Archive for the 'Announcements' Category

Personal Political Power For Physicians and Medical Group Managers

Interesting new blog from a (?former?) medical lobbyist.

Popularity: 4% [?]

I have a Google News Alert set for Emergency Medicine, and delete 99% of them.  I noticed this one, as it’s about the MedGadget interview I just linked to.

Here’s what caught my attention:

The text, for those who have trouble with the screen cap:

Google News Alert for: Emergency Medicine

Medgadget Interviews Dr. J. James Rohack, President-elect of the AMA
Medgadget.com - San Francisco,CA,USA
He’s a resident of emergency medicine at Mount Sinai in New York. Many pundits and experts believe that the US government will improve access to primary …
See all stories on this topic

Heh.  That’sn accurate description of Dr. Nick Genes, who’s a contributor to MedGadget, but the interviewer was Dr. Michael Ostrovsky, an anesthesiologist (on the West Coast somewhere).

Ah, well.  It’s nice they’re talking about you fellows!

Popularity: 8% [?]

Medgadget Interviews Dr. J. James Rohack, President-elect of the AMA - Medgadget - www.medgadget.com
Medgadget rarely ventures into politics. However, after one of our editors contacted the American Medical Association (AMA) public relations department to check out how the AMA is doing, we were offered a chance to talk to senior leadership in the organization. We, of course, couldn’t have missed such an opportunity! The result is an interview with J. James Rohack, MD, a cardiologist from Bryan, Texas, in the Texas A&M Health Science Center College of Medicine, and recently announced president-elect of the American Medical Association. Dr. Rohack will assume the AMA presidency in about a year from now, in June 2009.

Looks to be a good interview.  I’ll read it when I get home tonight.  Way to go Dr. Ostrovsky!

Popularity: 8% [?]

Musings of a Highly Trained Monkey: The great internet embargo of 2008

…So I’m putting the keyboard away for a while.

The life cycle of most bloggers is short, but we all get something from the experience.  I hope she comes back, but only time will tell.

Popularity: 8% [?]

Michael DeBakey, pioneer of heart procedures, dead at 99 - CNN.com
HOUSTON, Texas (AP) — Dr. Michael DeBakey, the world-famous cardiovascular surgeon who pioneered such now-common procedures as bypass surgery and invented a host of devices to help heart patients, died Friday night at The Methodist Hospital in Houston, Texas, officials announced. He was 99.

RIP.

Popularity: 10% [?]

There’s some not-so-good natured chortling about Mr. Obama riding a bike while wearing a helmet, with derisory comments about an adult on a bike wearing appropriate headgear. I’m not going to link those blogs, but trust me, they’re there.

As an occasional cyclist, one who’s actually used their helmet while riding a bike, and as an Emergency Physician who sees people with head injuries, this is a practice to be promoted, not discouraged.

Now, were I to make fun of him in that photo, it’d be for wearing blue jeans on a bike. That just looks dorky. There’s a reason pro cyclists wear shorts, and it’s not for that really special tan line 2 inches above the knee. (Pro cyclists also wear helmets).

So, encourage helmet use by adults: it’s good for them directly, and doesn’t send the ridiculous message to kids that helmets are only for ‘little kids’.

* Disclaimer: I’m not an Obama fan, have utterly no intention of voting for him, but think this is an area where he’s being abusedly stupidly. For my Presidential endorsement, see my only statement to date.

Popularity: 16% [?]

wokv.com: News
NBC said Friday evening that Russert died of a heart attack. Russert’s internist, Michael A. Newman, said cholesterol plaque had ruptured in an artery, causing sudden coronary thrombosis.

Newman said an autopsy showed that Russert had an enlarged heart, NBC reported. Russert had been diagnosed with asymptomatic coronary artery disease, which he was controlling with medication and exercise, the doctor said.

He’s already had an autopsy? That was fast.

A video of his doctor speaking about his asymptomatic cardiac disease. Says the autopsy ruled out a PE.

Popularity: 25% [?]

Valued Readers (all 9 of you),

I went on vacation, and due to a lot of things (mostly sloth, but work and weird politics at work) didn’t tell you in advance.  I profusely apologize.

I appreciate the ONE of you readers (1/9th) who wrote inquiring as to my health, and I thank Kevin (way too busy to read this blog) for answering my email and posting that I was on vacation.

To Disneyland.  It was great.  And, we looked at a couple more colleges for my daughter; maybe more later.

Anyway, back.  Unscheduled posts of marginal entertainment to follow, irregularly.

Popularity: 9% [?]

BMC Trauma Chief Drowns in Boating Accident | BU Today
Erwin F. Hirsch, a much-respected and well-loved physician who served as chief of trauma surgery at the Boston Medical Center for 25 years, died yesterday afternoon after his dinghy capsized in the harbor off Rockport, Maine. The 72-year-old surgeon was legendary for his efforts to provide the highest quality care to all patients, regardless of their finances or personal histories, and for his seemingly inexhaustible energy and good will.

I didn’t know him, but it sounds like I would have enjoyed working with him.

Popularity: 16% [?]

There Are Days… : PANDA BEAR, MD
My Good Friends and Patient Readers,

I’ve decide to stop blogging.

Phooey.  He’s been one of the best writers in the medical blogosphere.  I did wonder how he could keep up the vouminous and well-done output, and now we know.

Panda, you’ll be missed.  Please visit when you feel like it.

Popularity: 26% [?]

Governor Mike Huckabee … - Blogs - Revolution Health

Dr. Val continues to set the bar, this time with Governor Mike Huckabee.  The power of a blogger.

Popularity: 29% [?]

Slowdown’s Side Effect: More Nurses

Economy’s Woes Prod Many
Who Left Field to Return;
Brushing Up on Anatomy

By CONOR DOUGHERTY
May 7, 2008

The ailing economy is helping to ease the nursing shortage.

With house prices falling and the cost of gasoline and food rising, many nurses are going back to work, in some cases to make up for the income of a spouse who has lost a job. Hospitals say part-time nurses are taking on extra shifts. And nursing schools are seeing an increase in people applying for refresher courses on the ins and outs of modern hospitals. Some older nurses are putting off a planned retirement.

“We are seeing a temporary lessening of the nursing shortage,” says Jane Llewellyn, vice president of clinical nursing affairs at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago. But, she says, “as soon as the economy turns up we’ll see them staying home again.”

So, it’s a WAGE shortage, not a nursing shortage.  There are nurses out there, but for the current wage structure they’d rather stay home.

Popularity: 23% [?]

I kid, but that’s what they say these new carts look like, too:

An unintended consequence of these new gadgets: much slower driving. They’re about 5 feet tall at the top of the rotisserie there, and that’s taller than several of our cleaning pros, so they now do a lot of bob and weave while pushing them. (They like them though).

Popularity: 14% [?]

Wasted medical dollars - Opinion - USATODAY.com
Wasted medical dollars

By Kevin Pho

A recent analysis by PricewaterhouseCoopers concluded that more than half the dollars in our $2.2 trillion health care system are wasted.

Kevin, MD’s roll toward worldwide medblog domination rolls on.  Good work, Dr. Pho!

Popularity: 17% [?]

Nurse Sean (dot) com » Change of Shift: Volume Two, Number 21
Welcome to Change of Shift for April 17th, 2008. I have enthusiastically dubbed it, “The European Dreams Edition.”

Go and get it!

Popularity: 13% [?]