November

Mired in all the statistics that are supposed to make patient care more scientific, a family doc wonders about the significance of his daily practice.

I have been a physician for over 35 years. I have seen the good and the bad, the success and the failures. I have made hundreds of phone calls, written thousands of prescriptions, experienced tens of thousands of pa­tient encounters. And then one day in the middle of a stressful afternoon—after yet another encounter, yet another prescription—I suddenly asked myself: Do I really matter? Am I making a difference?

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The debate of whether there are adverse effects associated with electromagnetic fields from living close to high-voltage power lines has raged for years. While research indicates that large risks are not present, the possibility of a relatively small risk cannot be conclusively excluded.

References

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We like to think of libraries as “good guys”: equal access to information for all users, no special fees, open and friendly attitudes. Naturally we reuse, recycle, and try to eliminate waste. Responsible consumerism and an environmental awareness are part of our ethic at the College Library.

“ Health literacy is the degree to which individuals can obtain, process, and understand the basic health information and services they need to make appropriate health decisions. But health literacy goes beyond the individual. It also depends upon the skills, preferences, and expectations of those health information providers: our doctors, nurses, administrators, home health workers, the media, and many others.

As a full-service family practitioner, I often feel like the guy from Star Trek. No, not Kirk, nor Spock, Bones, or Scotty. Not even Sulu. No, the other guy. You know the one—the guy who is assigned to be part of the landing party heading to the dangerous, unexplored planet. The guy who beams down from the Enterprise with the show’s regulars. He never gets his phaser out in time and the aliens just seem to know he’s the one to vaporize. You just know this guy isn’t coming back.