Archive for August, 2008
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For Our HealthCare.com Readers…
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If you see, like I just did, an ad on this site telling you that you are fat because of parasites, please know that it’s a huge load of crap (pun intended), and rest assured that ALL of us harbor parasites, fungi, mold, and spores, and we always will, and that anyone trying to sell […]
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Paternalism in Medicine
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When a patient describes a doctor as “paternalistic”, it’s the social equivalent of calling him a baby panda rapist. The implication is that the doctor is demeaning, condescending, and insensitive to your individual or cultural needs.
For you chuckleheads who never took Latin, the root of the word is “pater”, which means “father”. A nice definition […]
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YDPPIES, or young downwardly mobile professionals
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“Democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the voters discover that they can vote themselves largess (liberal gifts)
from the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidates promising the most benefits from the public treasury, with the result that a democracy always collapses […]
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Fascinoma/Incidentaloma
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An ‘incidentaloma’ is doctor-speak for a diagnosis made while looking for or ‘ruling out’ something else. In this case a young gentleman hopped up on oxycontin, marijuana, and alcohol got shivved in the gut. I can’t imagine why… he was nothing but nice to us.
I took this chest Xray to rule out free-air under the […]
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Houston, We Have A… (N) Opportunity!
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Remember the good old days? Coke in a bottle, no charges for airline baggage, problems were acknowledged and then addressed.
Dare I say it?? There is a problem in our Emergency Room. There was such a serious lack of nurses last night that 4 ambulances had paramedics waiting in the hallway for ANY ER room to […]
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Thanks Hankie-Heads
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CDC says number of U.S. measles cases is increasing.The CBS Evening News (8/21, story 9, 2:15, Rodriguez) reported that measles, “a childhood disease, is making a comeback in this country, and doctors are worried.” In addition, health officials are concerned “about what these numbers say about parents’” attitudes towards vaccinations, NBC Nightly News (8/21, story […]
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SupercalifragilisticHemochromatosis
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So, I saw this patient today who probably has diabetes secondary to hemochromatosis. I haven’t seen a case in awhile, so I started thinking about hemochromatosis…you know, humming a bit and saying the word “hemochromatosis”. Next thing you know I penned this little number:
SupercalafragilisticHemochromatosis
Um diddle diddle, um diddle ay
SupercalifragilisticHemochromatosis
Even though the sound of it is […]
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Reasons I’m Leaving Emergency Medicine (number 3)
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CLIPBOARD POWER!
I chose Emergency Medicine to be a white-hat cowboy.
Now ‘cowboy’ has connotations within medicine that entail being overly aggressive with patient management or taking silly chances or making wild guesses, but this is not what I mean.
I wanted, within the walls of the ER, to be in charge. I figured that, being Board Certified […]
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Missing Paperwork causes Paperwork Emergency!
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Dear Readers,
The organization formerly known as the Joint Commission on the Accreditation of Hospital Organizations (hereafter referred to on MDOD as TOFKAJCAHO) was notable absent at the scene of this roll-over motor vehicle crash on a busy interstate. I, for one, am putting this out publicly because there are many pieces of paper […]
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Holy Dead People Batman!
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I have some questions for anyone who cares to speculate. Let’s assume our impromptu and very unscientific poll you see on the right sidebar is horribly inaccurate and is up to 25% off in either direction. Let’s say only 39% of Board-Certified Emergency Physicians are going to quit before putting in a traditional 20 years. […]
