Call me paranoid but I am careful about what I allow in my house. When I buy toys for my son I actually look to see where they are made. The same with clothing. And ditto for food items. Although I consider these actions quite sound, there is a kink when it comes to execution.

You see, I try to buy safe items. The lead paint toy scare made me steer clear of toys from China. This was something I tried to do anyhow preferring USA manufactured items. Read more →

Anyone who has tried to visit a primary care physician lately likely knows first hand that there is a shortage of general practice physicians in the United States. Primary care physicians provide half of the health care obtained in the outpatient setting, but over the past several decades, career interest in internal medicine, particularly general internal medicine — the specialty primarily responsible for providing care to adults — has declined among medical students.

A recent issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association published a study examining the factors that influence medical students’ choices in choosing a medical specialty, particularly internal medicine. Read more →

It goes something like this… “Patient seen for initial physical therapy evaluation on Aug 7th 2008. Patient is a 65-year old male, who sustained a CVA on June 26th 2008. Patient was accompanied to the ER when complaints of…”. Documentation, commonly referred to as “notes” is often the bane of the rehabilitation professionals work day. It is common to hear therapists and nurses and physicians mention how much they enjoy interacting with their patients and treating them; but they often have less positive things to say about the documentation process. Read more →

War is hard. It is hard on the economies of the countries involved; it is hard on the leaders of governments; it is hard on the families of those left behind for deployment; it is especially hard on the soldiers. It is no secret that, for generations of wars and military conflicts, soldiers have experienced stress and trauma that leaves a permanent mark on their health and well-being. For some soldiers, this may be a scar, a battle wound, or the loss of a limb. But for some soldiers, the damage is less apparent, manifested in mental health disorders, including posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, and alcohol misuse. Read more →