{"id":554,"date":"2010-08-15T09:40:18","date_gmt":"2010-08-15T08:40:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/medical-ethics\/?p=554"},"modified":"2010-08-15T18:18:19","modified_gmt":"2010-08-15T17:18:19","slug":"lets-hope-he-only-paid-a-fraction-of-the-postage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/medical-ethics\/2010\/08\/15\/lets-hope-he-only-paid-a-fraction-of-the-postage\/","title":{"rendered":"Let’s hope he only paid a fraction of the postage…"},"content":{"rendered":"

Xtaldave, who does things with science here at the University of Manchester, has found a vacancy for a job working as an NHS homeopath in Tayside – a trust that has just had to shed 500 real jobs.<\/p>\n

Manchester is nice, but Tayside is nicer, and the pay is excellent. \u00a0Naturally, he’s applied for it<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Whilst I have no formal medical qualification, I believe that I am ideally suited for the job of handing out sugar pills to unsuspecting patients on behalf of NHS Scotland. My PhD level scientific training and 6\u00bd years postdoctoral experience means that I know lots of scientific and biomedical buzz words with which I can bamboozle prospective patients like \u201cmedical biomimicry\u201d, \u201cpostconditioning hormesis\u201d \u201cquantum entanglement\u201d and \u201cthe placebo effect.\u201d<\/p>\n

My biochemistry degree means that I am familiar with such vagaries as Avogadro\u2019s constant, but given the extremely attractive salary (at least compared to scientific research), I\u2019m sure I could be convinced to overlook the fact that homeopathic remedies with a potency over 12C contain zero molecules of active ingredient whatsoever.<\/p>\n

The original research that I have published means that I am familiar with the body of published work on homeopathy, and the many meta-analyses and systematic reviews conducted on it. The fact that these conclude that homeopathy is no more effective than a similarly administered placebo will not bother me whilst I am taking advantage of some of the excellent salmon fishing to be found in the Tayside region. Indeed, given the fact the position only calls for the successful applicant to attend two sessions per week, I should imagine I would have plenty of time to indulge in a bit of fishing.<\/p>\n

In conclusion, whilst I may be an atypical applicant for this post, I will do my level best to help any patients referred to me to get the best healthcare the NHS can offer \u2013 by referring them straight back to a doctor who won\u2019t prescribe them worthless sugar pills at the taxpayers expense.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

With a supporting statement like that, I’d’ve thought he ought at least to be interviewed…<\/p>\n

UPDATE: David Colquhoun, who has (ahem) experience with this sort of thing, is applying as well<\/a>. \u00a0I’m beginning to wonder whether I should give it a go, too. \u00a0I’ve only got a disappointing GCSE in physics, but I did try nux vomica<\/em> to treat a migraine when I was younger – and only a few hours and a good sleep later, I’d almost completely recovered. \u00a0Take that, science!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Xtaldave, who does things with science here at the University of Manchester, has found a vacancy for a job working as an NHS homeopath in Tayside – a trust that has just had to shed 500 real jobs. Manchester is nice, but Tayside is nicer, and the pay is excellent. \u00a0Naturally, he’s applied for it. […]<\/p>\n

Read More…<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1240,1544],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-554","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blogosphere","category-the-nhs"],"yoast_head":"\nLet's hope he only paid a fraction of the postage... - Journal of Medical Ethics blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/medical-ethics\/2010\/08\/15\/lets-hope-he-only-paid-a-fraction-of-the-postage\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Let's hope he only paid a fraction of the postage... - Journal of Medical Ethics blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Xtaldave, who does things with science here at the University of Manchester, has found a vacancy for a job working as an NHS homeopath in Tayside – a trust that has just had to shed 500 real jobs. 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