The National Weather Service has issued an Excessive Heat Watch for many counties in Iowa starting August 20 through August 21. All next week will be marked by very hot temperatures, raising the risk for heat-related illness.
Category: Iowa
Remembrance of Dr. William R. Yates MD
I was thinking about the Clinical Problems in Consultation Psychiatry (CPCP) learning sessions which was introduced to me by one of my first teachers in the University of Iowa Dept of Psychiatry, Dr. William R. (Bill) Yates.
I had originally been thinking of posting one of my own CPCPs that I presented in 2015. It was about the psychosocial adjustment of patients to ostomy.
I searched widely and in vain on the web for any recent information about what Dr. Yates was doing now. I was surprised and saddened to discover his obituary. He died on January 19, 2023 in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
As the obituary says:
He served on the faculty at the University of Iowa for Psychiatry and Family Medicine before becoming Professor and Chair of Psychiatry at the University of Oklahoma College of Medicine in Tulsa. After retiring, he continued to dedicate his time as a volunteer research psychiatrist at OU and the Laureate Institute for Brain Research where he also served on the board of directors. He authored over 100 scientific manuscripts that were published in peer-reviewed journals.
He was an energetic, a great teacher, had a great sense of humor, and was easy to get along with. He published in many scientific journals and taught many trainees. He was an avid bird watcher and his blog Brain Posts highlighting neuroscience research findings is still visible on the web.
He published the paper along with a chief resident on problem-based learning used on the psychiatry consult-liaison service in 1996, the year I graduated psychiatry residency and joined the faculty at The University of Iowa Hospitals & Clinics (Yates, W. R. and T. T. Gerdes (1996). “Problem-based learning in consultation psychiatry.” Gen Hosp Psychiatry 18(3): 139-144.) You can read the abstract for it along with a description of the CPCP at the link above which takes you to my April 19, 2019 blog post “Clinical Problems in Consultation Psychiatry.”
When he was the leader of the psychiatry consult service, we were still using paper charts and his staffing comments were always very brief and encapsulated the assessment and plan succinctly without wasted verbiage—contrasting with my long-winded note.
His remarks about his role at Laureate Institute for Brain Research is still accessible:
“I work part-time as a research psychiatrist for the assessment team at the Laureate Institute for Brain Research. We do research diagnostic assessments for a variety of imaging, genetic and biomarkers studies in mood, anxiety and other brain disorders. I also provide review and analysis of neuroscience research on my blog Brain Posts that can be found at www.brainposts.blogspot.com. You can follow me on Twitter @WRY999. I also use my blog and Twitter feed to share my bird photography images.”
I respected and admired Dr. Yates, as I’m sure many learners did. I will always remember Bill as a gifted scientist and teacher.
I think a fitting tribute would be to go ahead and post my CPCP on the psychosocial adjustment of patients with ostomy. One of the most interesting articles in the bibliography is how the mindfulness meditation approach to that adjustment can be very helpful. The website United Ostomy Association of America website is also informative.
The presentation is also limited to a dozen slides. I often encouraged learners to keep the number of slides to a managed number so the presentations wouldn’t run too long. I called my slide sets the Dirty Dozens.
Many thanks to Dr. William R. Yates and my condolences to his family.
Terry Trueblood Garden of Natural and Not So Natural Things
On a balmy day we went for a walk on the Terry Trueblood trail. There was a cool breeze in contrast to the brutal humidity lately. There was a mix of natural beauty and some not so natural sights.
The flowers were gorgeous as usual. But we also saw stacked stones close to the shore of the lake. I should say there were a couple of stacked stones and one which was made of tree branches that reminded me of the Eiffel Tower.
That was the first time we’ve ever seen stacked stones there. I looked up the topic of stacking stones on the web and there’s disagreement about whether it’s a good thing or not. Some say it disturbs the natural order of things while others say it pays homage to nature.
We saw a couple of people out on the shore and one of them kicked over one of the piles. I guess that’s one person who doesn’t like rock stacking.
We also saw a pair of black hands stamped on the sidewalk. What’s that about? Some say that black hands are about death, criminality, or even the Black Lives Matter movement. I don’t know what it means.
And a couple of the large stones along the edges of the parking lot were shoved out of place. Who knows why. They looked very heavy. It probably took a lot of work to move them, and for no apparent reason. It reminded me of the rocks, some of which weigh several hundred pounds, that seem to move by themselves across the desert in Death Valley Park, leaving trails behind. There’s a natural explanation for it, involving the interplay of ice, wind, and water. I’m pretty sure humans moved them.
Anyway, there was plenty of natural beauty along the trail. They were the only source of wonder we cared about that day.
Iowa City Art in the Parks Lark 2023
The new sculptures are out in the parks and they are wonderful! We dashed out a couple days ago and logged a little over 3 miles on my step counter visiting them in several locations. The best way to get started is to read the Iowa City article, “Iowa City Sculptors Showcase.” You can get a nice map to find out where the new sculptures are and more about the artists.
Sena can’t see why Tim Adams’ Open Arms sculpture was not named The Kiss—because that’s what she thinks it looks like.
We both like Adams’s interactive work, Prairie Tussock. It reportedly spins in the wind according to the description, but I think it would take something more like what the Weather Channel might warn you about.
In fact, it has a handle to grab and reminds me of a schoolyard game we called tetherball. It was a dangerous game and I just read that it was banned because the ball could smack you in the head. I don’t even want to think about what the swinging Prairie Tussock could do to you. Remember the movie Beetlejuice? One of the characters was a woman who was a sculptor. She had a great line, “This is my art and it is dangerous!” Keep your head down.
Sena’s number 2 favorite was Hilde DeBruyne’s Circle of Trust. Her number 3 was Adams’ The Kiss—I mean Open Arms.
Prairie Tussock was also my number 1 favorite. Number 2 was a toss up between Dan Perry’s Architrave and DeBruyne’s Circle of Trust. Number 3 for me was Aidar Ishemgulov’s Upside Down. There was so much height to Architrave that I missed getting the whole thing from top to bottom. We had to return the next day to get a proper shot. I think the top part of it resembles a torch.
We enjoyed all of them, though. We think you would too.
Shout Out to University of Iowa Hospitals Doctor Joseph Zabner!
Here’s a big shout out and congratulations to my former University Hospitals colleague Dr. Joseph Zabner who received the 2023 Distinguished Mentor Award.
Maybe an Iowa State Fair Contest Would Settle the Score in UFO Flap
I just saw the news story about the whistleblower David Grusch a couple days ago. Apparently, Mr. Grusch’s personal medical record was obtained through the state of Virginia’s Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and released to the public. He was one of three people who testified recently at the House Oversight Committee hearing on Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP). He reported that the Department of Defense (DoD) had knowledge of extraterrestrial craft and “biologics” (extraterrestrial bodies?).
This reminds me of one of the final comments by one of the other three witnesses, which is worth framing as a quote:
“Don’t make the fish bigger than it was.” — retired Commander David Fravor of the U.S. Navy.
The current director of the DoD organization for UFOs, Sean Kirkpatrick, PhD, who heads the All-Domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO), expressed his objection in no uncertain terms to Mr. Grusch’s testimony, calling it insulting.
Anyway, I had to learn a little bit more about the FOIA, and found out that in addition to the federal government FOIA, each state has its own FOIA process. I looked up the Virginia state FOIA, and usually personal medical records are one of the exempted files. Apparently, they can still release them.
I think this might be an attempt to discredit Mr. Grusch. I’m puzzled by the release of his medical history. I don’t know anything about specific protections for retaliation against whistleblowers, but I would think exposing anyone’s medical record would count.
Not to spread any more conspiracy theories, but what if this whole thing is a well-orchestrated complex distraction from the general shambles of our political system? It would tend to discourage other whistleblowers from coming forward. Maybe that’s the intent.
If politicians and people in general were to make a concerted effort to treat each other with civility, respect, and a sense of humor, maybe these embarrassing sideshows could be minimized.
I don’t know if UAP involve advanced civilizations from across the galaxy and I doubt it. In fact, I tend to think a quote from Men in Black would fit:
“Human thought is so primitive it’s looked upon as an infectious disease in the better galaxies.”
I’m pretty sure most ETs have been steering clear of us for a long time.
How about this: the Iowa State Fair is on now, and it runs from August 10-20. I haven’t checked this out with anyone at the Fair, but if we could persuade David Grusch and Sean Kirkpatrick to settle their differences by competing in one or more of the contests coming up in the coming week, we might be able to get them to shake hands and have some laughs. Sena and I have never been to the Iowa State Fair, but if this event could be added, I think we could swing a trip there.
I see that the Cow Chip Throwing contest is scheduled for August 16 at 11 a.m. That would be a knee slapper.
It’s too late to arrange for them to compete in the Monster Arm Wrestling contest, which is this Sunday. Could a special event be scheduled later?
How about a cribbage game? The Cribbage Tournament is on August 20, starting at 10 a.m. with registration and the games start at 11 a.m. Now that would be special since Sena and I are fans of the game. David and Sean would have to learn how to play cribbage ahead of time, and it’s not that hard.
There are other events, but the guys need to get ready and decide soon so they can enter. And they should notify me so that Sena and I can make the trip to Des Moines and catch the action.
Both winner and loser should get free corn dogs.
Wings in the Garden
We’ve got more videos of birds and a butterfly (which I think is a swallowtail) in our garden. The catbirds and oddly, song sparrows (I thought they were rare in our part of the country?) are turning out to be regular visitors. They like the mulberries and spend a lot of time preening. They visit every day and they’re always a welcome sight.
UI Hospitals & Clinics Gets U.S. News & World Report Recognition
This is just a shout-out to The University of Iowa Hospitals & Clinics for once again being recognized as one of the top hospitals in the nation by U.S. News & World Report.
The Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences Department ranked 6th in the nation.
Doctors Still Oppose Board Mandated Maintenance of Certification Programs
I got a pang of anti-nostalgia after reading the latest article calling for abolition of Maintenance of Certification (MOC), posted by Medscape on August 1, 2023. There is a petition by oncologists to end MOC. So, what else is new? So far it has almost 10,000 signatures.
I remember my own petition in 2014 to end the American Board of Medical Specialists (ABMS) attempt to establish Maintenance of Licensure (MOL), a kissing cousin of MOC, which would have blocked physicians from getting a state medical license if they didn’t comply with MOC requirements. It was supported by both the Iowa Psychiatric Society and the Iowa Medical Society. It got a lot of signatures and many comments in support of opposing both MOC and MOL. The glaringly obvious motive by member boards to require MOC is money and always has been, in my opinion.
I’m baffled at why this debate still rages on. It looks like almost no progress has been made in the last decade, apparently because the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) and other boards ignore the clear messages from rank-and-file doctors about how MOC actually interferes with efforts to pursue practical continuing medical education.
I have always been a staunch supporter of physician-led continuing medical education. At the hospital where I worked as a consultation-liaison psychiatrist, the consult service ran the Clinical Problems in Consultation Psychiatry (CPCP). It was a weekly case-based conference, which I have written about in a 2019 post.
Ironically, the Performance in Practice (PIP) delirium clinical assessment tool module that I and one of the residents created is still offered for credit on the American Board of Psychiatry & Neurology continuing education web site. I think it demonstrates the ability of individual doctors to establish practical methods for developing their own continuing education programs.
Acts of Kindness Spotted in Walmart!
If you read the news, you rarely find any stories about acts of kindness. Everybody is slamming everybody else. Sena sees acts of kindness at Walmart. Not long ago, a Walmart grocery shopper went out of his way to be kind to her.
She was in the checkout lane of a cashier who greets everyone with a cheery “Did you find everything you want? Thank you for shopping at Walmart!” People actually try to get into her lane, probably to get a dose of her kindness. They will arm wrestle for the privilege, best 2 out of 3 wins.
I rarely go grocery shopping but actually recognized her from Sena’s description and scooted into her lane. She even placed the sacks of groceries up on top of the circle of bags to make it easier for me to grab them, making it less likely to forget them—which is something I would probably do. She’s easy to find; she’s the only one still wearing both a medical grade mask, face shield, and gloves.
Sena almost always encounters kindness from random shoppers and Walmart workers who see her struggling to reach an item on a high shelf. They’ll say “Let me help you with that.”
Anyway, where was I? Oh, the shopper kindness incident. She was in the kind cashier’s lane behind another couple who also prefer this cashier. She had encountered them elsewhere in the store and the guy joked with her about cottage cheese.
There were no dividers to separate Sena’s groceries on the conveyer belt from his, so she used a package of celery and announced it to the cashier—who forgot that and rung it up along with a couple of other items) for the guy and his wife in front of Sena. Sena caught the mistake and they all joked about it.
After the couple left the store with their groceries and as Sena was checking her items, she felt a tap on her shoulder. It was the guy who had been in front of her. He handed her a package of mushrooms, the one item that the cashier had charged to him by mistake and had not caught. He had probably gone all the way out to the parking lot and somehow noticed the mushrooms.
He gave Sena the mushrooms and told her that he didn’t want her to get all the way home and find out that she didn’t have them for a recipe.
Sena knew he’d been charged for them and because she didn’t carry enough cash to pay him back, advised him he could get the mistake fixed at customer service. By this time, it was too late for everyone’s favorite cashier to correct it.
The guy said the transaction was too complicated and not worth standing in the long line at customer service.
But it was worth his while to get all the way out to the parking lot and walk all the way back in to return a $2 package of mushrooms to Sena.
Sometimes, it seems to me we spend more time on the lookout for UFOs in the sky than for human acts of kindness on earth.
Go Retire Psychiatrist 