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Bad science Medicine Surgery

American College of Surgeons vs. AORN: A no holds barred cage match over surgical headgear

Over the last few years, AORN and the American College of Surgeons have been battling it out over AORN’s 2014 guideline that has increasingly led to the banning of the surgical skull cap in the operating room in favor of the bouffant cap as the preferred surgical headgear. Lacking from this kerfuffle has been much in the way of evidence to support AORN’s guideline, but unfortunately that didn’t stop the ACS from appealing mainly to tradition and emotion in objecting to it.

Categories
Cancer Medicine Skepticism/critical thinking Surgery

Why do some breast cancer patients decline chemotherapy and radiation?

Adjuvant therapy after surgery, such as chemotherapy, hormonal therapy, and radiation therapy, has contributed to a 39% decrease in breast cancer mortality since 1989. Unfortunately, a significant number of women decline evidence-based adjuvant therapy. A recent study suggests that distrust of the medical system plays a significant role in such refusal.

Categories
Complementary and alternative medicine Homeopathy Medicine Naturopathy Pseudoscience Quackery Skepticism/critical thinking Surgery

On the "integration" of quackery into the medical school curriculum

Ever since the $200 million gift by Susan and Henry Samueli to UC-Irvine, I’ve been thinking about the “integration” of quackery into medicine through integrative medicine. The way advocates of quackademic medicine are going to make this “integration” really happen is to start with the medical schools.

Categories
Religion Science Surgery

An uncomfortable question when you least expect it

When you’re in an exam room with a patient, sometimes you’re forced to contemplate uncomfortable questions.

Categories
Medicine Politics Popular culture Pseudoscience Science Skepticism/critical thinking Surgery

Repealing motorcycle helmet laws: Making motorcycles even more into donorcycles

It’s a seldom mentioned aspect of my professional history that I used to do a lot of trauma surgery in my youth. I did my residency at a program that included a county hospital with a busy trauma program where I saw quite a bit of vehicular carnage and an urban hospital (which has since […]

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