A few weeks ago, I returned to the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Lisbon—the medical school from where I graduated ten years ago. The reason was to participate […]
Columnists
William Cayley: About what are we being precise?
I’ve been too swamped with the day to day realities of teaching, patient care, and just plain real life lately to be very reflective, but Zackary Berger and Dave deBronkart finally […]
Richard Smith: “Flat of the curve” healthcare
Alain Enthoven, an economist and inventor of the internal market, described “flat of the curve” healthcare where increased expenditure on healthcare produces no further benefit. Are we at that point […]
Jeffrey Aronson: When I use a word . . . Rough breathing
Exploring the English phonemes, I have reached the unvoiced labiodental fricative f. When consonantal shift changes p, the unvoiced bilabial plosive, into f, a breath becomes a sneeze, even though […]
Billy Boland: Psychiatry is full of story
I had a minor revelation at the weekend whilst talking about why I became a psychiatrist. It’s one of the careers that never fails to excite further questions when you’re […]
Richard Smith: Will health become more like education or education more like health in the UK?
Uwe Reinhardt, the world’s funniest health economist, says that eventually all health systems will be the same: whatever they want for the rich; an insurance based system for the majority; […]
Jeffrey Aronson: When I use a word . . . Pecksniffery
“While you’re here, Doc,” said Pat, “would you mind looking at Pat Junior?” It turned out to be a simple upper respiratory tract infection. I recommended something for symptomatic relief. […]
Des O’Neill: Flights of Imagination—Birdman and Still Alice
Birdman, one of the most riotously entertaining yet serious movies of the last decade, deservedly won a clutch of Oscars. Dealing with ageing, the fear of irrelevance, and the nature […]
Neal Maskrey: Words matter
Me and mine all like Claire. She’s talented, works hard, and recently took a big chance going self-employed. It seems to be paying off. We chatted about her imminent holiday, […]
Neville Goodman: Morale is always at rock bottom
We all know that blood pressure is a continuous variable. We measure it with a sphygmomanometer and, within the limits of measurement and its extreme range, blood pressure can be […]