The "What are the current issues in medicine today?" questions

[Orange Julius]

I'm preparing for interviews and would like to get current with what's going on in medicine (med in general, not IM). I've had my head in my books for so long that I really don't know what's going on. What are the issues?

I realize that your time is valuable so I'd be happy with topics or sources for me to research. I'm not expecting anyone to write any editorials. Thanks.

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[StringBean]

Just look over the last few issues of the New York Times science section. That should get you started.

 

[yabby]

Bioterrorism
TB
Syphilis
evidence based medicine
systems based practice
practice based learning
influenza
HAART
Monoclonal Antibodies
Anti nuclear antibodies

 

[The White Coat Investor]

Bioterrorism
TB
Syphilis
evidence based medicine
systems based practice
practice based learning
influenza
HAART
Monoclonal Antibodies
Anti nuclear antibodies

Where did you come up with this list?
I might concede bioterrorism and evidence based medicine and even influenza (a current topic every year for some reason) PBL is a topic only among applicants to medical school. I might suggest something along the lines of:

1) Decreased compensation (Congress voting now incidentally)
2) Loss of emergent specialty coverage due to EMTALA
3) New Medicare drug plans
4) The ethics of spending huge percentages of our health care dollar on patients in the last weeks to months of life
5) HRT is no longer good for heart disease (granted, not so current anymore)
6) Medical errors
7) JCAHO madness

 

[Orange Julius]

I might suggest something along the lines of:

1) Decreased compensation (Congress voting now incidentally)
2) Loss of emergent specialty coverage due to EMTALA
3) New Medicare drug plans
4) The ethics of spending huge percentages of our health care dollar on patients in the last weeks to months of life
5) HRT is no longer good for heart disease (granted, not so current anymore)
6) Medical errors
7) JCAHO madness

Ah, yes. That's the stuff I'm looking for. Thanks.

 

[edinOH]

How to protect your earnings from the ****in government.

 

[Orange Julius]

How to protect your earnings from the ****in government.

While that's a little off topic, it's definately interesting. If you know anything about this, could you outline a few tips??

 

[Zolpidem25]

Where did you come up with this list?
I might concede bioterrorism and evidence based medicine and even influenza (a current topic every year for some reason) PBL is a topic only among applicants to medical school. I might suggest something along the lines of:

1) Decreased compensation (Congress voting now incidentally)
2) Loss of emergent specialty coverage due to EMTALA
3) New Medicare drug plans
4) The ethics of spending huge percentages of our health care dollar on patients in the last weeks to months of life
5) HRT is no longer good for heart disease (granted, not so current anymore)
6) Medical errors
7) JCAHO madness

what would you recommend as a good source to read about the above issues? is there a particular journal or publication that does a good job of discussing these things?

thanks.

 

[seewell]

what would you recommend as a good source to read about the above issues? is there a particular journal or publication that does a good job of discussing these things?

thanks.

I think it is important to be up to date on the literature. The problem is that it is difficult to understand the subtleties of literature without the help of others. If you could sit in on a journal club or two before your interviews, you would gain much understanding of what is going on in the field and look very smart.

If you are unable to do this live, there some sites on-line that have "virtual" journal clubs where you can see what people have thought about a variety of literature. I first learned about these viewing wikipedia recently:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Journal_club

A journal club is a group of individuals who meet regularly to evaluate critically the clinical application of recent articles in medical literature. The earliest reference to a journal club is found in a book of memoirs and letters by the late Sir James Paget, a British surgeon, who describes a group at St. Bartholomew's Hospital in London in the mid-1800s as "a kind of club ... a small room over a baker's shop near the Hospital-gate where we could sit and read the journals."

Sir William Osler established the first formalized journal club at McGill University in Montreal in 1875. The original purpose of Osler's journal club was "for the purchase and distribution of periodicals to which he could ill afford to subscribe."

The application of evidence-based medicine to the medical literature is facilitated by a journal club, as each participant can voice their view relating to the two fundamental questions: whether the results of the study are valid, and whether the results are clinically useful.

External link
JournalReview.org - an online journal club​

Good luck

 

[docB]

How to protect your earnings from the ****in government.

I'd say that's second to protecting your assets from plaintiff's attorneys.