Shout Outs

Updated 3/2017-- photos and all links removed (except to my own posts) removed as many no longer active.

Jason Shafrin, PhD, Healthcare Economist, is the host for this week’s Grand Rounds. You can read this week’s edition here.

This is a great time to be the Healthcare Economist. Not only am I hosting Grand Rounds for the first time, but Wisconsin sports are enjoying a renaissance. The Milwaukee Brewers are in the NLCS, the Green Bay Packers are Super Bowl Champs and undefeated, and the Wisconsin Badgers also have not lost.

How does this relate to this week’s edition of Grand Rounds? I have no idea. But I know if you’ve made it this far, you might as well take a few more minutes to review the best medical posts on the blog-o-sphere during the past week. Enjoy! ………….

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The 2011 Charles Prize for Poetry Contest deadline for entries has passed. Now while we await the announcement of the winners I hope you will enjoy reading the many wonderful entries.

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TBTAM (@tbtam) has another nice blog post on mammograms: Mammograms – Reality Check

A well-written and balanced article on mammography from USA Today may help move the conversation about this screening test away from hype and a bit closer to reality. The title – “Mammogram is ‘terribly imperfect’, though recommended.” ...

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H/T to @DrMarkham and @doctorblogs for this BMJ article by Prof Joseph Ana on this horrifying practice: Breast flattening, ironing, straightening, and pounding: a new form of violence against girls and women

Until a few weeks ago, I had never heard about the cultural barbarism of breast flattening, a native attempt to delay the development of a girl’s breasts so that they are not “attractive” to men and boys before they are ready for marriage.

Just before a girl reaches puberty her mother will (sorry but please get yourself ready to soldier on with reading this sordid topic) pass a hot instrument, usually a hot wire into the victim’s breasts or pound the victim’s breast with a pestle without any form of anaesthesia or analgesic. …..

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Runawaydoc (@runawaydoc) is a “newbie blog / pediatrician in training” who recent blog post introduces us to “the man with the golden heart.”

……As a doctor, I regret to accept that our medical system is also hijacked into this dark world. Every doctor, every lab, every pharmacist wants to extract an extra rupee. The feel of the notes satisfy more than the contentment of the patient. …….

However, in one of those social networking portals I came across a man called “Morpheus”. I was jarred with his conviction to clean the dirty waters of medicine where doctors happily waddle in. He told me that healing profession has to be cleaned, somebody has to make a move, and somebody has to start it. At the end of the day the patient should not suffer. …..

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Did you catch Radio Rounds interview of ZDoggMD? If not, you can listen to it here: Slightly Funnier Than Placebo

This week features the hottest hip hop hospitalist in the nation, ZDoggMD. When not making videos, ZDogg is a hospital physician working at a Bay Area academic hospital. Along with some of his fellow physicians he moonlights in medical satire writing and producing his own videos and songs, claiming to be slightly funnier than placebo. This episode is about the man behind the name as we delve deeper into the mind of ZDoggMD.

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My friend Methodical Madness uses her recent Mothers in Medicine post to encourage donation of blood products: Blood Bank Halloween.

The Blood Bank always has some pretty interesting Halloween decorations. Last year they had gel blood dripping from the top of the main door. This year I was excited to see a bloody hand at the Blood Bank blood product distribution window. The window is kind of like a fast food restaurant window - only it opens bottom to top instead of sliding sideways. I imagine it was designed in the 1960's. This morning when I went to take a photo of it for this blog that was marinating in my head, I was upset to find it missing. I wandered into the blood bank.

"Where is that bloody hand decoration that was in the window?" …………

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H/T to @scanman for this tweet: Superb collection/selection >> RT @mankuthirai: The 50 Best Short Stories of All Time

The short story is sometimes an under-appreciated art form. Within the space of a few pages, an author must weave a story that’s compelling, create characters readers care about and drive the story to its ultimate conclusion — a feat that can be difficult to accomplish even with a great degree of savvy……….

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Thanks to @glevin1 who noticed this website on Google+ and know I’d appreciate it: LUKE Quilts. Luke’s website has three main sections – about, projects, and blog. His quilts are amazing! Check them out.