Compassion fatigue—also known as vicarious traumatisation results in a gradual reduction in compassion over time. It is more common in those dealing with trauma or caring for close relatives (1). […]
Latest articles
Nick Hopkinson: Saving the NHS—a lesson from Carthage
Cato the Elder is said to have concluded every speech he made in the Roman Senate, regardless of the topic, with “Delenda est Carthago”—Carthage must be destroyed. In answering the […]
Health apps and how to evaluate them: Review of the PHE 2016 conference, part two
Embedded in the NHS Five Year Forward View is a sleek, bullet pointed ministerial promise: “an expanding set of NHS accredited health apps that patients will be able to use […]
Using behavioural science and digital technology to “nudge”: Review of the PHE 2016 conference, part one
Being a GP at a public health conference is, I imagine, like being a proctologist at a plumbers’ convention: familiar subject matter, different perspective. I spend a lot of my […]
Clara Hellner Gumpert: The Karolinska Institute after the Macchiarini scandal
In 2010, Paolo Macchiarini, an Italian doctor and researcher, was recruited as a guest professor to the Karolinska Institute, and as a surgeon to the Karolinska University Hospital. In 2008, […]
Richard Lehman’s journal review—19 September 2016
NEJM 15 Sep 2016 Vol 375 Preherpetic vaccines in the old For most people who get shingles, the rash and discomfort last for a couple of weeks and then gradually […]
Marta Balinska: Psychological distress versus mental illness
“You will know very few happy moments in life, so make the most of them.” Those are words I often heard from my late mother, leading me to believe that […]
Tessa Richards: WHO and the politics of health
Gaining cross country consensus on joint European strategies to tackle politically and culturally sensitive public health issues is not easy. So it was not surprising perhaps that a decision to […]
Jeanne Lenzer: Donald Trump on Dr Oz—the greatest non-evidence based show on earth
Late night comics will love Donald Trump’s latest act of showmanship: the neatly choreographed moment when he pulled out his “medical record” from his jacket pocket on The Dr Oz […]
William Cayley: Systems wisdom
In a recent BMJ blog Steve Ruffenach made some excellent points on the importance of balancing “accept” and “except” in approaching “Tech” in medicine. However, as we continue to feel the pressure […]