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Back in the Saddle Again
This is just a short update on how phased retirement is going. I’m back in the saddle. Last Friday I went back on duty on the Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry service. I’m at 50% time. My step counter today shows about 2 miles and 17 floors—a slow day. That’s fine with me. Colleagues pass me in the…
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Ten Month Countdown to Retirement
Starting this month, I’ve got a 10-month countdown to retirement. I was reminded of that when I got a brochure in the mail for the University of Wisconsin 7th Annual Update and Advances in Psychiatry. It’s scheduled for October 11-12, 2019 at the Monona Terrace, which is the usual location. I’ve received these announcements in…
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Suicide Risk Assessment Update 2019
I updated my suicide risk assessment presentation today in light of new data on suicide risk assessment stratification. It turns out that using such tools might not be supported by the research evidence. That’s not going to stop the use of such tools, which include the Columbia–Suicide Severity Rating Scale, which is in wide use.…
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If You Can’t Stand the Heat…
We saw this rabbit in our front yard today, stretched out on the grass under our crabapple tree. It’s 117 degrees this afternoon with the heat index and we won’t get out from under the Excessive Heat Warning until later this evening. Thank goodness for air conditioning. Rabbits don’t have air conditioning and can’t escape…
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Whatever Happened to the Janus Head Logo for ACLP?
I got an email from Don R. Lipsitt, MD yesterday which reminded me of the Janus Head logo for the Academy of Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry (ACLP). It was changed to another sort of nondescript logo several years ago for reasons I didn’t understand. Dr. Lipsitt is a luminary in C-L Psychiatry and recently published a definitive…
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Hoofing it Around the Hospital
Again today, I hoofed it around the hospital. I put 43 floors and a little over 4 miles on my step counter. I don’t like waiting for elevators so I take the stairs. And a Consult-Liaison Psychiatrist is like a fireman, running all over putting out fires. I did other things today. I gave the…
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Back in the Saddle
Well, I’m pretty tapped out, so it’ll be a short post today. I’m back in the saddle, running around the hospital on the psychiatry consult service. This is my last year of phased retirement and in 11 months—I’ll be fully retired. I put 36 floors and 3 miles on the step counter. I’m feeling every…
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Informal Bedside Tests for Delirium
Most of this post is an updated redux from years ago about an informal bedside test for delirium called the oral trails test. I learned about it from my senior resident when I was a junior psychiatry resident in training at the VA Medical Center. There was an elderly patient admitted to the psychiatry unit…
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My Top Ten YouTube Videos
OK, my top ten YouTube videos are going to get pretty low ratings anyplace else. But where else are you going to see the list but on my blog? In a world where popular videos are viral at a million plus views, I’m way in the back yard. I wasn’t very picky, of course, because…
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Quiz Show versus Grand Rounds for Delirium Education Redux
Here’s a redux of one of my blog posts from years ago. There’s not been much change in the data or clinical practice regarding delirium, except we’re even less enthusiastic about using any kind of psychotropic medication to treat delirium, even hypoactive delirium. Try the puzzle. “So, you want to put on a game show…
Go Retire Psychiatrist 