Author Archives: deemagclinic
Living wills and advance directives for medical decisions
Living wills and advance directives describe your preferences for end-of-life care. These documents speak for you when you’re not able to speak for yourself. By Mayo Clinic Staff Living wills and other advance directives are written, legal instructions regarding your preferences for medical care if you are unable to make decisions for yourself. Advance directives […]
predictions of kaliyug
In the last canto of the Bhagavata Purana there is a list of predictions and prophecies about the dark times for the present age of Kali Yuga. The following 15 predictions, written 5,000 years ago by sage Vedavyasa, are amazing because they appear so accurate. Despite the negative tone of these prophecies, there is still […]
The Brain-Alive Heart-Dead.
(c) Dr. Rajas Deshpande “We don’t want her to suffer. We don’t want any ventilator etc. treatments”. Said the calm son, no traces of emotional tones in his speech. His mother was admitted last night with stroke. Quite a sophisticated family, this son owning a company of repute. His teenager daughter was sitting by her […]
The Yearn
© Dr. Rajas Deshpande It was raining hard as I started on a Sunday noon for my escape long-drive. Staying on the outskirts of town has the advantage of lower noise and longer roads. On one such long road I always saw an elderly couple sitting on the footpath selling vegetables, not plenty, but two-three […]
I have to walk my life alone. Always.
I can deceive myself and others by pretending to understand.. Hold hands and falsely reassure myself and someone else of things being shared, but then we both choose to close our eyes to the reality: that no pain ever can be shared. No happiness, no personal achievement, no mental evolution, even peace cannot be shared. […]
We the Great!
When we set out to perform and dazzle the world, we seldom analyse ourselves: a cause of great discomfort and pain to others, and mostly, ourselves! Much as it is impossible to dislike oneself (we cant hate ourselves, all said and done!), it would be worth a try to atleast analyse. On the inside, we […]
The second side of the story of “Unnecessary surgeries and stenting”:
Stop “Doctor Bashing”!! The said firm in this news is said to have conducted research about this. What is its standing in medical research? Has it obtained permission for such research from ICMR/MCI/local medical councils? Has it obtained permission also to publish such studies in the general press/media? Who has verified the statistical/medical authenticity of […]
Do we have a “Parenting IQ” ?
Parenting is the most difficult career, don’t know when it became unfashionable for some who claim success “outside” parenting. However successful one may have been otherwise, if they have neglected growing kids for want of money/ fame / career they have committed a crime. There is no greater insult to childhood than a parent NOT […]
Forced tasks, deadlines and suspension of Govt Servant Doctors.
Doctors, especially surgeons should stop all forced “deadline and ultimatum-based” government programmes unless and until: 1. All the world-class standard equipment and theaters are available for every surgery / procedure, and the number of procedures that can be done without stress and hurry is decided by the treating doctor / operating surgeon. 2. An “All-is-well” […]
Question from a young Indian doctor who just passed out MBBS:
GM Sir. I am pursuing PG after MBBS. I follow your posts regularly. I have a question: Does the passion we have to actually become doctors and serve society and those who need us actually fade away? Many of my friends tell me that there’s nothing like passion, only money matters after a while, and […]
Using Brain Correctly
I can’t ever adequately express the beauty of the neuronal organisation within the Brain, realising once again that it feels far more rewarding to study than to explain it, to understand its poetic yet mathematically perfect logic rather than to describe the names of its components, to know that it functions as beautifully without one’s […]
The Unsafe Pilot / Driver:
We don’t even grasp the threat! (c) Dr. Rajas Deshpande Imagine someone without consciousness / awareness of self / self control handling a gun around you or driving a truck / train or flying an airplane with you in it. The recent claim about a pilot “deliberately” downing his plane with many others will make […]
Drug Quality, price and risk: repost
(c) Dr. Rajas Deshpande Sir, What about the responsibility of quality of drugs used for the treatment? These are the only weapons with which we fight a disease. Does it make pharma a share holder of responsibility in case of adverse outcome ? This is another grey zone to elaborate. Dear Dr. Sachin Jaybhaye, Thank […]
The Murdered Angels of India
(c) Dr. Rajas Deshpande This simple looking girl in her early twenties walks into my OPD with her parents. They all are dressed up typically worker/ lower middle class, just enough to avoid obviously torn clothes. Everything humble, barely touching middle class, but very well behaved. She starts telling her father’s complaints in perfect English, […]
Medical Dream
(c) Dr. Rajas DeshpandeIt was still raining after the college, but that was never an obstacle. We still reached “Mangesh”, our pet tea (plus ahem!) joint, just outside the college campus, a routine religious for many reasons. Ofcourse the steaming hot tea was crucial to rejuvenate brains exhausted by the extensive and complicated knowledge bombarded […]
Plight of of a a common Indian Doctor.
Letter to a beloved Teacher: (c) Rajas Deshpande Respected sir, Yourself and most other teachers are my Gods, I am what I am largely because of teachers like you, and cannot argue with your opinions. Like any normal man, I wanted Porsches and Ferraris, a bungalow by the beach, a calm and quiet life of […]
Doctors under duress: Stop the violence
Make a law against “Interference in patient care” Should the docs leave casualty if they sense hostility / arrogant and threatening relatives? Every doctor cannot make correct decisions under duress, and patients suffer. © Dr. Rajas Deshpande Doctors who work in any emergency ward / hospital in India are exposed to two great risks: violence […]
Medical Gods I met upon Earth: Part V
Patients who taught me life. The breathless grandpa. © Dr. Rajas Deshpande This octogenarian Mr. Abaji was admitted for the umpteenth time in the general ward for sudden breathlessness due to a respiratory condition called COPD. In general ward at govt. hospitals, there’s barely three feet distance between beds, without any privacy (No embroidered / […]
Suicide / Homicide of Patients
(c) Dr. Rajas Deshpande Tuesday 3 pm. OPD “She needs urgent admission and treatment.. she may be developing a stroke.” I told the relatives of this 70 some year old lady who was having recurrent episodes of tingling / numbness all over her body, with slurred speech. Otherwise healthy. The disturbed family was displeased: a […]
Medical Gods I met upon Earth: Part VII
The Mother Brain © Dr. Rajas Deshpande “Get out of the ward, Rajas!” said Dr. Pravina Shah. Although many of my teachers may have thought of these words school onwards, it was Dr. P. U. Shah who finally said them, in the first month of my joining the D.M. Neurology course at KEM hospital (Seth […]
Medical Gods I met upon Earth: Part VIII
The Messiah of Medicine © Dr. Rajas Deshpande “Sir, many times last night, I felt it was so easy to slip in some wrong drug to that rapist: if that criminal is allowed to go back in the society, he will just continue to rape more women”. Said the devastated intern with tears in her […]
The Guarantee of Life
© Dr. Rajas Deshpande What is the Guarantee, Doctor? Best of the Doctors internally react like metal on sandpaper to this question by the patient or relatives. While surgeons are the most common victims of this question, physicians also often succumb to these innocent words. It’s not that the doctor wants to hide or lie, […]
The new medical villain on the block “Medical Meddler”
The new medical villain on the block “Medical Meddler” © Dr. Rajas Deshpande There are more than one options to choose from in the treatment of most medical conditions. Although doctors may differ on the exact diagnosis in some cases, they usually agree upon the “umbrella” or parent medical condition, and usually prescribe similar molecules […]
Doctors under duress: Stop the violence Make a law against “Interference in patient care”
Should the docs leave casualty if they sense hostility / arrogant and threatening relatives? Every doctor cannot make correct decisions under duress, and patients suffer. © Dr. Rajas Deshpande Doctors who work in any emergency ward / hospital in India are exposed to two great risks: violence and murders and early health problems and death […]
The new medical villain on the block “Medical Meddler”
© Dr. Rajas Deshpande There are more than one options to choose from in the treatment of most medical conditions. Although doctors may differ on the exact diagnosis in some cases, they usually agree upon the “umbrella” or parent medical condition, and usually prescribe similar molecules as treatment. It is extremely important for the patient […]
Biporder and Schizophrenia, the Key to Genius
Added by Alex Lemieux on April 12, 2015. Saved under bipolar disorder, Headlines, Health, Mental Illness Tags: bipolar disorder and schizophrenia, darpp-32, schizophrenia In today’s society, mental illness receives and bad rap. After all, for centuries, and most likely even further in the past, the notion of mental illness was seen to be a taboo […]
violence towards doctors
It was a hot and clammy morning in S. N. Medical College. Agra. India..Dr Y Agarwal was on his morning round in the Coronary care Unit.He had to prepare all the details before the visit of the Professor.A old patient with CAD,HT,type 2 DM and other complications who had had a cardiac arrest last night […]
The Hypocrisy Of The Hippocratic Oath
Dr. Mukul C Kapoor Apr 12 2015 Share with Colleagues Career in Medicine Votes(12) Comments(155) Viewed 3028 Times Hippocrates wrote an oath for Physicians circa 350-370 BC. Medicine in those times was considered a holy service meant to heal the sick and not a profession. With time medicine became a profession and monetary […]
The “token” gift, and the “real” punishment!
Embed from Getty Images (Things doctors don’t get time to say!) © Dr. Rajas Deshpande Wherever possible, and whenever they deal with “mature and understanding” relatives, most doctors explain and predict about the patients, but the moment they sense accusive, legality oriented, halfbaked googlecakes, doctors have no option but to turn on their guards in […]
Medical Gods I met upon Earth: Part I
(C) Dr. Rajas Deshpande KEM Mumbai Ward No 10. 2.30 PM somewhere in 1999. Prof. Dr. Sorab Bhabha, Neurologist, entered the clinic room. Dr. RNR, my seniormost chief resident appearing for DM Neurology exams, was to present the case to him. Three other batches of DM students, almost 20 others including medicine residents, lecturers, interns […]
Medical Gods I met upon Earth: Part II
Medical Gods I met upon Earth: Part II © Dr. Rajas Deshpande Today (10th April) would be Dr. Sorab K. Bhabha’s Birthday. Due to some administrative glitches, Dr. Sorab Bhabha left KEM Hospital Mumbai. He still visited us at KEM for the famous “Neuro-Radiology” meet on Fridays at 8 AM. This was the war zone […]
Medical Gods I met upon Earth:
Embed from Getty Images Medical Gods I met upon Earth: Part III (c) Dr. Rajas Deshpande “My decision is final. You can kill me now” Said my professor to the mob in his room, about twenty hardcore muscular giants in the trademark outfit of a dreaded political party. He was just about five feet, thin […]
Medical Gods I met upon Earth
Medical Gods I met upon Earth: Part IV (c) Dr. Rajas Deshpande “He’s a King.. and also a Superman” Deb said. One of the most respected figures in the world of clinical and research Neurology, director of a specialty unit and professor in one of the best reputed western universities, and the highest among genius […]
Lets talk about FEEDBACK.
Lets talk about FEEDBACK. This is something which we should do everyday, may be after every shift or may be twice/thrice on a single shift. An effective feedback can really transform learners. This is important for the attendings/consultants as well as the residents as they need to provide constant feedback to the residents/medical students. So, What […]
Violation of MCI’s code of ethics by the Indian Academy of Paediatrics (IAP)
The matter with regard to violation of MCI’s code of ethics by the Indian Academy of Paediatrics (IAP). The Medical Council of India noted the following recommendations of the Executive Committee:- “The Executive Committee considered the matter alongwith opinion of the Law Officer and the Committee accepted the legal opinion. The Committee also considered the […]
A short history of mental illness in art
From Hogarth to Van Gogh, art has challenged our understanding of mental illness. Jonathan Jones ‘Vincent’s eyes are crystal blue, his gaze acute and penetrating. He is neither “sane” nor “insane” but a fellow human being who speaks to us with courage and honesty.’ Self-portrait with Bandaged Ear, by Vincent van Gogh, 1889. Photograph: Peter […]
Meet 5 “Zombie” Parasites That Mind-Control Their Hosts
Hairworms turn crickets suicidal, wasps make spiders spin their last web, and more. Under manipulation by a parasitic wasp larva, a Leucauge argyra spider builds a special “cocoon web” that will house the larval wasp until it grows up. PHOTOGRAPH BY ANAND VARMA, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC Mary Bates for National Geographic PUBLISHED OCTOBER 31, 2014 Zombies […]
36 questions
Big Wedding or Small? By DANIEL JONESJAN. 9, 2015 In Mandy Len Catron’s Modern Love essay, “To Fall in Love With Anyone, Do This,” she refers to a study by the psychologist Arthur Aron (and others) that explores whether intimacy between two strangers can be accelerated by having them ask each other a specific series […]
Why Doctors Die Differently
Careers in medicine have taught them the limits of treatment and the need to plan for the end By KEN MURRAY February 25, 2012 Years ago, Charlie, a highly respected orthopedist and a mentor of mine, found a lump in his stomach. It was diagnosed as pancreatic cancer by one of the best surgeons in […]
Depression
Someone recently asked me to write on what I wish people knew about depression, in light of Robin William’s suicide. Here’s my response. I wish people knew that depression is complex, that it is a physiological condition with psychological and spiritual components, and therefore can’t be forced into any neat and tidy box, that healing […]
Doctor, Shut Up and Listen
HARRISBURG, Pa. — BETSY came to Dr. Martin for a second — or rather, a sixth — opinion. Over a year, she had seen five other physicians for a “rapid heartbeat” and “feeling stressed.” After extensive testing, she had finally been referred for psychological counseling for an anxiety disorder. The careful history Dr. Martin took […]
How Chronic Stress Creates Hormonal Havoc
by Mark Hyman, MD “If you really knew what was happening to you when you are stressed, you would freak out. It’s not pretty,” I said during the 2013 Third Metric women’s conference. I wasn’t kidding. I could write several books about stress’s massive, chronic havoc on your body. If you want to avoid stress, you’ve […]
controlled drugs
The Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2001 divide Controlled Drugs (CDs) into five schedules corresponding to their therapeutic usefulness and misuse potential. A number of changes affecting the prescribing, record keeping and destruction of CDs have been introduced as a result of amendments to the Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2001. The Controlled Drugs (Supervision of Management […]
drug laws
Although we think of some drugs being legal, and others being illegal, many drugs are somewhere in between. Some substances are legal, but there are laws restricting their use or sale. Others are illegal to use, possess or produce. New psychoactive substances (synthetics) – including synthetic cannabis A range of terms have been used to […]
The Criminal Justice and Public Order Act of 1994
a guide to the complexities of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act of 1994. This is a brief guide (courtesy of Freedom Network) to the CJA. A copy of the entire Act can be viewed online Sections 61 & 62: Trespassers on land Two or more persons trespassing on land ( not including public […]
Drugs and the Criminal Law
The number of people dealt with for drug offences in 1998 was 153,200 and of these, 127,840 were found guilty, cautioned, given a fiscal fine or dealt with by compounding for drug offences in 1998. Offences mainly involved cannabis (76%), followed by amphetamine (12%), heroin (9%) and cocaine (4%), with little change in the type […]
modernizing Code of Medical Ethics
By RICHARD GUNDERMAN, MD Last month the American Medical Association wrapped up its annual meeting in Chicago, where it has reached the final stages of modernizing its 167-year-old Code of Medical Ethics, last updated more than 50 years ago. The central role of ethics in medicine is reflected in the fact that, at the AMA’s first […]
deemagclinic
deemag and chest clinic 