Best License Plate Ever
Pulling out of a parking space, I noticed this license plate behind me and truly LOL’d:
TIHZ WA
You’ll have to check it out in a mirror to see what I saw. (Source: Musings of a Dinosaur)
Source: Musings of a Dinosaur - June 21, 2015 Category: Primary Care Authors: notdeaddinosaur Tags: Funnies Source Type: blogs
Building a Clavichord – 2
Section 1 in the instruction manual, titled “Building the Case” completed:
Next up is the soundboard. Stay tuned. (Source: Musings of a Dinosaur)
Source: Musings of a Dinosaur - June 19, 2015 Category: Primary Care Authors: notdeaddinosaur Tags: Miscellaneous Source Type: blogs
Emotions and Memories
I couldn’t sleep last night.
I have no idea why. I played tennis for over an hour in the late afternoon’s sweltering heat, but it felt good. I had a good dinner; not too much, not too late. I even remembered to take some naproxen before I went to bed to combat the beginning stiffness.
But then I just couldn’t get to sleep.
My mind wasn’t racing exactly. I wasn’t thinking of anything in particular. I just wasn’t the least bit sleepy. I thought I felt my heart pounding. Tachycardia? Afib? I checked my pulse; 72 and regular. No pain; breathing was fine. I did have a little tremor though. No...
Source: Musings of a Dinosaur - June 17, 2015 Category: Primary Care Authors: notdeaddinosaur Tags: Family/Personal Source Type: blogs
Building a Clavichord – 1
So it looks like building a house wasn’t good enough. Now I’ve somehow gotten it into my head that I want to build an early keyboard instrument called a clavichord. I have no idea why. Something to go along with this in the Music Room?:
At any rate, I have purchased a kit for building a clavichord modeled after one found in the collection of the King of Sweden — which is why they call it the King of Sweden clavichord — from a lovely outfit in Stonington, Connecticut known as Zuckermann Harpsichords International. The second video down on the first page is of the instrument I’m going to (try a...
Source: Musings of a Dinosaur - June 10, 2015 Category: Primary Care Authors: notdeaddinosaur Tags: Miscellaneous Source Type: blogs
Breaking Up is Hard to Do; Or Not
Question from a reader:
What are your feelings about when a patient breaks up with you? I love love love my doc, but…
Patients “break up” with me all the time. Well, not “all” the time, but it’s not uncommon. There are many reasons, some of which are under the patient’s control, and some which are not. Moving across the country is a good reason to look for a new doctor. (Seriously. When you move several states away, please find a new doctor. I’ll refill your prescriptions long enough for you to get settled, but I have some people still calling me years later “just to ke...
Source: Musings of a Dinosaur - June 7, 2015 Category: Primary Care Authors: notdeaddinosaur Tags: Medical Source Type: blogs
When Turnabout is Effective as Well as Fair
I’ve written before about transforming my own preventive care needs (and failings) into an opportunity to help my patients get things done even when their first instinct is avoidance. It happened again the other day.
I’m not good about going to the dentist. Even though they want me there every six months, they’re lucky when it’s once a year. Every now and then, it stretches out even farther. Now is one of those times.
I’m sure many others share my feelings about the dentist. I also know those feelings extend to other preventive services…like pap tests. I’ve had women in the midst...
Source: Musings of a Dinosaur - June 3, 2015 Category: Primary Care Authors: notdeaddinosaur Tags: Medical Source Type: blogs
Circle of Life
Life is all about beginnings and endings. One of the biggest draws of Obstetrics as a medical specialty is the fascination with the birth process as the beginning of life. The other extreme…well, let’s say in this particular place and time in history, it’s still something that catches people unawares. Too often filled with dread and loathing, we approach the death of patients as a foreshadowing of our own. Why else have we as doctors developed the reputation of squaring off with Death? Beating Him off with tubes and drugs and electricity, “No!” we shriek. “You can’t have this one ...
Source: Musings of a Dinosaur - May 18, 2015 Category: Primary Care Authors: notdeaddinosaur Tags: Medical Source Type: blogs
Two Little Words
I’m frequently reminded of the power of words. Especially small words added to other small words.
Consider the difference between two states of being reflected in a conversation a while back with this crotchety old guy in his 80s whom I’ve known for years. I was telling him about a mutual friend who happened to be ill. I said that the individual in question was “Not well.”
The crotchety old guy’s response:
Is he “not well,” or “not well at all”?
“At all.” Two little words adding a dire new dimension.
They can also add emphasis. Hear the difference:
If you n...
Source: Musings of a Dinosaur - May 6, 2015 Category: Primary Care Authors: notdeaddinosaur Tags: Miscellaneous Source Type: blogs
Talk About “Manipulation”
I generally enjoy reading my Philadelphia Inquirer’s Health section each Sunday. In fact, for several weeks (beginning in February) I contributed to their Medical Mystery feature. Most of their stuff is generally spot on, providing good, solid information. Other times, not so much. I guess this was a slow week:
Question: How can osteopathic [manipulation] help my cold and sinus symptoms?
The correct answer is, “It can’t.”
But no. That doesn’t stop our friendly neighborhood Osteopath (excuse me: she’s also an assistant professor of osteopathic manipulation at the Philadelphia College of ...
Source: Musings of a Dinosaur - April 27, 2015 Category: Primary Care Authors: notdeaddinosaur Tags: Medical Source Type: blogs
Drawing Lines
Who is a Family Physician?
Who is a PCP? (And does that second “P” stand for “physician” or “provider”?)
Who gets to say? Does it matter?
Perhaps we should start with some basic qualifications: the degree of MD or DO, the satisfactory completion of an accredited residency in Family Medicine, and successfully passing the written examination of the American Board of Family Medicine (ABFP, an organization distinct and independent of the AAFP). Hard to argue with those.
How about going by what we do: Primary Care medicine consists of caring for patients as their first contact with the health...
Source: Musings of a Dinosaur - April 13, 2015 Category: Primary Care Authors: notdeaddinosaur Tags: Medical Source Type: blogs
On Shame
Monica Lewinsky has re-emerged, and I say good for her! Please take the 20-something minutes out of your life to watch the video. It’s well worth it.
I agree completely that “Internet shaming as a blood sport has got to stop,” and I applaud her call for a more compassionate culture, both off and online. Nothing good comes from public shaming of private indiviuduals, usually women, usually over sexual misconduct. Innocent lives have been ruined — even lost — by the vicious words of anonymous haters spewed for no legitimate reasons.
There is another consequence of this cultural coarsening,...
Source: Musings of a Dinosaur - April 5, 2015 Category: Primary Care Authors: notdeaddinosaur Tags: Medical Source Type: blogs
Headline of the Day
Best headline ever:
“Exploding Head Syndrome” May be More Common
Than Previously Believed
It references this article, which is about the frightening perception of loud noises or blasts while dropping off to sleep. But it’s so much more fun to allow the imagination free reign, perhaps pairing it with an ad for special cleaning products to remove splattered brains from walls and furniture. (Source: Musings of a Dinosaur)
Source: Musings of a Dinosaur - March 31, 2015 Category: Primary Care Authors: notdeaddinosaur Tags: Medical Source Type: blogs
Note to Patients: When it’s Not A “Physical” You Need
We interrupt our regular blogging for a PSA (that would be a Public Service Announcement, not the controversial prostate cancer screening test) directed to our patients.
Dear Patients,
First of all, thank you for calling for an appointment. Seriously. Ever since I’ve gone open access, if the phone doesn’t ring I’m toast. And thank you for your interest in preventive care. The fact that it’s now free (well, no cost to you at time of service; trust me, it’s not “free”) has probably motivated more of you to call. That’s okay. But sometimes it seems that your idea of a “Ph...
Source: Musings of a Dinosaur - March 26, 2015 Category: Primary Care Authors: notdeaddinosaur Tags: Medical Source Type: blogs
Omg
Really? I mean…REALLY??
From Medscape [behind paywall]:
In a statement to Medscape Medical News, AMA President Robert M. Wah, MD, said, “While immediate access to online information has been of great benefit to patients and health care professionals, the American Medical Association is greatly concerned that a substantial proportion of health information on the Internet might be inaccurate, erroneous, outdated, misleading, or fraudulent, and thereby pose a threat to patients and public health.”
All I can say has already been said here:
Everything I need to know about romance, sarcasm, math, and language I learne...
Source: Musings of a Dinosaur - March 24, 2015 Category: Primary Care Authors: notdeaddinosaur Tags: Medical Source Type: blogs
Ignorance, Knowledge, and Bliss; Not Always Obvious
I’ve just finished sitting through a wonderfully aptly named lecture: Probability and Sadistics, in which, among other things, we learned (again) that the utility of various clinical tests depends at least as much and generally more on the patient and condition involved than on the specific test itself. From stress tests to mammograms to PSAs, the relationships of true and false positive and negatives, positive and negative predictive values all hinge on the prevalence of disease; or how likely is it that a given condition is present before you even do the test. Lots of times when you crunch those numbers, the best a...
Source: Musings of a Dinosaur - March 22, 2015 Category: Primary Care Authors: notdeaddinosaur Tags: Medical Source Type: blogs
