Originally submitted for publishing in Pietermaritzburg Metropolitan Hospital Intern Magazine, Easy Rider   After two years spent as a medical officer in the Pietermaritzburg public hospitals, I had decided to move on to something more 'meaningful' - the overseas voluntary sector. Before some smart-arse decides to ... Read More »

The English capacity for whining seems to be reaching new heights. Whether pushed by the media or whether the media is merely responding to public attitudes is largely irrelevant. This comment is as a result of the weather conditions in the South East UK recently. This is reported to have been some of the worst on record ... Read More »

 TV Review of new Horizon programme, looking at the universe at the smallest possible scale. ... Read More »

Traditionally we do not break bad news by phone , but should we re-visit this attitude? ... Read More »

I am beginning to hate certain words and phrases that have crashed into overusage. 1. The surprise question - would you be surprised if this patient died in the next year? This must have been dreamt up by someone who has never done any serious clinical work but is now so abused it is almost meaningless. The better question ... Read More »

A new film, "Loopers", is another violent thriller of criminals against criminals, with the added twist of a science fiction handle in that it involves time travel.   So far, so exciting, interesting or not as you please. By the way, this is not a conventional film review, and I don't care if I spoil the plot for ... Read More »

I was awoken by the acrid smell of my own sweat. It had been a conscious decision not to take any antiperspirant or deodorant here, as a form of liberation from the social construct that is artificial odour. Liberation stinks!
I sit here in the director's office, having completed my coup, now the proud Fistula ... Read More »

How often have you heard that when you answer the phone or your bleep as you are trying to leave work, already an hour after your shift has ended? Whether it’s the ward calling to say a drug chart needs re-writing, a patient has just remembered they take other medications they need prescribing, or that a patient’s relatives have arrived and are angrily demanding to speak to a doctor, invariably it won’t take just ten minutes, and invariably you know that when you pick up the phone. Most doctors seem to end up staying late most days dealing with all these issues and more – where do you draw the line at what you will stay late to do, and how do you leave on time?  ... Read More »

I started writing a blog entry a couple of months ago, and have rediscovered it recently. However, I have no idea where it was going...  ... Read More »

There is much wrong in medicine. Clinical wrongology is about being aware, understanding and then coping (hopefully successfully) with the wrongness around us. ... Read More »