At the Aquatics, the synchronized swimming events have started. I will get myself into trouble with what I say about these, but to me they are sexist, ridiculous and lacking […]
Guest writers
K M Venkat Narayan: Ten barriers to trans-disciplinary science
On August 2 I attended a stimulating and idealistic meeting on Trans-disciplinary Science for Non-communicable Diseases (NCD) and Global Health that was jointly organized by the Young Professionals Chronic Disease Network […]
Richard Smith: An open blog to Prime Minister David Cameron
Dear prime minister, I heard you give an inspiring speech earlier this week about how Britain was “open for business,” particularly in the life sciences. But when I arrived home […]
Olympic volunteer John Davies: Working with athletes
Working so closely to the athletes, you learn and see things that never appear on the TV screen. Tension must be a problem – these people have worked as long and […]
Penny Campling: Thoughts on a healthcare culture—part 2
I recently attended a symposium at the Tavistock Clinic entitled Cultures of Care: Cruelty and Kindness. As the Tavistock is a psychoanalytic institution, there was a lot of focus on […]
Desmond O’Neill: Bicycle helmets and the medical humanities
Emerson may have been right when he wrote that a foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of a small mind, but it always sets my teeth on edge when I see […]
John Davies: Treating casualties at the London 2012 aquatic centre
John Davies is a consultant anaesthetist in Lancaster, who takes part in motorsport as a competitor and as a rally doctor. He is volunteering as part of the Olympic games […]
Pritpal S Tamber: To inform, we need to enable
Last week I witnessed how information can scare the living daylights out of doctors and managers, and made me wonder whether England’s policymakers have any clue about the real world […]
Jeremy Sare: Changes to New Zealand’s drug laws
UK justice secretary Ken Clarke was only expressing a truism about the control of drugs when, last month, he told the Commons home affairs select committee he “frankly conceded that policy […]
Nick Goodwin: Jumping the gun in the telehealth steeplechase?
If the adoption of telehealth were an Olympic sport, it would probably represent the steeplechase—an endurance event with obstacles that do not fall over when hit and with a 3.5 […]