Nov

30

Navigating the Medical School Admission Obstacle Course. (Real Questions from Real Readers)

November 30, 2007 | 19 Comments

(I have received quite a few emails over the past two years asking for advice as well as anwering a lot of questions about the medical school admission process on The Student Doctor Network. I thought I’d publish some of them along with my replies. -PB)
Dear Panda,
I said I spoke Spanish on my AMCAS application [...]

Nov

28

Nothing Much More to Say About Complementary and Alternative Medicine. (CAM Month Draws to a Close)

November 28, 2007 | 19 Comments

Everything You Need to Know About Complementary and Alternative Medicine (Part the Third and Last)
(One last time I state the obvious while continuing to marvel that it needs to be explained although judging from my email and comments it does. -PB)
8.You Can’t Have it Both Ways
I have some fundamentalist Christian relatives who believe the [...]

Nov

23

Poodle Circus and Other Things (Real Questions From Real Readers)

November 23, 2007 | 17 Comments

You seem a little less bitter about residency.  How are things going?
Fine, thanks for asking.  I haven’t had call in about five months and I am gradually starting to forget all about it.  Sleep deprivation has always been my biggest complaint about residency and now that I am getting regular sleep I am pleased to report that [...]

Nov

18

Stealth Medicine and Other Topics

November 18, 2007 | 29 Comments

An Apology
I want to apologize to the distinguished elderly gentleman sitting on the hall bed. It was a little insensitive of me to stand at the coffee machine taking my time making a cup of coffee not five feet away from you and your wife while you waited to be seen by a doctor. [...]

Nov

14

Everything You Need to Know About Complementary and Alternative Medicine (Part 2)

November 14, 2007 | 82 Comments

(In which we address more of the blatantly obvious. -PB)
5. You Can be Fooled
I’m a fairly intelligent guy Not a super-genius or anything like that but I can tease out the truth of most things if given enough time and, when the wind is just right, can tell a hawk from a handsaw.  [...]

Nov

10

Everything You Need to Know About Complementary and Alternative Medicine (Part 1)

November 10, 2007 | 72 Comments

(Just belaboring the obvious again. Some things should speak for themselves but judging from my angry email defending Complementary and Alternative Medicine, this is not the case. Rather than respond publicly to private emails I thought I would address some of the major themes of my critics. -PB)
.
1. The Imperfections of real medicine do not [...]

Nov

4

Complementary and Alternative Medicine Month Continues

November 4, 2007 | 53 Comments

This Ain’t no Party, This Ain’t no Disco, This Ain’t no Fooling Around
It’s a grim business, medicine I mean. For all the hype it’s nothing more than a futile struggle with death, a battle lost in the early stages by some, a bit later by others, but lost all the same in the end. If [...]

Nov

1

Kicking Off Complementary and Alternative Medicine Month

November 1, 2007 | 66 Comments

(November is going to be Complementary and Alternative Medicine month here on Panda Bear, MD. My recent posts on the subject have generated a lot of interest, quite a few visits, and a bunch of angry email so I believe there is some interest in the subject out there. I apologize to you, oh [...]