The newest architectural gem in Trinity College Dublin is the award winning Long Room Hub, a slim and elegant presence inserted among classical, neoclassical, and modern buildings. Just as its […]
Columnists
Richard Smith: The best doctors and their errors
I’m listening to Sandy Ruddles (not her real name), an ordinary general physician who does some rheumatology, present a case, and I’m feeling some regret at having given up the […]
Julian Sheather: Torture, medicine, and the need for an independent eye
In August 2012, Claudia was woken at 3:00 in the morning when soldiers burst into her home in Veracruz City, Mexico. They tied her hands and blindfolded her. They took […]
Richard Smith: A book of poems for medical graduates
What should you give doctors when they graduate? An expensive stethoscope, a Ferrari, a lifetime subscription to The BMJ, a ticket to India, or a pet canary? The answer of […]
William Cayley: EBM—curing and comforting
A recent article in The BMJ on the crisis in evidence based medicine (EBM) did a great job of both summarizing challenges that have developed over the past 20 years, and […]
Julian Sheather: The man whose mind exploded
Drako Oho Zarhazar has anterograde amnesia, a rare brain disorder that has left him unable to form new memories. The distant past—episodes from before the traumas that disabled his mind: […]
Tiago Villanueva: The global burden of physical inactivity on health
The World Cup is now here, but for many of us that just means we will be watching the matches from our couch at home, or, if you’re one of the […]
Liz Wager: Why aren’t researchers told about reporting guidelines?
I recently gave a talk about guidelines to a group of postgraduate students at a well known, well resourced, and ancient university. The purpose of my talk was to explain […]
Billy Boland: The power of “systems” in healthcare
I looked down at my name badge. Although it said chief executive officer, I felt like an impostor. Across the table sat a suitably intimidating panel. The members of the […]
Jim Murray: A surprising development in the case of InterMune vs the EMA
InterMune has withdrawn part of its legal challenge to stop the European Medicines Agency from disclosing certain documents, which relate to the medicine Esbriet (Pirfenidone). The company is still looking for […]