These days I do not so often have a gauntlet dispatched in my direction, but when one lands at my feet I have an irresistible urge to pick it up. […]
Guest writers
Richard Lehman’s journal review – 7 May 2012
JAMA 25 Apr 2012 Vol 307 1809 Among the many virtues of JAMA, one cannot number a strong sense of the ridiculous. The poetry and medicine section is the world’s […]
Veena Rao on addressing undernutrition in India
My previous blog was about the Indian finance minister’s 2012 budget speech, which marked a significant moment for the much awaited, much required, paradigm shift in the government’s approach to […]
Chris Williams: When will we learn HOW to deliver healthcare?
If I had one thing in healthcare to banish to my room 101, the choice would be easy: waste, inefficiency, and delays. “That’s three things”’ I hear you shout. Yes […]
Rhys Davies: The patient will see you now
It’s that time of year again when exams rear their ugly heads. Not for me though—this year’s exams are long over. Instead, the third years are facing their first OSCEs […]
Gabriel Scally at the World Congress of Public Health
In an attention-grabbing presentation, Paul Walker, of the US affiliate Green Cross International, engrossed delegates at the World Congress of Public Health in Addis Ababa with his skillful exposition of […]
Gabriel Scally: The flying doctors service of East Africa and Sylvia Pankhurst
The Flying Doctors Service of East Africa sounds like an echo from a romantic, and bygone age. But its formation in 1957 was the first step in the creation of […]
John Clark on engaging leadership: hope for the future lies with a new breed of doctors
With a few exceptions, medical students have little, if any, training in management, leadership, and service improvement. Yet from the moment they graduate, doctors require a range of such competencies, […]
Mary Madden: Are medical conferences useful?
In his recent Viewpoint piece [1], John Ioannidis asks whether medical conferences serve any useful purpose other than as carbon-guzzling showcases for opinion leaders and pharma-funded research. He also proposes […]
Andrew Moscrop: Neonatal intensive care, Pakistan
There are five sick babies and only four incubators in the neonatal intensive care unit. What do I do? The infants who get the incubators and the ventilation equipment may […]