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It’s trendy nowadays at traditional academic Grand Rounds for the speaker to disclose any potential conflicts of interest. Here are mine. I have no financial ties with drug or device companies. A Zithromax clock, a hand me down from National Nurses Day, graces one wall of my office. I have attended about four drug company lunches in the past year. That’s about the extent of any blandishments from Evil Pharma.
Although under appreciated, non-financial conflicts, perceived or real, are just as important as the financial kind. We all have them. I, for example, am a) a Christian, b) a member of the vast right wing conspiracy and c) a staunch adherent to the principles of science. (Note that a is not inexorably linked to b or in opposition to c). I’ve become opinionated and crotchety in middle age and have many biases. But not to worry, dear readers! I’ve done my darndest to keep those biases out of this edition of Grand Rounds. To that lofty end there will be no editor’s choice, best of the best, or best of the rest! Everything included here gets equal billing in hopes that this carnival will be a good time for all….
An all-inclusive Grand Rounds (which is why mine got it). This should keep you busy for an afternoon!
