Medical stuff
Background and Basics
Here you will get an idea of what I do and what I've done. I graduated from medical
school nine (gulp!) years ago, and I am a board-certified neurologist.
- I spent a total of six years at MCP/Hahnemann
University during medical school, internship, and for a fellowship (after the
name change). Ahhh, the lovely views of Center City Philadelphia. Hahnemann
University has gone through many changes since I was a medical student there.
Currently it is called MCP/Hahnemann University and is being run by Tenet/Drexel
University. I'm glad someone finally bought it.
- At times, I have considered switching to a non-clinical medical career. This is
one "undiscussed" and almost unknown career area for physicians. I heard a blurb on
National Public Radio about a company that helps physicians find alternate careers.
So I checked out MDcareer.net on the net.
Great site with lots of insights into some of the problems facing physicians in a
hostile environment and good ideas on how to change careers to a related, but
non-clinical, field.
- The American Academy of Neurology -- The
largest American organization of neurologists. I think it was originally started
by neurologists who were NOT invited to join the American Neurologic Association.
Sour grapes, maybe, but the yearly meeting is an experience, if only to see the
largest collection of people wearing weird bowties.
- The American Epilepsy Society is a large
organization devoted to research in and treatment of epilepsy.
General Medical Resources
There is a ton of medical stuff available on the internet. I have wandered in and out
of many sites and have been impressed, annoyed, and unimpressed. Although I spend most of
my time looking at neurology stuff, I like to have some idea what is going on in the
"rest" of medicine. Here are a few general medical sites to check out...
- The National Library of Medicine -- need I
say more? I pass it frequently, but I have yet to visit...
- I have no idea who "Ken" of
Ken's WebSampler
is, but he has a great bunch of general medical and neurologic links on his site.
- Free MEDLINE --
MEDLINE is the pre-eminent way for health care professionals to search recent and
not-so-recent medical journal articles. The National Library of Medicine provides
free MEDLINE access, which is way cool.
- This is a site devoted to the Physicians Desk
Reference -- The PDR is the premier listing of prescription drugs available
in the US. This very large book has pharmacologic information on thousands of
medications. And the book is about 3000 pages and weighs nearly a ton...
Neurology
When I mentioned to many of my med school classmates that I planned to go into neurology,
they were mostly horrified. Many of them said things like, "Neurology? Why neurology?
You can't do anything to help the patients." One of the humorous attempts: "Neurology --
diagnose and adios..." (Not very funny, actually.) The 1990s was "The Decade of the
Brain," and there have been great strides made in diagnosis and treatments of many
neurologic disorders. I think that the continuing research into the brain, spinal cord,
and peripheral nervous system is opening up new doors of understanding and new avenues of
treatment. I am glad that I got in at the ground floor. Here are some links to websites
of societies and associations dealing with specific neurologic disorders.
- National Institute of
Neurologic Disorders and Stroke -- where the "supreme" neurologists decide who
gets what grant money. This is a very good resource for neurologic questions or
issues.
- Muscular Dystrophy is one of the most widely recognized neurologic diseases,
mostly because of the Muscular Dystrophy
Association. Due to the yearly telethon, zillions of dollars have been raised.
This money has gone toward research of all of the muscular dystrophies. I have seen
strides made even in the short time I have been involved in neurology. The MDA
provides money for medical care of people with muscular dystrophies, as well, by
sponsoring many regional MDA clinics.
- The American Epilepsy Society is the health professionals' organization, but the
Epilepsy Foundation is the resource for the people
who have the disease. EF offers a huge selection of literature, advocacy, and
support groups to people with epilepsy, their friends, families, teachers, and
co-workers. I think this is the single most valuable resource a person with
epilepsy has.
- Multiple Sclerosis is another commonly recognized neurologic disorder, one that
tends to strike young adults (ages 20-40). There are many local, national, and
international groups that provide information to people with MS.
The World of MS is a very well-done British
site that offers tons of links and information.
- Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is better known as Lou Gehrig's disease. It
is named after the NY Yankees baseball player who developed this disease and
tragically died a short time later. Although there is no current treatment for ALS,
a huge amount of research is going on to find a cure. The
ALS Association provides information about ALS and
support for patients and their families.
- Parkinson's Disease has been in the news quite a bit recently, primarily due to
Michael J. Fox's public discussion of his trial with this disease. The
American Parkinsons Disease Association
is a resource for patients and their families who are looking for information about
this disease.
More to come, because the world of medicine is ever-changing...
Last updated: 09/09/01