Going To Sleep Is Free, But

The Ether Way on the Preop Interview

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Right on, brother:

Sermo: Finally a good online forum for physicians

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I just stumbled upon Sermo, a web community for physicians only:

Now, if they'd only have RSS feeds....

Status Report on Google Modules

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A while ago Seth Dillingham wrote two Google modules for me: Allowable Blood Loss and BMI Calculator. Well, I still have a hard time finding them on Googles own module site, but I can find them both on googlemodules.com--the 'Unofficial Google Modules Site'.

I wanted to pass along another use for the allowable blood loss calculator--estimating surgical blood loss. Anesthetists are asked to estimate the volume of surgical blood loss that occurs during a procedure on their anesthetic record. Surgeons will often attempt to influence that figure downward by volunteering their own estimate of blood loss (often not grounded in reality) in the hope of getting me to go along with it.

In large blood loss cases where I've been following the hematocrit I use the formula to calculate the actual blood loss. For example, if a 100 kg male started with a hematocrit of 0.40 and wound up with a hematocrit of 0.32 I calculate their blood loss as 1600 cc. No arguments.

Inside the Brain

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Medical Simulation Weblog

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I found a neat new weblog called SimBlog. Associated with the Society for Medical Simulation, it appears to be edited by Jeff Taekman, formerly of Penn State and the person I came to Hershey to work with. Jeff had moved to Duke by the time I arrived, and is now the Associate Dean for Technology in Education there.

Dear Journal Editor

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Orac has written a public letter to scientific journal editors that is a must read for anyone who has ever published (or tried to publish and been rejected--me!). The post is part of Tangled Bank XXV (Like Grand Rounds, but with an emphasis on science):

Four Drug Rep Tricks Plus One Of My Own

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Polite Dissent is a blog I just discovered thanks to Grand Rounds. He/she has the same take on some of the techniques used by drug detail people as I do:

• False agreements
• Fake Thanks
• Bring the Boss
• Appeal to Authority

I'll just add my own to this very good list: use the people around you as billboards. It seems the people who make a paralytic called rocuronium have dropped off a thousand or so yellow operating room caps that say "Roc Solid" (Roc is our abbreviation for rocuronium, aka Zemuron). Many OR nurses and techs are now wearing these caps. My reaction? Even if I was planning on using rocuronium for the case, I'll draw up some tasty vecuronium or cis-atracurium instead. And besides, the vecuronium people gave me a nice nerve stimulator once...

Grand Rounds XXV: Respectful Insolence

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Grand Rounds XXV is up at Respectful Insolence. Just don't have a mouth full of coffee when you read it.

MayoClinic.com Anesthesia Information

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James T. Li, M.D. has written two 'Ask a Specialist' pieces at MayoClinic.com that are relevant to patients having anesthesia. I've read them both and do hereby confer upon them the WakingUpCosts seal of approval:

• Anesthesia: Options and considerations
• Anesthesia: Safe for people with asthma?

Grand Rounds XXI At Sumer's Radiology Site

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Sumer's Radiology Site: Grand Rounds XXI

medmusings: Grand Rounds XX

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All the way from Singapore......medmusings: Grand Rounds XX

Site Update: Trackbacks Are Live

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My content management system, Conversant, now fully support Trackback as detailed here. To see the trackbacks, you'll have to look at the 'discuss' link that follows each post.