August 15th, 2011 by admin in Health Tips, Opinion
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“Bueno es saber que los vasos
nos sirven para beber;
lo malo es que no sabemos
para qué sirve la sed”.
Proverbios y cantares.XLI. Antonio Machado
(‘It’s good to know that glasses
are what can help us drink;
The trouble is, we don’t know
What is the purpose of thirst’)
The one thing you can’t afford to have missing when you start a scientific congress or any other professional meeting is not a notepad, a pencil or even an iPad – nowadays, it’s a bottle of water. Offices, airports, handbags and lecture halls, all of them are bursting with all kinds of bottles. It seems they are essential to work and even to stay alive.
Bordering nonsense, some people desperately search for a bottled water vending machine as soon as they arrive at the airport, even if that means gobbling it down in a minute before walking through the security checkpoints.
It is now a common belief that continously drinking water (6 to 8 glasses a day according to NHS, at least two litres -half a gallon- according to other sources) is the healthy thing to do. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Diario Medico*
July 2nd, 2011 by Happy Hospitalist in Health Policy, Opinion
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Over the last few years, you may have heard a lot about the value of checklists in ICU medicine and their ability to reduce mortality, reduce cost and reduce length of stay. But a recent study took the concept one step further and suggested that checklists by themselves may not be effective unless physicians are prompted to act on the checklist.
As reported in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Journal, a single site cohort study performed at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine’s medical intensive care unit compared two rounding groups of physicians. One group was prompted to use the checklist. The other group of physicians had access to the checklist but were not prompted to use it.
What they found was shocking. Both groups had access to the checklist. However, patients followed by physicians who were prompted to use the checklist had Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at The Happy Hospitalist*
August 15th, 2010 by Steven Roy Daviss, M.D. in Better Health Network, Humor, Opinion, True Stories
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By Dr. ClinkShrink
I took my car in to the shop last week to visit his Car Momma. I’ve been going to this garage for years and I know most of the mechanics. I’ve run into Car Momma at the hair salon with her head wrapped in a towel. I’ve heard about her son, his school activities and her home renovation projects. She’s heard about my vacations and seen my climbing pictures. I’ve always been on a first name basis with the people I know there.
This time, I had to leave the car and get a rental. I left a voice message with the rental desk and when the rental guy called me back at work I answered the phone with my usual “Dr. ClinkShrink.” Now, my garage knows what I do for a living, and it’s just never been an issue or really even a topic of conversation once the novelty wore off. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Shrink Rap*
June 23rd, 2010 by Happy Hospitalist in Better Health Network, Health Policy, Opinion
1 Comment »
The future of American healthcare will not value physician education. Perhaps it’s time to abandon the medical school model and train millions of nurses instead at a fraction of the cost. This comment was left on my blog over at NP=MD:
I don’t even compare NPs and MDs. Their models differ. One is not better than the other. The schooling — minus the residency — is nearly equivalent in terms of time spent. The problem is that NPs don’t get a long enough residency. If you take a NP and a MD, both with 20 years clinical experience, the MD does not know more than the NP. Sure, he had a few extra classes 20 years ago — which he doesn’t remember — but that’s about it.
NPs aren’t trying to steal MDs’ meal tickets, they’re attempting to better serve patients. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at The Happy Hospitalist*
May 14th, 2010 by KevinMD in Better Health Network, Humor, Medical Art, Opinion
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What awaits some physicians who decide to quit medicine:
Source: A Cartoon Guide to Becoming a Doctor
*This blog post was originally published at KevinMD.com*