I was terrified. It was my first night shift with the prefix “Dr.” proudly adorned before my name, and though I’d feigned a confident start as I’d strapped the on-call […]
Year: 2020
Shazad Amin: The Prevent policy has no place in modern healthcare
Prevent is part of the UK Government’s counter-terrorism strategy, and in 2015 it imposed a statutory duty for public sector employees to have “due regard to the need to prevent […]
The conception of the PRISMA-DTA explanation, elaboration, and checklist document
During the first months of my master’s [epidemiology and public health] programme, I joined the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Diagnostic Test Accuracy studies (PRISMA-DTA) group […]
When does unexpected weight loss warrant cancer investigation?
Researching whether there is an association between weight loss and cancer may seem like investigating the obvious. But with so many possible causes, which patient with weight loss warrants invasive cancer […]
Mary Higgins: Reflections can be quite painful to complete, but in that pain comes real learning
Pre-covid, Thursdays were academic days for me, where mid-afternoon I would often wander down to academic midwifery colleagues for a gentle gossip and check in. Each time I would pass […]
The devastating impact of covid-19 on social care in England
England has emerged from the first phase of the covid-19 pandemic with one of the highest excess death tolls in Europe, and scrutiny is now falling on the government’s response […]
Olivia Hoffmann: A night on the “johnny van” changed my perceptions of sex work
A social accountability placement gave Olivia Hoffmann the opportunity to challenge her preconceptions and learn the importance of empathy, preserving your compassion, and connecting with the people who need you […]
Clinical communication with families in the age of covid-19: a challenge for critical care teams
The admission of a critically ill patient to an intensive care unit (ICU) is a distressing event for the patient, their family and friends, which has been amplified by the […]
Covid-19 pandemic: implications of school closures on children in India
The ongoing covid-19 pandemic has received the world’s attention. The pandemic has brought India, a country of over a billion people, to halt. In India, multiple states and school districts […]
Richard Smith: The faults and dangers of an iatrocracy
The first thing that struck Bernard-Henri Lévy, arguably France’s leading public intellectual, about the covid-19 pandemic was the rise of “medical power.” In his short, enjoyable, and provocative book The […]