Well this is strangely meta.

The Journal of Medical Ethics has recently released a study on facebook and doctors.

The abstract is pretty short but I'll shorten it even more. Most doctors are themselves. (Use their name/ personal photo) and most automatically decline "friend requests" from patients.

I think this is an interesting reflection on the doctor-patient relationship. The patient feels strong enough toward the doctor to "want to know more" about them and the doctor is aware of the "professional" image that needs to be maintained. Also, while you might want to be "best buddies" with the person that makes your life/death decisions. They might not want to think of you in that way.

And another thing. Would patients start to disrespect their physicians if they knew more about them?

I wanted to find a video of a scene from house but no goes.
In this episode of House MD I'm linking you too, a patient essentially blackmails Foreman into doing what he wants because he's found a picture of Foreman and Thirteen online.

Doesn't that just suck?

I actually have great difficulty in "friending" co-workers. I do it occasionally because it might be a way to get a quick contact if I need to swap days or have a work related question. However, I feel like I'm taking a huge risk. Having felt repercussions previously from co-workers learning more about me I put a lot of thought into accepting friend requests or not.
It's a shame and very telling that I cannot be completely honest.
I'm a very open person. I'm pretty honest on here, but even I'll tell you there's plenty I'm not saying.
I wish we could live in an honest world, but we can't.
People are mean, vindictive and judgmental.

I want to be honest with people, but the few times I have been it's always come back to bite me.

People are only "ok" with who you are as long as you're who they want you to be.

Thanks world.


(Wow, what a totally aside rant.)

By any other name

I love this.

It's now called "Integrative Medicine." Not Complementary and Alternative Medicine. Those are a bunch of quacks.

These people practice "Integrative Medicine."

 

To "push the envelope" on Integrative Medicine John McCalahan submitted a bit on a new reflexology practice he "invented" by positioning the homulculus over the buttock.

You can only imagine how that would be practiced.

 

He talks about the Jerusalem Conference on Integrative Medcine's response to this amazing bit of quackery in this article for the British Medical Journal.

They loved it.

They asked for a presentation.

 

He declined.

 

Sad face. I would have liked to have seen that. ;)

 

 

 

 

Like a diamond in the sky...

Life just seems so unfair.

We find a planet made of diamonds and now it's being eaten.

Shesh.

Long time, no blog.
Yet again. It seems life gets to be too much for me and I do not have the time to write. That and I haven't been able to find too much cool stuff in the world that I feel like sharing with people.
I could always talk about running and how great that is. Or work and how much that sucks. Or life and how awesome I am but, alas. That is sure to be boring.

Instead what I have for you is a TIL.
(Today I Learned)

TIL frog bladders can migrate to foreign bodies in a frog, envelop the particle then pee it out. Self-induced kidney-stone?

How amazing is that?

Ice ice baby

I feel great.

I can be anything.

Sigh. Feels great. Just finished running 13.1 miles. HALF-MARATHON!!

Today's long run was scheduled to be 12 miles. I glanced down at that mile marker when it hit and thought, "Screw that. So close!"
I am on such an adrenaline surge right now. Wrapped that up, came home, took an ice-cold shower. (Thanks to advice from Runner's World) and am feasting on Sarah's quesadillas. NOM NOM NOM.

Why the ice you say? Wouldn't it be better to let your muscles cool down gradually? Feels a lot better to take that warm shower and relax and the data is kind of conflicting.

This talks about the best way to ice. But is it really best to ice post run? It's better than downing a lot of NSAIDs. The ice provides that anti-inflammatory effect without kidney and liver damage. Leaving my vital organs more prepared to deal with the post race after-party.

I don't think I'm hard core enough to try the

First, I fill my tub with two to three bags of crushed ice. Then I add cold water to a height that will cover me nearly to my waist when I sit in the tub. Before getting in, I put on a down jacket and a hat and neoprene booties, make myself a cup of hot tea, and collect some entertaining reading material to help the next 15 to 20 minutes pass quickly.

type of ice bath David Terry MD and ultramarathoner does.

Nah, I'll just blast myself with water a bit cooler than comfort for about 2-3 minutes. After all, I am still a wimp at heart.

Bugs.

Bats aren't bugs.

Now that that's out of the way I'll continue with my second point.
Haven't blogged in a while. My bad. So what?

I'm currently uploading the audiobook "Dawn of the Dreadfuls" It's a prequel to Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. Which is pretty much the only Jane Austin I can stand.

What does this have to do with bugs? Nothing, except it's the excuse I have to sit at the computer and blog whilst it uploads.

Onto bugs.

Simon Lee from University of Nottingham will make you a bug lover. Well, sort of.
MRSA.
If you're a health care worker you know how annoying this four letter "word" is. Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus.

S. aureus is a lovely little bacteria. When gram stained looks like a little group of grapes, (or is it bunch of grapes?) When grown on blood agar plates it causes hemolysis thus resulting in gold little colonies and therefore the "Aureus" name. (Latin)

Try as I might I can't get the computer to release the italics. So you must pay VERY CLOSE ATTENTION.

The "drug of choice" for staph WAS the "cillins"

However, because of misuse of antibiotics, evolution, etc. Most gram-positive little buggers have grown resistant. MRSA is the name for the "bugs" that are resistant. Therefore requiring a much lengthier hospital stay with stronger antibiotics (and eventually leading to more resistant strains...) The Netherlands currently has the lowest MRSA rates. (just another reason to go orange) here's a bit on why/how.
Simply. Wash your hands.

But if that's too much for you. Squish some cockroaches and EAT THEIR BRAINZ!

It all comes back to zombies in the end.
This is where you'll like Simon Lee. He and his research team have identified 9 molecules in cockroach brains that have the bactericidal potential to give us the edge over MRSA. They killed over 90% of the bacteria without harming human cells in their initial tests.
Sweet action.