Author's posts
Nurses sue over trans colleague’s actions
Eight female nurses at a United Kingdom hospital are suing their employer for not assuring their psychological and physical safety. The nurses work in specialized areas that require their changing uniforms once daily. There is a trans-female nurse, sim…
Why representation alone won’t solve health care equity issues
I attended a workshop on developing equitable health information materials, emphasizing that people are more responsive to data when individuals of similar complexion and/or features are represented. This concept originated in education, where research…
Talcum powder and female cancer: Separating myths from facts
Another recent correlational study on the relationship between talcum powder (TP) and female reproductive tract cancers was published. This research originated in the 1970s when gynecologists at one hospital noted that an unusually high number of women…
Medical misinformation: How to find clarity in a sea of contradictory advice
I read an array of medical literature, both technical and public. But despite my education, experience, and reasonable intelligence, I find myself bewildered by the overwhelming deluge of information and recommendations: frequently contradictory, at ti…
Uncovering health care’s true challenges: beyond doctor-patient dynamics
There are frequent accusations against physicians and other health care professionals regarding their behavior and/or education: they cannot communicate, are misogynist, racist, and ageist, and are poorly educated, despite American physicians training …
Off-label prescriptions, side effects, and lawsuits: Navigating ethical and legal dilemmas
A recent TV advertisement attempted to recruit clients for a class action suit against a pharmaceutical manufacturer (PM) for a medication side effect (SE). The “cause of action” was unstated: was it the side effect’s existence or tha…
Shared decision-making in health care: promise vs. reality
The American Heart Association (AHA) recently published a statement on the importance of shared decision-making (SDM) between physicians and patients. This concept, though at least 50 years old, has become popular in the last decade or so, with expecta…
Debunking sensational euthanasia myths in the Netherlands
While surfing cellphone news headlines, my attention was caught by one from the New York Post that blared: “Dutch are Euthanizing Autistic People.” The Post aims for sensationalism, and the headline implied mass slaughter, akin to the Nazi …
Challenging misconceptions in nursing education
Regressive legislators in a Southwestern state discovered that doctoral-level nursing students, future nurse practitioners at the state university, were receiving education in human sexuality. As watchdogs of public morality, and with a conviction that…
Balancing health care worker immunization and patient safety
Recently, I heard a news report regarding several states’ attorneys general suing the federal government to eliminate the requirement that health care providers be immunized against COVID. They argued that as fully immunized individuals still con…
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