While I've been writing narcissistic posts about why and how I blog, other bloggers have actually been keeping up with the latest in medicine:
- Dr. RW alerted me to the latest updates to management of ACS. Now I know how to use Plavix appropriately. Let all rural cardiac patients rejoice.
- Dr. Wes weighed in on the whole CT Angiogram frenzy. I know patients are going to be asking about the utility of this study, and now I know what to tell them.
- Dr. Val, who is not only the voice of reason but also the source of all cool new developments, wrote about the pitfalls of an online self-diagnosis tool. If used appropriately, this tool might be helpful for midlevel healthcare providers, but I don't think the average layperson experiencing crushing substernal chest pain should bother with it. There's a reason why medical school takes four years and residency at least three.
I've been moved by the plight of medical students and residents who are making big transitions into the next stage of their working lives. Liana wrote about her mixed fear and grief at finishing residency, a mishmash of emotions I remember well. For those medical students who might be struggling with the emotional roller-coaster of performing at their best, the Student-Doctor Network has an article about a really lousy way to cope. Meanwhile, the irrepressible Dragonfly reminds us that the best part of medicine is the lunatics we work with.
Medical training may be nasty, brutish, and long, but there are a lot of docs out there who do the profession proud. Among such outstanding examples:
- Dr. Rob, who advocates for a compassionate approach to obese patients
- Country Doc, who doesn't mind hearing the same old story over and over again from his elderly WW2 veteran-patient. Thanks for reminding me of the joy of listening.
- Buckeye Surgeon, who knows how to fix a perforated gastric ulcer and is enthusiastic enough to share the cool photos on his blog.
- Dr. Happy, who cares about healthcare so much he not only knows how to practice medicine, but he also knows how the system works (and sometimes doesn't).
Thanks to all the medbloggers for your great work, and happy Independence Day Weekend to all!
Thanks for the link!!
Posted by: Dragonfly | July 05, 2008 at 08:34 PM