Grand Rounds V. 5, No. 27

Now that I'm posting with a little more frequency, I submitted one of my recent entries to the bloggers' grand rounds. They're up to Vol. 5, No. 27 over at Code Blog, and since I was linked, I'm glad to be able to send some readers in that direction. Enjoy this week's best in medical blogging.

The Open Laboratory 2008

Remember when I used to blog about science?

Lately I've been defending a position that scientists and engineers ARE needed in emergency rooms. But these arguments have been confined to physicians' offices in Boston, Chicago and San Francisco. I've neglected (or spared) you my vision (or opinion). So too have posts at my other blogs trailed off, the correction of which would be on my list of resolutions, if I made them.

But here's some good news to jump start my 2009 blogging efforts: Hope for Pandora has been included in The Open Laboratory 2008 for contributing one of the top 50 science blog posts of the year.

Those of you who've been with me the longest may remember my "Dear Reviewer" post from about a year ago. It's a lovelorn account of the complex relationship between author and peer reviewer.

I've read several of the other posts (over the year and this morning) and am honored to be in such good company. Head over to A Blog Around the Clock for the full list, and stay tuned for how you can get your hands on a hard copy or .pdf.

Carnivals!!!

My fellow bloggers,

Are you looking for some carnivals to showcase your best writing? Listen up!

Like so many of my extra-curricular interests, blogging has fallen a bit behind in the face of licensing board exams, finals, and long hospital work hours. It doesn't help that my current bus lines do not have wireless... But you've seen an increase here and at The Differential of late. I am really excited about what is going down over at Clashing Culture in the next two weeks. Thanks to the strong work one of my co-bloggers there (Mike, also known as Tangled Up In Blue Guy), Clashing Culture will be hosting not one, not two, but three carnivals in the next two weeks.

On deck over there is:

• October 8: Carnival of the Liberals ... Liberal politics hosted by Mike
• October 8: Four Stone Hearth ... Anthropology hosted by me
• October 15: Carnival of Evolution ... Evolution hosted by Mike
  

If you want to submit to any of these, click on the links above to either connect to a web form or to email the host.

Carnivals!

Hey You!

Go check out two recent blog carnivals that I happen to have entries featured in. There's a moving collection of "Why I'm in medicine" posts at the Grand Rounds hosted by Edwin Leap, and my Differential colleague, Ben Ferguson assembled and reviewed a great collection of cancer articles at nosugrefneb.

Grand Rounds

From Alaska to the South Pacific, they're blogging about medicine. And David at Marianas Eye has got the best from this week. Head over there for a large collection of clever lead-ins for each entry to Medicine Grand Rounds.

Grand Rounds!

Bertalan Meskó of ScienceRoll has compiled a wide assortment of posts for this week's edition of Grand Rounds. If you need your med blogging fix, grab some coffee and head over there...

Peds Grand Rounds is Coming to Town

This edition (Volume 2, Edition 12) of Pediatric Grand Rounds is presented in the context of that familiar ode to the jolly fat man. Some readers may bristle at the extent to which I conformed to the hegemony that Christmas has over the month of December, but the truth is that kids love Christmas. What I didn’t realize before compiling these entries is the extent that Santa Claus prescribes prevention in this instructive carol.

Before we strike up the band, Pediatrics Grand Rounds needs a new home. Clark Bartram did a great job initiating the tradition of collecting interesting pediatrics articles, but PGR is now in search of a new administrator. Please consider whether you could host or coordinate future editions. If you are interested, please comment on this post or send an email to Clark or me. Do the same if you would like to host January’s issue. With thanks to Thomas Nast and without further ado...


You better watch out for the greatest threat to kids’ health. Steven Parker brings home a topic that is close to my heart and flies under the radar too often in this country.

You better not cry, or is it actually okay to cry sometimes? Kristen Heinan at The Differential offers a connection between the difficult experiences in the PICU and the world outside.

You better not pout, I'm telling you why: the person responsible for your care, protection and nutrition might forsake you.

Santa Claus is coming to town and he’s bringing a new puppy. Curious about whether new puppies and new babies combine to produce pediatric allergies? Med Journal Watch digests the answer for you...

He's making a list of effective parenting techniques; or at least Dave Munger and his readers at Cognitive Daily are. Scientific studies of parenting are common, but studies linking parenting to morality are scarce. That’s why you should check this post out.

Checking it twice, just like you need to do with those pediatric liquid medicines. Mexico Medical Student helps you out with the not-so-simple math.

Gonna find out who's naughty - I bet you thought internet trolls were just bad for your blog. Sandy at Junkfood Science explains how trolls can turn into killers.

or nice. The Thinking Mother knows who is naughty and nice at home and in the classroom. She also offers ideas about how to facilitate more nice behavior.

Santa Claus is coming to town, and he’s got great gifts for kids of all ages. And Dr. Gwenn compiled them all into this handy compendium for your holiday shopping.

He knows you when you are sleeping, and Michael Breus thinks we all should be paying more attention to how much our teenagers sleep.

He knows when you're awake, and if you’re in between being awake and asleep, chances are you have yawned recently. Now is that because you’re tired? Dr. Deb thinks not.

He knows if you've been bad or good, but can dear old Santa resolve the dilemma about the 14-year-old Jehovah’s Witness who refused blood transfusion in Seattle and as a result died last month? Several bloggers have offered their perspectives critical of this situation including Beast at Atheist Haven and Orac at Respectful Insolence. Not happy with unbalanced perspectives, I offer my own assessment.

So be good for goodness sake! Sometimes, however a 3-year-old’s conception of good is a little different than yours or mine.

Santa Claus is coming to town! Be sure to email him before it’s too late. That's it for this month. Keep track of the next PGR at this site.

Pediatric Grand Rounds

I'll be hosting Pediatric Grand Rounds on December 2, 2007. If you have written any posts about kids and health, pediatric practice, child safety, or pediatric medical policy, please submit them to me by November 30. There are still 2 weeks before then - consider writing a piece and submitting it to me. Given the context of the holiday season, I'm thinking of categorizing the posts using the framework of a popular carol. If you have kids, care for kids, or write about kids, send me an entry. I'll work yours into a collection of this month's best of pediatric blogging. Please send your posts to scienceandmedicine at gmail. Last minute shoppers: you don't have to wait until Grand Rounds Eve. Send me something now.

Carnivals

There are some pretty good carnivals up this week that typically have some really nice articles. If you are looking for something to read, check out:

Carnival of the Liberals
Medical Grand Rounds
Christian Carnival

There are also two new carnivals up that I hope I can check out this weekend:

Linnaeus' Legacy
The Trauma Center

These are all free links (That means I don't have any entries!)

Grand Rounds

I am a little late in posting this - all of my electronic correspondance are behind - but you should still head over to Running a Hospital for this week's Grand Rounds carnival.

Carnival of the Blue

It's that time of the month again... Carnival of the Blue! Strap on your snorkel and head over to Shifting Baselines for an eclectic collection of posts about the ocean.

Late For Grand Rounds!!!

Hurry up and head over to Grand Rounds before all of the free lunch is gone.

Read These!

Evidently, today is BlogDay. The tradition of the day, as I learned from Mark at BlogFish is to alert readers to new ideas and new people. Here are some of the blogs I like to read and a few short reasons why.

BlogFish is a reliably good source for ocean news and surfing videos.

Adventures in Ethics and Science presents the musings of a professor with two PhDs (Chemistry and Philosophy), and if you are lucky those of her young children (called sprogs).

The Anterior Commissure satisfies your fix for sexy science.

Drugmonkey always has well-thought advice about two things that are probably more linked than we care to admit: controlled substances and grant-writing.

The World's Fair is where I head for inspiration on how to infiltrate my career with creativity and concern for social justice.

Tangled Up In Blue Guy is an atheist, pro-science, unapologetically liberal blogger who grew up in a small town. Check out his blog - even if you aren't those things.

Meet Some Carnies

Here are some good carnivals for this week. Check 'em out if you have some time.

Medicine 2.0
Grand Rounds
Carnival of the Liberals
Christian Carnival

Happy Monday!

Carnival of the Blue III

Want to catch up on this month's ocean news? Rick over at Malaria, Bedbugs, Sea Lice, and Sunsets put together a nice collection of essays, musings, and observations about oceans. It's Carnival of the Blue III. Cruise on over there at your coffee break.

Carnival... Cruise... Don't worry if you missed that one. I'll use it again.

Medicine 2.0

Web 2.0 is the name for the user controlled distribution of content on the internet. It's a broad term that includes now-common elements of the web like wikis, blogs, social networking platforms and personal broadcasting (like YouTube and podcasts). A contingent of health care provider bloggers contribute to a regular online conference (called a carnival) to share ideas about how web 2.0 could change health care. Head over to The Health Wisdom Blog for the latest Medicine 2.0 carnival. My contribution features the Who Is Sick service, a site where anyone can self-report symptoms. I ask whether this will help providers and public health folks understand current contagious illnesses, or will it confuse efforts to understand cold season epidemiology? Other entries highlight using the virtual world SecondLife to teach chemistry, and the danger of using the physician's online tool UpToDate too much.

Carnivaling Liberally

The Richmond Democrat is hosting the 44th Carnival of the Liberals, where my piece about the intrigue surrounding outgoing Surgeon General Richard Carmona is featured. Thank the host by visiting the site. In the process, you can read nine other articles about liberalism, patriotism and human rights.

And while I am handing out referrals, please check the latest Annals of Science by B.R. Cohen at McSweeney's. This installment features two things near and dear to my heart: mouse guts and coyotes.

Grand Rounds 3:45

The Health Business Blog is hosting this week's medical blog entries. I contributed a mini-rant about the current political situation surrounding the United States Surgeon General. If you need a coffee break, there are several other good articles linked there.

Grand Rounds

This week's Grand Rounds carnival is excellently curated at Vitum Medicinus. Head on over there for some coffee break reading about all things medicine.

Carnival of the Blue (II)

Swim on over to the second Carnival of the Blue, hosted by blogfish. I am proud to be able to contribute this month. Blogfish and the other carnival hosts focus on any issue related to ocean science and policy.