Every once in a great while, I hear a former student say he or she is trying to “channel” a favorite teacher, usually when the days are a chore to get through or a major challenge to professional identity or some other sorrow is afoot. I do the same. I had a favorite teacher too. […]
Which Medical Specialist Should Discuss Death with Patients? Is That the Right Question?
July 30, 2011 By Leave a Comment
I recently saw the Boston Globe report saying that physicians have received “remarkably little instruction on how to discuss death” with their patients (at link http://www.boston.com/lifestyle/health/articles/2011/07/24/at_mass_general_palliative_care_changes_patients_lives/?page=full) [1]. It’s led to the rise of palliative care as a subspecialty in the development of teams to “live with serious illness–and cope with its toughest decisions.” Palliative care […]
Melatonin to Prevent Delirium?
July 29, 2011 By Leave a Comment
I laughed when somebody in our administrative office sent me an email link to a case report on how melatonin might treat delirium. But then I ran across the randomized placebo-controlled trial published recently in the International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry [1]. Out of 145 patients aged 65 year or over, 72 were randomly assigned […]
Delirium Management in Community-Based Palliative Care (or Delirium Masquerading as Pain), an Annotated Video
July 28, 2011 By Leave a Comment
This very interesting and rather long (about and hour) video details management of delirium in the cancer patient. The physician, Dr. Ted Braun with the Calgary Health Region and University of Calgary Division of Palliative Medicine, giving the presentation discusses common problems in recognizing delirium, one of them being the fluctuating nature of the syndrome. […]
British Book Review of Psychosomatic Medicine: An Introduction to Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry Edited by Yours Truly and Dr. Robert G. Robinson, M.D. at the University of Iowa
July 27, 2011 By Leave a Comment
I just thought I ‘d share the first book review I’ve seen about Psychosomatic Medicine: An Introduction to Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry edited by me and my colleague, Dr. Robert G. Robinson, MD. The book was a labor of love and the credit for this favorable review goes to the contributors. Heaven knows what we can change. […]
Serotonin Syndrome Educational Module at the NMS Information Service Web Site
July 26, 2011 By Leave a Comment
http://www.nmsis.org/content.asp?type=education&src=pages/serotoninsyndrome.asp&title=Serotonin+Syndrome Dr. Rosebush has a very nice review about Serotonin Syndrome at the link above, which is on the web site for the Neuroleptic Malignant Syndrome Information Service (NMSIS) at http://www.nmsis.org/. The one drug I often think of when trying to puzzle through complicated serotonin syndrome cases is Tramadol (Ultram), an opioid-like analgesic that can […]
New Psychosomatic Medicine Subspecialties?
July 25, 2011 By Leave a Comment
I really enjoyed the comments from Dr. Wood (see home page) posted on July 19, 2011. His suggestion about making a new sub-specialty within Psychosomatic Medicine called “vascular psychiatry” reminded me of an outstanding paper by a giant in Psychosomatic Medicine, Dr. Thomas N. Wise, MD. The title is “The Journey to Sub-specialization in Psychosomatic […]
Psychosocial Evaluations for Organ Transplantation According to the Practical Psychosomaticist
July 24, 2011 By 3 Comments
What follows is my non-copyrighted summary of my approach to the psychiatric evaluation of candidates for organ transplantation. I don’t consider myself a transplant psychiatrist and I very seldom conduct these assessments nowadays. You should not take my word as gospel and always consult your physician about any matter concerning health care. The content in […]
The Maintenance of Certification for Psychiatrists or Maybe I Don’t Need Multiple Certifications
July 23, 2011 By Leave a Comment
So I have been studying the American Board of Psychiatry & Neurology (ABPN) guidelines on their recently revamped web site at http://www.abpn.com/psych.html. The site looks like it’s still under construction in one or two places and navigation is still a little challenging. Maintenance of Certification (MOC) is a jugular issue these days, mainly because of […]
Iowa Psychiatric Society Annual Fall Meeting 2011
July 22, 2011 By Leave a Comment
cmetracker.net/UIOWA/Files/Brochures/50892.pdf The link above takes you to a pdf file of the brochure for the annual Fall Iowa Psychiatric Society conference, which is being held October 7- in Iowa City, Iowa at the Holiday Inn Hotel and Conference Center, 1220 1st Ave in Coralville, Iowa. The title of the program is “Medical Aspects of Mental […]
