“John…Why are you going out in the cold?” “I need some stuff for work.” “Stuff?” “Pens…those cool felt tip ones that write really dark and bold.” I like it when the ‘Electrophysiology’ note stands out in the chart—like John Hancock’s signature did. Until a few months ago, a pacemaker company used to give out nifty […]
The last few weekends I have worked on converting from blogger to WordPress. The conversion is proceeding well, albeit slowly. My aim is to provide a better experience to a wider audience of readers. Some experts say a blog should have a specific niche. Maybe this is right, but for now, the DrJohnM blog will […]
December is always a busy time in the surgical waiting room. It’s all about the deductibles. An ice storm only made matters worse. Nerves were frayed. It was at the busy reception desk where I witnessed an irate family member of a post-op patient accost the friendly secretary. The patient was waiting in the recovery […]
The end of the year marks a time for list-intensive posts. Recently, Larry Husten, from Cardio-Exchange and Cardiobrief, asked for my opinion on the three most important cardiology-related news stories of 2010. Additionally, he also wanted three predictions for 2011. (I assume cardiology predictions.) Here goes… My top three cardiology stories of 2010: —By far, the […]
Doctor’s Lounge: Thursdays It’s the time of the year when dietary temptations lurk around every corner of the hospital. And since completely abstaining is not always possible, the best antidote for this holiday deluge of inflammation is obvious: exercise. No doubt, within the boundaries of common sense, all exercise is good. But is there a best […]
Hey all. Welcome to another edition of Grand Rounds, a collection of writings from medical bloggers, the world-wide. Here are this week’s posts, collated into four chapters, with just a little commentary and a few selected images. Chapter 1: Good Doctoring: —From the poetic Examining Room of Dr Charles, comes the imagery of a doctor’s […]
They are gathered around the back of the darkened room, standing too close together, eating hurriedly, non-enjoyably. Â A voice crackles over a 1980s-era microphone. The food is in the back, the slide projector in the front. Â One Friday a month, the doctor’s lounge is transformed into a lecture room. The retired docs looking for […]
His voice on the line was uncharacteristically shaky. “John…It was bad…It was really bad…The car crushed him…I was driving through the park and saw the whole thing.” Brad is one of many local cyclists who have benefited from the unparalleled ‘fury’ of modern-day trauma care. Brad Swope’s Story from UofL Health Care on Vimeo. The […]
I will be hosting the next edition of Grand Rounds on Tuesday, December 14th. Grand Rounds? Grand Rounds is a weekly rotating summary of the best health and medical posts in the blogosphere. Grand Rounds, established in 2003 by Dr Nicholas Genes, is the oldest and most popular medical blog “carnival†on the Internet. An […]
Smart doctors will take help from wherever it lurks. Today, advice on doctoring came from an unlikely and well-camouflaged source. (I always ask: “where are you talking to me from?”) He was advising me from a warm cubicle in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.  It was a paternalistic male voice—another doctor, he said. Obviously, he was savvy, disguising […]
The human heart resides in a lightless 98.6-degree chest cavity. Its contracting muscles are further cushioned by the well-lubricated glistening smooth pericardial sac. One wouldn’t think that the heart could sense the time of year. The heart’s rhythm should remain independent of the holiday season. But then there is December in the EP lab. They are […]