We talk a lot about communication in medicine and try to teach the right skills to students, such as the importance of body language and simplifying medical terminology. But how […]
Latest articles
John Fabre: The absence of a national leadership structure within the NHS
The strike by junior doctors illustrates a fundamental fact about the National Health Service: the de facto chief executive is the minister for health, and there are no advisory or […]
Amir Hannan: Please don’t forget the patient
“Please don’t forget the patient.” So said Clare Reynolds—one of the many delegates who came along to the Long Term Conditions (LTC) conference. The welcome letter claimed it will “seek […]
Sadie Boniface and Sally Marlow: Mother’s ruin? New guidelines for alcohol consumption during pregnancy
The Chief Medical Officer’s proposed new drinking guidelines were announced on the 8th January. These included specific advice about drinking during pregnancy, to which we could not do justice in […]
Richard Lehman’s journal review—25 January 2016
NEJM 21 Jan 2016 Vol 374 Share data or be damned OL The most important article this week also appears on the websites of JAMA, The BMJ, Annals of Internal […]
Kamal R Mahtani on utilising systematic reviews: Is another trial necessary or ethical?
You don’t have to look too far to see the benefits of systematic reviews and their summary results. The well known Cochrane logo depicts a real example, highlighting the value […]
Jeffrey Aronson: When I use a word . . . Fifty up
This is the fiftieth blog in my “When I Use a Word” series. You’ve been counting, of course. To appreciate fully the range of words that imply “five” and “fifth”, […]
Richard Smith: Calculating our debt to the old
My mother, who has had no short term memory for nine years, has lived in a nursing home for almost three years. I visit her most weeks, but I constantly […]
Steve Ruffenach: Tech, my new medical assistant
I have a new medical assistant (MA) and I’m trying to learn how to get along with him. My new MA is named Tech and I bet you have one […]
Peter Doshi: Roche to publicly post trial protocols—just kidding
“Thirdly, we will post the protocol of our trials as they are started and the results of trials once they are completed on two websites which are available to the […]