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More Thoughts on Physicians Going on Strike
I noticed Dr. H. Steven Moffic, MD had written another article in Psychiatric Times asking whether it’s time for psychiatrists to consider going on strike. Often the issue triggering discussions about this is the rising prevalence of physician burnout. I’ve already given my personal opinion about physicians going on strike and the short answer is…
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MLK Week Redux for the New University of Iowa Psychiatry Fellows
I discovered the University of Iowa Dept of Psychiatry had a very successful match, filling key residency slots in Child Psychiatry, Addiction Medicine, and Consultation-Liaison fellowships. Congratulations! That’s a big reason to celebrate. This reminds me of my role as a teacher. I retired from the department two and a half years ago. But I’ll…
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CDC Identifies Preliminary Covid-19 Vaccine Safety Signal
The CDC announced that a prelimary Covid-19 Vaccine Safety signal has been identified in a recent update on their website: “Following the availability and use of the updated (bivalent) COVID-19 vaccines, CDC’s Vaccine Safety Datalink (VSD), a near real-time surveillance system, met the statistical criteria to prompt additional investigation into whether there was a safety…
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Bivalent Covid-19 Booster Protects Us
University of Iowa Health Care participated in research which demonstrates that people over age 65 who got the updated bivalent Covid-19 vaccine booster:
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An Old Post on Breaking Bad News
I’m reposting a piece about a sense of humor and breaking bad news to patients I first wrote for my old blog, The Practical Psychosomaticist about a dozen years ago. I still believe it’s relevant today. The excerpt from Mark Twain is priceless. Because it was published before 1923 (See Mark Twain’s Sketches, published in…
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Giving Credit Where Credit is Due
Here’s another vintage post from around a decade ago after my former Psychiatry Dept chairperson, Dr. Robert G. Robinson and I published our book, Psychosomatic Medicine: An Introduction to Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry” in 2010. Blog: Who Gets The Credit? When I think about peak moments, I remember this guy back in junior high school who decided…
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Blast from the Past Blog
I thought I’d re-post something from my previous blog, The Practical Psychosomaticist, which I cancelled several years ago. The title is “Face Time versus Facebook.” I sound really old in it although it appeared in 2011. I’m a little more comfortable with the concept of social media nowadays and, despite how ignorant I was back…
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Factitious Disorder and Civil Commitment
Similar to my previous post on the role of civil commitment and catatonia, I’d like to share my thoughts on what little is known about Factitious Disorder and civil commitment. There is not much to say, in brief. In fact, many writers can find a lot to say about the other interesting clinical features of…
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Catatonia: A Special Case in Civil Commitment for Psychiatric Disorders
Dr. George Dawson had an outstanding blog post on New Year’s Eve, “The Rights Versus Treatment Debate.” It reminded me of a special case of medical/psychiatric illness: Catatonia. Catatonia can lead to deadly consequences, which can lead to conflicts between psychiatrists and lawyers. Moreover, it can also affect insurance reimbursement, although I usually didn’t have…
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Congratulations to Paul Thisayakorn, MD!
I got a wonderful holiday greeting from one of my favorite past residents, Paul Thisayakorn, MD. He’s running a top-notch Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry (CL-P) Service and a brand-new C-L Fellowship in Thailand. I could not be more excited for him and his family. His wife, Bow, runs the Palliative Care Service. He and Bow answered our…
Go Retire Psychiatrist 