Monday 5 September 2016

Japan tell Britain what they think of Brexit


This is Shinzo Abe the prime minister of Japan, you may recognize him as the 'super mario' from his incredible entrance at the Rio Olympics closing ceremony. Japan has just published what has to be one of the most brutal and honest opinions of the Britains Brexit plans, all in a document titled 'Japan's message to the UK and the EU". They strongly request Britain do not go ahead with Brexit. One of the reasons is that Japan has invested huge amounts of money in the UKs financial market. read about it HERE with links to the full document

Sunday 4 September 2016

Junior Doctors Contract Dispute

So you have probably that junior doctors in England were striking earlier this year and that is some kind of contract dispute going on. So rather than write a long rant about it, here is great video by the well spoken Dr Lauren Gavaghan explaining the situation and a lovely rant by Dr Rant himself answering some of the popular questions.

"There is no funding, there is no plan, there is no model. You cannot stretch an already under-staffed NHS to seven days withou staff, without funding... and impose a contract"

Dear Reader. Here is a very quick guide to answer questions about the junior doctor pay dispute.
1) "The junior doctors are greedy and just want more pay". The junior doctors and the BMA were not insisting on a new contract. The old one works fairly well, but needed to be updated. The goverment are the ones who want to force a new contract through.
2) "They don't want to work weekends". They already do. Most junior doctors have worked every second or third weekend since qualifying. Like most of us, they'd prefer to be paid more at weekends. The new contract basically defines a weekend as 'Sunday evening'.
3) "They're all communist / Trotsky / lefty militants who want to bring down the Government". They're a bunch of A grade graduates who want to help people. In the 1980s, junior doctors didn't strike over 100+ hour weeks. In the 2000s, junior doctors didn't strike over the career-destroying MMC/MTAS. In fact, this is the first series of strikes in 40+ years. Compare this to tube drivers, who strike far more often. Not exactly militant behaviour by the juniors, is it?
4) "They're playing politics with the NHS". They will be losing a quarter of their monthly wages, and may need to repeat their training year as a result of these strikes. Meanwhile, multi-millionaire, Jeremy Hunt could end the industrial action in seconds.

Saturday 3 September 2016

Study methods you should try

BLA BLA BLA BLA secret message hereIts time to go back to school or university (well for some of us). Its amazing how many people stick to their old study methods, Although these may work for some they can be terribly inefficient. This article has some great advice.

Friday 2 September 2016

September Round-Up (Medical Student gems)

Youtube Channel: Vsauce
It has to be the most interesting video channel on the internet. Michael Stevens the main host has become an internet personality and star as a result of his fascinating channel, in fact Vsauce now is spread over four channels on Youtube; Vsauce1 (linked above), Vsauce2 (hosted by Kevin Lieber), Vsauce3 (dedicated to virtual worlds and Wesauce. There are often videos about medical themes or ancient medical practises for those looking for most medically related content. I absolutely love this channel and it never fails to leave me in a completely pensive state about the universe or nature of things. 

Doctors dissected is an incredibly honest insight into the lives of Doctors. Jane Haynes (a psychotherapist) asks various British doctors (a few of them London based GP's) about the reasons they chose medicine and how they feel about the profession today. The answers are often incredibly heartfelt and you feel you really are experiencing a side of these doctors that very few people would get to see. I finished this book with a feeling that Medicine has changed dramatically over the last forty years both for the better and for the worse (its often mentioned the loss of continuity of care has been the worst loss to current medical practice). 

Twitter accounts: @NEJM @Qikipedia
The New England Journal of Medicine and The QI elves, the Kings/Queens of interesting facts (Not strictly medical account but very entertaining nonetheless). 

Webpage: Sporcle
This website, although its full of games, is a fantastic site for educational time killers. I found myself addicted to trying to name all the countries in Europe, Africa and eventually the world. So again not strictly medical, however, if you want something medical there are some medically related quizzes. For example try naming all the eponymous syndromes..

Film: The Doctor
Ok the choice is obvious and it may seem like a boring movie but this movie was the centre of my course on professionalism and there are some lessons to learn. The main character, an arrogant heart surgeon, gets laryngeal cancer and the movie follows his journey through the patient experience. 





Thursday 1 September 2016

Junior doctors and learned helplessness; a rant.

Pete Devesons's speech opposing the motion "This house believes that medicine is the best career in the world", recorded at the #BMJLive Big Debate in London on 23/10/15. Its been a rough ride for Junior Doctors but now lets take action, keep looking up.