Does liking one’s job affect an individual’s sense of job satisfaction and morale? In particular, what is the relationship between liking one’s job, job satisfaction and morale for healthcare providers? What effect do these factors have on patient care?
Click here to read an online article that explores these and other related questions.
There is no denying that social media has had an impact in many areas. One of these areas includes healthcare. In a recent article, entitled “Blurred lines: the General Medical Council guidance on doctors and social media,” Nick Cork and Paul Grant explore the risks and benefits of social media in healthcare, how social media can change the role of the physician and what it ultimately means to be a medical professional.
Digital technology in the early 21st century has introduced significant changes to everyday life and the ways in which we practise medicine. It is important that the ease and practicality of accessing and disseminating information does not intrude on the high standards expected of doctors, and that the boundaries between professional and public life do not become blurred through the increasing adoption of social media. This said, as with any such profound disruption, the social media age could be responsible for driving a new understanding of what it means to be a medical professional.”
Click here to read the full article.
A member of the Pts4Chg community recently brought this presentation to our attention. If you have not already done so, you may wish to give it a listen. (Thanks, Troy!)
As the first female indigenous woman to graduate from UBC’s medical school, Dr. Nadine Caron says there’s so much to be done to ensure Canada’s Aboriginal people get the health care they need. And she knows how hard it can be from her own experience.
Click here to listen to the audio presentation from The Current with Anna Maria Tremonti – CBC Radio
Antibiotic resistance is becoming a growing concern. One need only consider the strain of bacteria that contains genes which show no effect to colisitin, the “antibiotic of last resort,” to recognize the threat that exists. According to John Gums, Associate Dean for Clinical Affairs and Professor of Pharmacy and Medicine at the University of Florida, there are a number of reasons that antibiotic resistance has occurred, one of which is inappropriate prescribing. While the solution to this situation is clear – doctors need to stop prescribing so many antibiotics – there are other factors at work. As Gums explains:
I believe there are two reasons inappropriate prescribing is so hard to curb. First, there is a philosophical disconnect between the data about antibiotic resistance and what drives prescriber behavior. The second is that physicians may bend to patient demand for antibiotics, even if the physician knows it won’t help or isn’t really needed.
Click here to read the article.
According to a recent study done by researchers at John Hopkins University, the number of inpatient deaths from medical errors have increased. With 251,000 error-based inpatient deaths occurring each year in the US, only heart disease and cancer cause more fatalities.
It is time to implement more aggressive measures to combat this epidemic of medical errors, even a measure that undoubtedly would not sit well with doctors, hospitals and, most certainly, their liability insurance carriers. But it is a measure that the health care industry should embrace if its No. 1 priority truly is patient safety. What is this measure? Doing away with keeping secret from the public the findings of hospital peer review committees.
Click here to read the full article.
Diane Horvath-Cosper, an obstetrician and gynecologist, filed a complaint against a Washington, D.C., hospital after being instructed that she must stop saying that she does abortions. The hospital cites safety as the reason for their request but might other factors be involved? Read the article to find out.
If you are looking for a new book to read and have an interest in how the humanity of patients and families can be maintained while under hospital care, you may wish to check out Through the Valley of Shadows by Samuel Morris Brown.
Using insights from cognitive psychology, Dr. Samuel Brown discusses new approaches to reduce suffering for patients and their families when they need high levels of care, including concrete strategies to apply before, during, and after a serious illness.
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Negative relationships can exist between physicians and their presence can impact patient care. As Dr. Karthikesan explains, “The doctor-patient relationship paradigm depends closely on the doctor-doctor relationship. Bad and damaging cultures foster a hostile atmosphere that erodes trust, tarnishes good communication and promotes disrespect within the medical community. The role doctors play in harming each other ubiquitously affects the patient’s care, however unintentionally. The question becomes, how can the relationship between physicians be improved or as Karthikesan asks, “So what went wrong in the noblest of professions and how do we fix it?”
Click here to read the solutions proposed.
In an article found in the New York Times, Dr. Allison Bond describes the significance of obituaries. Not only are they a way for her to get a glimpse of who the person was before she met the individual as a patient, but they also serve as a reminder that patients are people and not an illness. Click here to read the article.
We often hear patient stories – how an experience affected the individual, lessons learned, fears faced, tears shed etc. However, it is less common for us to hear physician stories. What do doctors experience? How do they feel? What fears do they have? In a recent article found in The Globe and Mail, psychiatrist David Goldbloom shares with us what it is like to lose a patient to suicide.
As I listen to Stan’s message on my voice-mail, I organize some stuff on my desk. Stan’s recorded voice sounds uncharacteristically small and hesitant. He tells me that earlier this afternoon Daryl jumped to his death from his apartment balcony.
Everything is suddenly still.
I play the message several times, listening closely for something I may have missed, but my thoughts are inexorably drawn to my meeting with Daryl two days before, seeing his wrinkled, checkered shirt, his unshaved face, his slow smile.
I sit at my desk, staring out the window, trying to think of the orderly steps of notification and documentation dictated by our policy and procedures manual. Then, in the privacy and silence of my office, I hold my head in my hands and weep.
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