“At the end of every clinic day, pick a patient you saw earlier that day, and give him/her a quick call, 'just to see how they're doing'. Make your choice selfishly -- pick a patient that you feel good about, that you know will appreciate the call, and who won't take advantage of that call to wedge in another 'Oh, By The Way'. Those 2 minutes will make the patient feel like they have the best doctor in the world -- and will help remind you why you really became a doctor.”
—An attending in my residency program, explaining how to use “favoritism” as a reward for a hard day’s work. :)
(I could’ve sworn I’d posted this before, but the Archives have swallowed it up.)
About
This is a blog by scientists about the anti-science of healthism.
This blog might be for you if you:
- are aware of or interested in the history of health research, including its many grand claims later found to be utterly false (after having maimed/tortured/killed thousands of people)
- agree that if what we know about health and human biology is the size of a frisbee, half of that frisbee would be under dispute, and what we don’t know about health and human biology would be the size of the planet
- roll your eyes at local news ‘health’ headlines (which tend to contradict themselves week to week)
- think Dr. Oz and Dr. Phil and Dr. Sharma have a lot more wrong with their currently held scientific opinions and presentation thereof than they have right
- believe that shows like The Biggest Loser have nothing at all to do with actual health and positive outcomes of its contestants and viewers
- agree that there is no obesity epidemic
- agree that skepticism, not belief, should be the natural foundation of intellectual and scientific inquiry
- agree that medical researchers and health care professionals are as prone to error and bias as any other human, regardless of how many years they spent getting their degrees
- …or are just plain curious about healthism and why it’s bunkum!
