All posts › medicine
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Communicate with your Consultants
A frustrating on-call experience illustrates why attending physicians must communicate their clinical concerns directly to surgical consultants before the consult visit.
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Stem Cell Research
California voters approved a $3 billion bond measure for stem cell research despite the state deficit, prompting the argument that nationally beneficial medical research should be funded federally or through private money rather than state bonds.
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West Virginia Surgeon's strike
West Virginia surgeons took coordinated leaves of absence from hospital practice to protest malpractice insurance rates exceeding $100,000 per year, and this post explains the mechanics of their action and why it does not constitute patient abandonment.
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The joys of being a surgeon
The final day of ER call means four Sunday operations and missing visiting family, offering a candid look at the personal costs of surgical on-call life.
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Current Medical Malpractice and Liability Environment
A recap of a compelling ACS Conference talk that challenged the widely-cited claim of 98,000 annual deaths from physician negligence by exposing flaws in the source study, and made the case that effective tort reform is essential to controlling insurance rates and preserving patient access.
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More shit
A detailed account of taking a critically ill patient back to the OR for bowel leakage, discovering interloop abscesses and a small bowel perforation, and managing the case with an ileostomy, colostomy revision, and an open abdomen using a Bogota Bag.
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Busy week
A hectic week of ten surgical cases concludes with general surgeons convening to draft a proposal to hospital administration seeking compensation for ER call coverage.
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What I Wanted
A frustrated venting after a radiologist performed the wrong exam without calling to confirm the order, leaving the patient with an unnecessary charge and the surgeon without the study he needed.