A recent article in the Boston Globe (Doctors debate safety of their white coats) talked about how doctors had realised that their traditional white coats were 'germ magnets,' and how they were now discarding them in favour of less formal attire. Setting aside the rather obvious question of why a dirty white lab coat would be any more rancid than a dirty shirt - a point also sidestepped in the article - the Globe went on to suggest that the good natured debate that had ensued 'touched on shifting perceptions of the physician’s role.' On the one hand, the white lab coat is a symbol of trust. There are studies that show powerful placebo effects of people wearing white lab coats (see … [Read more...] about Perception is everything
Evidence based medicine: why are we even debating it?
This post comes from CPN member Carley King. Carley is a physiotherapist who has developed an interest in evidence based medicine during her Masters in Clinical Research. Here Carley reports on the recent debate on the value of Evidence based medicine at the CSP Congress. Spoiler alert: I’m not sure that evidence-based medicine (EBM) as we understand it at the moment is fit for purpose. That’s my bias out in the open! But on hearing this opening line, I couldn't help but allow a small part of me to wonder if it was ridiculous to even consider an alternative...a very clever debating ploy there! As the debate progressed, it became clear to me that there were some key issues … [Read more...] about Evidence based medicine: why are we even debating it?
New: Openings
Physiotherapists, like all orthodox western health professionals, love endings. Think about it. Every time we begin a new patient assessment, we have got one eye on the patient's discharge. We love goals and outcome measures so that we can measure when milestones have been reached and end-points achieved. It seems every opening to a new episode of care comes with an implicit expiration date. Naturally, funders are eager that packages of care are limited and treatments don't extend on into days, weeks and months, and we seem to have accepted the inherent logic that care must have term limits. Time-limited care suits acute illnesses and injuries that are, by definition, … [Read more...] about New: Openings