Tomorrow night is our half way ball. It’s official, we’re halfway through the course now. 

This scares me. A lot.

After tomorrow night we’re past the point of no return. I hope to get exceedingly drunken and celebrate it.

In 1940, B-movie actor Ronald Reagan starred in the film Murder in the Air.  The future President played Brass Bancroft, a secret agent who discovers the existence of a laser that can shoot down missiles. At the time, the impact this would impact on public health policy was not clear.  Many years later, the 72-year-old President Reagan of the United States announced the Strategic Defense (sic) Initiative.  Ridiculed as “Star Wars”, the scheme was loosely based on the plot of the somewhat forgotten film.

 Described as like “hitting a bullet with a bullet”, the scheme was ultimately unsuccessful in its primary objective of developing a laser to shoot missiles out of the sky.  However, the investment by the government did pay off in technological advances.  Like many avenues of research, it went off in a direction utterly at odds with what was initially expected.  Scientists have now announced to the media that they are developing lasers to shoot down mosquitoes.  These researches had previously been working on President Reagan’s plan to build a laser for military purposes.

Mosquitoes are vectors for a myriad of infectious diseases, chief among them malaria, but also dengue fever, lymphatic filariasis and others.  Malaria was eradicated from Europe by use of the pesticide DDT, which kills the mosquitoes.  Other methods in current use to contain the spread of malaria by reducing human-mosquito contact include the use of insecticide-treated bed nets to repel mosquitoes.

In the same week, the BBC reported laser sweat ablation being used for the first time in the UK.  Excessive sweating, or hyperhidrosis, from the armpits was treated by a surgeon directing lasers to destroy sweat glands.  This disabling condition is very different to malaria, and has a very different cause, but lasers are now being used in its treatment.

The idea of controlling disease by using lasers to shoot mosquitoes sounds like it comes from Dr. Evil, but I would not rule out this becoming an effective intervention in the future.  The more we learn about pathogenesis, the more particulate causes of disease are discovered: parasites, bacteria, viruses and prions.  Lasers that are now learning to pick out and eliminate mosquitoes may be used in future to distinguish these pathogens from other matter.  Unlikely, but it may happen.  

The World Wide Web was created as a by-product of the main research at CERN.  It is difficult to predict what application some of the most theoretical scientific research will have.  We can only hope that it will be a weapon against disease rather than a new atomic bomb.

Well I stumbled up to my haematology placement today. 3 weeks of it. I was very keen and excited at the prospect of possible finally understanding this topic.

Now at 930pm as I read about haematology I’m thinking OMG… where do I start, where do I begin? It is such a huge topic..

Any thoughts?

This weekend I got to experience the NHS as a patient after lacerating my leg on something while paintballing.

A&E

Wound cleaning

Surgery

Food

Waiting

Thankyou

Channel 4 News on the implications of the 48-hour working week being brought in for UK doctors thanks to the European Working Time Directive (via RemedyUK). The Royal College of Surgeons of England speaks out. It’s unclear why the European directive applies to the UK and not all countries which in the Europe Union.

Who knew that they could be soooo much fun. Check this out: http://thisisindexed.com/

Hi Guys,

My lovely colleagues have told me about a new opportunity to submit your research for publication!. The Journal of Travel Medicine and Infectious Disease (TMAID) has introduced a new section entitled “First Look – Student Research”. Undergraduate and Postgraduate students are invited to submit manuscripts on any aspect of travel medicine, infectious disease or international health for publication in the Journal. What’s more there’s a prize for the best accepted paper this year. For more information on the competition and submitting click on the following link: 

http://www.elsevier.com/framework_products/promis_misc/TMAID_contest.pdf

I’ve had one of those mornings we all have i suppose. just drove 40 miles through rush hour to attend the neuro reg on the ward for teaching. my placement partner and i turn up to find a message to bleep the reg…no probs, i can blog therefore i can bleep.

“hi its your med students for teaching”

“oh I’m really busy..call my the other rag on bleep ***”

bleep 2nd reg…..yes you guessed it…no answer. bleep again…..nope not wanted.

ask the consultants secretary (who is God) and she bleeps the final reg…..yep definitely not wanted….we can go home!!!!!!

Like that was what i wanted. i joined medical school to drive to a place that does not want me…to bleep a reg who does not need me…..to then drive home to read my book.

(we did go and see two new neuro patients on AMU…but that was using initiative…which we are not qualified to use yet)

Im not sarcastic really…ohh yes i am

Jay

Student consult I think is the best thing since sliced bread! i can travel the country and I don’t have carry my books. I was away over the summer living in Hungary and was looking for an answer to a question and thank goodness for student consult! Plus saved me pounds on excess weight..

In all seriousness – you must register all books with student consult and spread the love!

www.studentconsult.com

Malta has announced that they will adopt the system run by the United Kingdom Foundation Programme Office for providing newly graduated doctors with . Dr Joe Cassar, the Parliamentary Undersecretary for Health in Malta, has described UKFPO as the “gold standard for medical training in Europe.” In the UK, RemedyUK persuaded 1600 doctors to write to the General Medical Council asking for the architects of Modernising Medical Careers to be brought to account. Problems encountered included applicants personal information including sexual orientation being made available unpassword-protected online.

There are reasons for UKFPO being keen to adopt Malta beyond aiming to provide a fair and transparent process for junior doctors. It is illegal under European law to discriminate against people applying for jobs based on their national origin. So a graduate from a UK medical school applying to UKFPO for their first two years work is on equal footing with a graduate from a medical school anywhere else in the European Economic Area, which includes Malta. The legal guarantee for graduates from UK medical schools to have jobs at the end of their five or six (or more) years of study was removed by the Medical Act 2006. There are many more Europeans speaking English than English people speaking European languages, and the UK is one of the more attractive places to live; there is a great asymmetry in applications to and from the continent. It is currently possible for applicants from other European countries to apply, not gain the job they want, be allocated another job, then withdraw from the process. Anecdotal evidence suggests that Maltese students were among the most common doing this. And why not? They were working to do well career-wise.

It is not yet clear whether students in Malta will be more tempted to remain in their place of graduation. RemedyUK is currently raising money to take their legal fight to the high court. Best of luck in Malta!