val Jones in Patient Interviews
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Deanna and Rebecca Sherman
As many as 15% of Americans have a blood disorder (called anti-phospholipid antibody syndrome – APS) that can increase their risk for blood clots and stroke. While these antibodies are especially common in people with certain auto-immune diseases like SLE (systemic lupus erethematosis – or “lupus”) quite a few people have them without ever knowing it. In fact, most people with APS remain asymptomatic their entire lives – but for an unlucky few, the disorder can cause devastating consequences.
I interviewed Rebecca Sherman about her recent stroke caused by APS. Listen to the podcast here.
Dr. Val: Tell me about the events leading up to your stroke.
Sherman: I was a young, healthy 32-year-old with no idea that I had anti-phospholipid antibodies in my blood. One morning when I was washing my face at my boyfriend’s house I suddenly noticed that one side of it was frozen. I was standing in front of the bathroom sink and I fell to the floor with the washcloth in my hand. I couldn’t walk or talk – the whole right side of my body didn’t do what I wanted it to do. So I threw the washcloth at my boyfriend’s head (with my left hand). Luckily my aim was good (he was asleep in bed) and the bed was near the door to the bathroom – the cold, wet object caused him to jump out of bed and find me. Read more »
October 16th, 2008 by Dr. Val Jones in Health Policy
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A company called Epocrates – which produces drug, disease, and diagnostic guides for physicians – recently surveyed about 1100 physicians about their health policy and political views. These are the 6 questions they asked, with the results listed in descending order of popularity. I think you’ll find it quite interesting:
1. Who has a better plan for healthcare reform, Senator McCain or Senator Obama?
Obama: 47%
McCain: 30%
Neither: 23%
2. As a medical professional, are concerns about McCain’s age justified?
Yes: 51%
No: 49%
3. What issue or reform would you most like to see the new president tackle?
Read more »
October 16th, 2008 by Dr. Val Jones in Humor
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Warning: a short, explanatory digression preceeds the quote of the day.
In truth, I’ve never been a terribly political person – sure I care about “the issues” but I never really followed politics that closely. Never until I moved to DC. Because here in DC, politics follows YOU. You cannot escape it, you cannot outrun it, and you cannot ignore it. It’s discussed at the local eateries, it’s the driving force behind most social events, and politics (and/or government) is one of the major employers in the district. Escaping politics in DC is like avoiding Broadway on the Manhattan street map. At some point, you’re going to cross it.
So I’ve given in and given up. I’m going to hang with the gang here in as non-partisan a way as any Canadian can muster. You’ll notice occasional posts on policy issues and “inside the beltway” news and conversations in healthcare. I hope that some of you will like that, and the rest will stick with me long enough to get to my next post about important health issues like “flip flop foot” or “conversations at the spa.”
But I have to tell you, these political folks often have a terrific sense of humor. Please enjoy this interesting Q&A between the Archivist of the United States, Allen Weinstein, and conservative author Douglas Brinkley:
Weinstein: If you could choose to go back in time and live in any year in the history of the United States, which year would you choose?
Brinkley: I’d choose this year, 2008.
Weinstein: Why?
Brinkley: Dentistry
