Shout Outs

Updated 3/2017-- photos and all links (except to my own posts) removed as many no longer active. and it was easier than checking each one.

Dr. Rob,  Musings of a Distractible Mind, is this week's host of Grand Rounds.   It is the Groundhog Day edition. You can read this week’s edition here (photo credit).

It happens every year.

I try to get a little shut-eye, but then these guys in hats come around and yank me out of bed.  They proceed to parade me around a huge throng of people (most of whom are not wearing hats), obsessing about the presence or absence of stratus clouds.

What a strange group of people.  I seem to be the center of attention for the day, though, and that’s not all bad.  It’s my day on February 2nd, and nobody has ever taken that from me.

Until this year.

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Have you seen the National Library of Medicine’s exhibit “Changing Faces of Medicine”?  One of the physician’s mentioned on the site as a “local legend” is Dr Betty Lowe (photo credit) who was head of the department of pediatrics at Arkansas Children’s Hospital when I was a medical student.

“I like science; the idea of doing something that isn't always the same. And life as a pediatrician is definitely unpredictable!”

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From Peter Lipson, White Coat Underground:   Why you should read The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks (photo credit)

This is a special shout out to the doctors and scientists out there. Everything we do in our fields has repercussions, often unexpected ones. Because of this, we strive to practice ethically to help prevent or minimize negative repercussions.

This discussion comes up specifically as an epiphenomenon of the release of The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks (my full review can be found here.) How one reacts to this book would, I suppose, depend on your perspective. A neighbor of the Lacks's might react quite differently than a 22 year old doctoral student. And that's really the point.

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Voting continues at MedGadget for the medical blog awards. Polls will close 12 midnight on Sunday, February 14, 2010 (EST).  Vote here. 

The categories for this year's awards are:

-- Best Medical Weblog
-- Best New Medical Weblog (established in 2009)
-- Best Literary Medical Weblog
-- Best Clinical Sciences Weblog
-- Best Health Policies/Ethics Weblog
-- Best Medical Technologies/Informatics Weblog
-- Best Patient's Blog

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The need for help to Haiti continues. Anyone wishing to donate or provide assistance in Haiti is asked to contact the Center for International Disaster Information. Here is a list of organizations who need your help in providing care to Haiti:

• Clinton Foundation -- Donate online or Text "HAITI" to 20222 and $10 will be donated to relief efforts, charged to your cell phone bill.
• American Red Cross International Response Fund – Donate
• Doctors Without Borders
• The International Rescue Committee
• International Medical Corps
• Mercy Corps Haiti Earthquake Fund (1-888-256-1900)
• Partners in Health
• UNICEF (1-800-4UNICEF)
• UN World Food Program
• National Disaster Search Dog Foundation (SDF)
• The International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW)

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If you are a physician and would like to do volunteer work in Haiti, then check this out:  Help Haiti: AMA registers physician volunteers

The registry -- launched Jan. 26 -- is open to all licensed doctors and requests information such as specialty, language skills, availability and previous disaster medicine experience.

The registry is available online (www.ama-assn.org/go/haiti-volunteer).

An in-depth Webinar on how medical responders can prepare for working in Haiti is available, along with other resources, at the AMA Web site (www.ama-assn.org/go/haiti-earthquake).

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H/T to @NHPCO_news  Noted researcher Joan Teno MD shares her family's hospice experience on public radio's "This I Believe" http://www.wrni.org/content/hospice.  It is an interesting listen.

Death.  It's not a pleasant subject, of course, yet all of us know of its inevitability, in our own lives and those of the people we love.  Sadly, for many the end of life is filled with a toxic mix of pain, suffering, and an agonizing loss of control.  But, as Dr. Joan Teno notes, life does not have to end this way.  Indeed, we know better.

Dr. Joan Teno is the daughter of Doris Teno, who died on October 15, 2008.  She is professor of community health at The Warren Alpert School of Medicine of Brown University and Associate Medical Director of Home and Hospice Care of Rhode Island.

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From Threads comes this article, Create Intricate Fabric With Pin Weaving, which gives clear instructions on the technique.  I’ll be adding it to my list of things to try someday, especially now that I have more leftover yarns as I am knitting more.

Pin weaving doesn’t require much equipment; you only need a padded board for a base that will act as your “loom.” The pin-woven fabric is formed over a piece of fusible interfacing. Once you are happy with your design, iron it to the fusible interfacing to hold everything together.  The result is a soft, pliable and beautifully textured fabric.
…….Pin weaving is the perfect on-the-go craft for sewers looking to use up scraps from their stashes.

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Dr Anonymous is back this week with Dean Brandon from Pediatric Dentistry blog.  Come join us.

Upcoming Dr. A Shows (9pm ET)
2/11 : Drew Griffin from Wound Care Education Institute
2/18 : Rhett and John from FireFighter Netcast