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Food And Pesticides: The Dirty Dozen

Fruits and VegetablesThe Environmental Working Group (EWG) is a non-profit focused on public health. We know that the long-term consequences of eating chemicals from pesticides used on our foods is damaging to our health.

The EWG analyzed data from the FDA and found that people who eat five fruits and vegetables a day from the “Dirty Dozen” are eating 10 pesticides a day. We want people to eat more fruits and vegetables, but NOT to ingest more chemicals. Rinsing reduces but does not eliminate pesticides. So what’s the answer? Rinse completely and buy the “Dirty Dozen” foods organic whenever possible. Read more »

*This blog post was originally published at EverythingHealth*

Good Looks In Medicine: Does It Matter?

Handsome-Mechanic-Now-On-Duty-Sign-AdvertisementI found this sign while driving past a mechanic’s shop the other day. Of course, now I get it. How do women pick their mechanic? This sign explains it all. Just look for the “Handsome Mechanic ‘Now On Duty'” sign. I wonder if it works for doctors, too.

Be honest. If your doctor had exceptionally good-looking physical features by most people’s standards, would you be more likely or less likely to keep him or her as your doctor? Would you be more likely or less likely to think of them as highly intelligent? Would you be more likely or less likely to sue them when something goes wrong?

We know that babies respond to good-looking parents differently even as newborns. So why would we expect adults to respond to handsome mechanics and doctors any differently?

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

Pre-Med Vs. Liberal Arts: “Don’t Know Much Biology”

Study painting, drama or the “soft” social sciences and you’ll probably be a pretty good doctor anyway. Mt. Sinai School of Medicine has been doing it for years and compared students in a special liberal arts admissions program to its traditional pre-med students.

For years, Mt. Sinai has admitted students from Amherst, Brandeis, Princeton, Wesleyan, and Williams colleges based on a written application with personal essays, verbal and math SAT scores, high school and college transcripts, letters of recommendation, and personal interviews. No MCAT is required.

Students need to take one year of biology and one year of chemistry and maintain (swallow hard) a “B” average. They later get an abbreviated course in organic chemistry and medical physics. Read more »

*This blog post was originally published at ACP Internist*

Health Consequences And Ecological Effects Of The Oil Spill

The health consequences of the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico could be really serious and may include cancer, respiratory diseases, and hormonal disruptions. These health effects and the ecological issues are shown on a new infographic. Click on the image for the full version:

*This blog post was originally published at ScienceRoll*

Should Medical School Applications Mention Social Media?

I have a friend actively involved in social health applying for medical school. She reached out to ask me how much should she make of her social media involvement? Will the mention of participation on a SXSW panel or the start of a social community help or hurt her application?

Actually a good question. Some academics, after all, see social media as a waste of time, but many are curious about it.  The really smart ones understand its potential power. So as a medical school applicant you can see how this could work for you or against you.

While initially I thought that positioning yourself as a social health innovator could be something of a liability, I think the potential upside outweighs risk. But like so many things, it’s all in how you set it up. Read more »

*This blog post was originally published at 33 Charts*

Latest Interviews

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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How To Be A Successful Patient: Young Doctors Offer Some Advice

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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