SOS DD
What does it take to become a doctor? Endurance and perseverance help. It is a long haul from college to practice. But the skill that is most beneficial is the ability to consume prodigious amounts of information, remember it, and recall it as needed. Although I often relied on ‘B’ to get me through some of the exams. Thinking, specifically critical thinking,...
The Dow of Accutane
At home the kids current TV show of choice is How I Met Your Mother, supplanting Scrubs as the veg out show in the evening. Both shows are always on a cable channel somewhere and are often broadcast late at night. Late night commercials can be curious, and as I work on projects, I watch the shows and commercials out of the...
Ambiguity
Some people have made the mistake of seeing Shunt’s work as a load of rubbish about railway timetables, but clever people like me, who talk loudly in restaurants, see this as a deliberate ambiguity, a plea for understanding in a mechanized world. The points are frozen, the beast is dead. What is the difference? What indeed is the point? The point is...
Raw Milk in Modern Times
Is raw milk a good idea? Survey says....OH GOD NO!!!
Parasites
I saw a patient recently for parasites. I get a sinking feeling when I see that diagnosis on the schedule, as it rarely means a real parasite. The great Pacific NW is mostly parasite free, so either it is a traveler or someone with delusions of parasitism. The latter comes in two forms: the classic form and Morgellons. Neither are likely to...
Without Borders
Take up the White Man’s burden– The savage wars of peace– Fill full the mouth of Famine And bid the sickness cease; And when your goal is nearest The end for others sought, Watch CAM and woo Folly Bring all your hopes to nought. Rudyard Kipling. Sort of. The White Man’s burden, a bit of racism from the 19th century: The term...
The World Has Moved On
I do a lot of driving as part of my job. I am the sole Infectious Disease doctor at three hospitals and I can spend an hour or two a day in the car, depending on traffic. What prevents me from going crazy sitting in traffic is listening to podcasts and audible books. I especially like reading (and yes, audio books is...
Triskaidekaphobia times two.
There is germaphobia, the fear of germs. Or Germans. One of the two. Oddly, I do not fear most germs, despite my daily reminders as to how destructive these wee beasties can be. I recognize their limits and my immunologic strengths and know I have more to fear from cars or unsaturated fats than E. coli or influenza. There is also a...
Deadly Indeed
There are sources of information I inclined to accept with minimal questioning. I do not have time to examine everything in excruciating detail, and like most people, use intellectual short cuts to get through the day. If it comes from Clinical Infectious Diseases or the NEJM, I am inclined to accept the conclusions without a great deal of analysis, especially for non-infectious...
It is all about me.
I was interviewed for Birmingham Skeptics and you can hear the result at http://brumskeptics.blogspot.com/2011/01/podcast-posting-interview-with-mark.html. It is bad enough listening to myself as I correct my podcasts, so I have no idea how good the interview is; it was fun at the time. And the picture makes me look fatter than I am. Oh well.