Category: consultation-liaison psychiatry

  • Old Doctors vs Young Doctors

    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

    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

    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?

    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

    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

    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…

  • An Old Blog Post About My College Days in Texas

    An Old Blog Post About My College Days in Texas

    There’s something embarrassing yet fascinating about reading my old blog posts from years ago. The one I read yesterday is titled simply “I Remember HT Heroes.” I make connections between my undergraduate college days at Huston-Tillotson College (now Huston-Tillotson University (an HBCU in Austin, Texas) and my early career as a consultation psychiatrist at The…

  • Another Look at an Old Blog Post on Psychiatric Case Formulation

    Another Look at an Old Blog Post on Psychiatric Case Formulation

    I just had a look at a blog post on case formulation I wrote about 12 years ago. Aside from sounding a little pompous, I decided to check on the title I gave it back then: “What Kind of Disease Does the Person Have And What Kind of Person Has the Disease?” I looked at…

  • Shout Out to the European Delirium Association

    Shout Out to the European Delirium Association

    I just want to give an enthusiastic shout out to the European Delirium Association (EDA). I rediscovered the website. It’s updated and an extremely helpful organization in the study of delirium. It provides excellent education about the disorder. I met one of the past presidents of the EDA, Alasdair MacLullich back in the early 2010s.…

  • Time for Another Blast from the Past

    Time for Another Blast from the Past

    I found an interesting blog post from my previous blog, The Practical Psychosomaticist. I wrote it in 2011 and it’s about the patient experience of delirium. I was delirious briefly after a colonoscopy many years ago. I don’t remember much about it. But from what Sena tells me about it, it was similar to other…