-
The FDA Announcement on Kratom
Just in case you missed it, the FDA posted an announcement about Kratom in February this year. According to the FDA: “Kratom is a tropical tree (Mitragyna speciosa) that is native to Southeast Asia. Products prepared from kratom leaves are available in the U.S. through sales on the Internet and at brick-and-mortar stores. Kratom is…
-
Remember The Calling
I recommend Dr. George Dawson’s recent posts on seeing the practice of medicine as a calling and his passing a big milestone with 2 million reads on his blog. I wrote a post entitled “Remembering Our Calling: MLK Day 2015.” It was republished in a local newspaper, the Iowa City Press-Citizen on January 19, 2015.…
-
Thoughts on a Study of Sitting with Your Patients
I saw this interesting article on a study about the effect of chair placement on physicians’ behavior when in a patient’s room, specifically whether it altered the length of time a doctor spends with a patient or the level of satisfaction patients had with the interaction. In this study, it didn’t lengthen the time, but…
-
Trips and Trip-Killers
I just read this JAMA Network article on trip-killers. It’s about using drugs to stop bad trips caused by hallucinogens. One mentioned was ketamine. When I was working as a consultation psychiatrist, I was called occasionally to evaluate patients in recovery rooms who were delirious from the ketamine that was sometimes used by anesthesiologists. I…
-
Old Doctors vs Young Doctors
I ran across a recently published web article that originated from the Wall Street Journal (WSJ), to which I don’t have access because I’m not a subscriber. The title is “Do Younger or Older Doctors Get Better Results?” and it’s in the form of an essay by Pete Ryan. It’s been picked up by over…
-
Heed Warnings About Risk for Frostbite
I just saw an article in the Daily Iowan about the importance of knowing how to avoid frostbite during wind chill advisory and warning periods. As a consulting psychiatrist in the general hospital, I saw what can happen to people who suffered frostbite injuries. They were treated on the Burn Unit. The risk for frostbite…
-
Complexity Intervention Units Past And Present
Here’s another blast from the past about Complexity Intervention Units (CIUs) or what used to be called Medical-Psychiatry Units. I co-staffed one for 17 years at Iowa Health Care, the organization formerly known as Prince. No wait, that used to be called the University of Iowa Hospitals & Clinics. They’re rebranding. I was looking up CIU…
-
Who Gets the Credit?
When I think about peak moments, I remember this guy back in junior high school who decided to try to break the Guinness Book of World Records for skipping rope. I don’t remember his name but the school principal and his teachers all agreed to let him do it during class hours. They marked out…
-
A Look Back at Intravenous Haloperidol for Delirium
I found one of my old blog posts about using intravenous infusions of haloperidol for delirium in the intensive care unit. The bottom line is it that it probably should not be used, in my opinion. This is sort of a follow up on my Christmas Eve blog post in which I mention talking to…
-
Testament to Testiness on Liaison Psychiatry
The other day, I got an email message from the Academy of Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry (ACLP). It was from the Med-Psych Special Interest Group (SIG). It was an intriguing question about a paper somebody was looking for and having trouble getting it through the usual channels. The paper was “The Liaison Psychiatrist as Busybody” by somebody…
Go Retire Psychiatrist 