Hetty Ockrim qualified in medicine in 1943, and after a short spell as a general practitioner in a mining community in wartime Blantyre and some hospital experience in obstetrics, she […]
Guest writers
Adam Smith: The life and legacy of oncology PROMs
Since the 1980s, patient reported outcomes measures (PROMs) have been incorporated in cancer clinical trials providing invaluable information about symptoms, functioning, and quality of life from the patients’ perspective. In […]
Marika Davies: Virtual ethics—could 3D avatars help prepare doctors to deal with ethical dilemmas?
The news that virtual reality is making a comeback is likely to meet with a mixed reception in the world of medical education. Concerns were recently raised that simulation should […]
Neel Sharma: Validation in medical education—from classroom to curriculum
In clinical research there is typically a transition from cell based analysis, animal work, and human involvement before any form of intervention, be it diagnostic or treatment based, is deemed valid […]
Katherine Sleeman: Assisted dying is about more than autonomy
Last month, Jeffrey Spector, a business man from Lancashire, travelled to Switzerland to receive assistance to die. He had been diagnosed six years earlier with an inoperable spinal tumour, which […]
Michel Kazatchkine: Tuberculosis and poverty in Europe
After recently returning from a ministerial conference on tuberculosis (TB) and multi-drug resistant TB held on the initiative of the Latvian Presidency of the European Union, I am encouraged that […]
Jyoti Shah: How can we address sexism in medicine?
A blog to expose some of the worst examples of sexism in Hollywood has become an enormous hit simply due to the incredible number of contributions; all remaining anonymous because […]
Gillian MacDougall: Why I support a change in the law on assisted suicide
I have been a supporter of legalising assisted dying since the late Margo MacDonald first proposed a change of the law in Scotland in 2010. When the revised bill (Assisted […]
Neel Sharma: Reforms in medical education—are we missing something?
Medical education has seen significant change over the past decade and more. Advances in teaching, learning, and assessment strategies are vast. The didactic lecture form of teaching is no longer […]
Pallavi Bradshaw: Should employers have access to employees medical records?
Flying has become an integral part of modern life, whether for pleasure or business. I have never been a nervous flyer although I would be lying if I said that […]