Tag Archives: on-line resources

November 28, 2017

Avoid “one-size-fits-all” thinking in evidence-based medicine

If you feel a duty to avoid “group think” and are not yet a subscriber, I recommend you take a look at this group and their blog:  Minimally Disruptive Medicine.   Today’s posting (What are the risks and benefits of adopting guideline-driven care?)  refers to a remarkable blind spot in thinking that has just begun to be revealed:   the faulty belief that one size fits all in treatment which is based on the assumption that mathematical averages are “good enough” to PRECISELY  describe the care a whole population should receive.   And there’s a link to a VERY COOL Air Force study about “average” pilots that led to a new approach to designing cockpits for them.

Interestingly, a neuroscience researcher brought up this exact problem of variability while discussing neuroplasticity and its application to rehabilitation after strokes in a YouTube I watched last night.    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LNHBMFCzznE.  She uses the phrase “personalized medicine”.    The genetics-oriented medical community uses the phrase “precision medicine.”   The bottom line:  people are not biologically identical at birth – and their life experiences after birth only INCREASE that variability.

The definition of evidence-based medicine (EBM) proposed by Dr. David Sackett, one of the original gurus who articulated the concept, DID include patient values and preferences.  (See diagram pasted below and this website:   http://guides.mclibrary.duke.edu/c.php?g=158201&p=1036021.)

Note however that the Sackett definition FAILS to mention variations among patients – their biological idiosyncracies, other co-morbidities, or the context of the illness:  the patients’ life situations.   Technically, one could argue the nature and impact of those variations are all included in the box called Best Research Evidence.   BUT REALISTICALLY, as applied in practice and on the go, the “research” being brought to bear is usually mono-dimensional (the research on a particular test or treatment regimen).

A very bright and ambitious young Air Force physician told me last year that most of the fun is gone from medical practice for him due to EBM and EHRs (electronic health records).  By fun, he meant intellectual challenge and creativity.   In his world, going along with whatever the practice guideline says to do is the easy path.  There is neither encouragement nor reward for taking the extra mental step to consider whether there any reason why a patient might need something else –in addition or instead.   If he deviates from a guideline, he has to spend MANY more clicks and MUCH more  (bureaucratic) time documenting the reason for it.   He has already become cynical and is looking for an alternative to clinical practice.    Apparently the idea of mastering a “population approach” – seeing if he CAN consistently apply EBM across all of his panel of patients  – has little appeal for him.

Definitely a worthy bleeding edge of medical thought.    EBM conscientiously and consistently – but injudiciously – applied by clinical lemmings (imagine little white coats) may help many patients — but will definitely HARM some.

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June 22, 2016

Psychiatrist says we should use food to treat anxiety and depression

Dr. Drew Ramsey is a well-trained psychiatrist at Columbia in New York.  He grew up on a farm in Indiana.  When his patients weren’t getting well despite “evidence-based” psychotherapy and drugs, he starting wondering what was missing.  Then he started thinking about the link between what we eat and the health of our brains.  He figured out where all the latest nutrition research is pointing us, and started using food as part of his treatment plan for his patients — with good results.

Makes sense to me.  The brain consumes more energy than any other organ in the body. Obviously, a brain that isn’t getting what it needs in the way of nutrients will not function at its best.

So, one question to ask when we see someone who is not performing at their best mentally is:  are they eating right?   Which brings up another, much bigger question:  why are inquiries about nutrition not part of EVERY medical interview of sick people?  Why aren’t recommendations about foods that foster healing part of EVERY medical treatment plan?  Besides feeding the brain, nutrition is critical to healing injured tissues.

For years I’ve read about how doctors don’t learn nutrition.  It didn’t bother me because I DO know it.   My parents raised me to be a mother/wife and to be responsible for making sure I know how to feed my family well and keep them healthy.  I am also the main cook in our household.   But …. EVERY doctor should know what I know, and should keep it on the front burner.  And here’s the weird part.  Nutrition really ISN’T part of the medical culture.  Even though I’ve always known how important nutrition is, it hasn’t been part of what I talk about with people who are sick and need to get well.  Wow.  What a realization.  How stupid.

Dr. Ramsey has done at least two TedX talks, Brain Farmacy and Brain Food at the End of Your Fork.  He has a website, a blog, and three books.  Check it all out.  To me, his basic ideas make a lot of sense, and the nutrition stuff he’s saying is pretty solid, based on my own reading.  All in all, this seems like sensible stuff from the practical son of an Indiana farmer — who turned into a scientist, physician, psychiatrist and now educator.

(One concern: he may be getting swept up in the Dr. Oz fame whirl.  I hope he will avoid becoming faddish and commercial, pandering to the demands of TV fans who demand new woo woo immediate magic cures every day. So let’s go catch him now, in case he gets spoiled.)

I just ordered his Happiness Diet book to see if it’s a good patient education tool. Just THINK of all the people who are having trouble getting well.  Their medications aren’t working, they can’t tolerate their medications; therapy isn’t working, they don’t like their therapist.  I wonder how many could help heal themselves by thinking of food as therapy– and start making their brains healthier by eating nutritious (and delicious) food!

Do tell me what you think after you look at all of this stuff.

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June 17, 2016

Free webinar on getting off opioids next week — offered by CIRPD

See below for the topics and schedule for a series of (free) summertime webinars sponsored by  the Canadian Institute for Relief of Pain and Disability (CIRPD).  They’ve got some excellent and expert presenters lined up.   The first one is on a technique for reducing dependence on opioid medications — on Wednesday next week!

I have been on the CIRPD board for a couple of years now.  I am impressed with their focus on educating professionals alongside patients as well as their efforts to build a web portal to expedite translation of evidence from academic researchers to real world practitioners.

I am certain there OUGHT to be an analogous organization here in the USA.  One reason why CIRPD manages to survive is that it has kept getting annual grants from the British Columbia government’s “gaming” revenue.  Seems like a good use of that money!

See much more at www.cirpd.org — where you can also register for one of the webinars shown below.  Here’s an idea:  Put the ones you like on your calendar now!
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Upcoming (free) CIRPD Webinars

Targeting Pain and Prescription Opioid Misuse with Mindfulness-Oriented Recovery Enhancement (MORE)
Eric Garland, Ph.D., LCSW – Associate Dean for Research and Associate Professor in the University of Utah College of Social Work
Dr. Eric Garland will discuss his research on the clinical benefits and neurobiological mechanisms of Mindfulness-Oriented Recovery Enhancement, a novel therapy designed to target chronic pain and prevent opioid-related problems.
DATE:            June 22, 2016 – 11:00am PDT / 2:00pm EDT

Keeping the Boom(ers) in the Labour Market: Can Existing Workplace Policies and Accommodations make a Difference?
Monique Gignac, PhD – Associate Scientific Director and a Senior Scientist at the Institute for Work & Health
Dr. Gignac will discuss current research on understanding the interplay between accommodation and chronic diseases so employers can better retain older workers.
DATE:            June 8, 2016 – 11:00am PDT / 2:00pm EDT

The Be Well at Work Program: Managing Depression, Absenteeism, and Presenteeism in the Workplace
Debra Lerner MS, PhD – Director, Program on Health, Work and Productivity, Tufts Medical Center
Dr. Debra Lerner will discuss current research on how depression in the workplace affects levels of absenteeism and presenteeism. She will also present strategies for working with employees with depression.
DATE:            June 15, 2016 – 11:00am PDT / 2:00pm EDT

The Difference Gender and Sex Make to Work Disability Outcomes
Mieke Koehoorn, PhD – Professor and Head, Occupational and Environmental Health Division, University of British Columbia
Gender and sex can have an impact on the outcomes of workplace disability. Dr. Mieke Koehoorn will discuss recent research on how gender and sex affect disability outcomes and will provide some practical steps for handling the differences.
DATE:            July 13, 2016 – 11:00am PDT / 2:00pm EDT

Exercise Management for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome – The Evidence and Current Approaches
Suzanne Broadbent PhD – Senior Lecturer, Clinical Exercise Physiology, Southern Cross University
Dr. Broadbent will provide an over view of exercise management for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and discuss current research describing the most effective types of exercise practices to use.
DATE:            August 23, 2016 – 4:00pm PDT / 7:00pm EDT

Pain-related Distress: Recognition and Appropriate Interventions
Tamar Pincus PhD – Professor in Health Psychology, Royal Holloway, University of London
Many people who live with chronic pain report that they also suffer from low mood, irritability, and withdrawal from activities and relationships. Dr. Tamar Pincus will discuss new research which helps distinguish whether these behaviours are based in depression or pain-related distress.
DATE:            September 20, 2016 – 8:30am PDT / 11:00am EDT / 4:30pm UK

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June 7, 2016

Enigmatic 4 minute video of boy and puppy

Here is a link to The Present video — which has won more than 50 awards.  It is a 4 minute animation about a boy couch potato / video game expert who gets a cute puppy as a gift.

As it unfolds, the video gradually delivers a visual message that touches the heart — but is not as obvious as it appears on the surface.

My friend and I tried to articulate the exact unspoken message the video delivered during our walk yesterday.   We eventually decided there was more than one.  I don’t want to tell you what we noticed now — because I hope you will watch it.

What did you see in it?

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June 5, 2016

Want to hear my “personal elevator pitch” — and create your own?

I recently developed a brief answer to the question “what do you do?” after watching a 2013 TEDx Talk on “How to Know Your Life Purpose in 5 minutes” by Adam Leipzig.  He called it a personal rather than business version of “an elevator pitch”.  (NOTE: When you’re trying to raise venture capital or make a big sale in business, the elevator pitch is the quick summary you can deliver to a prospective funder or client in the time it takes for the elevator to reach your floor.)

Want to come up with your own personal elevator pitch too?   Get a piece of paper and then watch Adam’s TEDx talk.  His talk isn’t perfect and the process felt kind of forced and dorky — but I went along and did what he asked us to do, including answering out loud. I think I was willing to do so because he started by talking about his 25th college reunion, how unhappy most people were, and how the happy ones differed from the unhappy ones.  And then the actual exercise was surprisingly meaningful and very quick.

Afterwards, Adam pointed out an important feature of the kind of answer he had us design:  it makes most listeners want to ask a follow up question:  “HOW do you do that?”   And then there is an opportunity for a real conversation.

Here’s my answer to the question about what I do (as of spring 2016):

“Because of what I do, people feel inspired to make changes for the better — and because they also feel more willing, prepared, and confident, they actually start doing things in a new way.”

So now, are you curious HOW and WHERE and WHEN I do that?

Doing this exercise was really satisfying.  I keep a copy of my answer handy.  That single sentence has made me feel clearer and calmer inside about the unusual commitments and drive, talents, and unearned gifts with which I was endowed by my maker (thank you God or random chance).  I can feel deep in my bones how much I love serving as a channel through which the new energy that creates better outcomes is released.  Sometimes I think of myself as a “midwife for possibility”.

 

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May 8, 2016

Key but hard-to-find esoterica in evidence-based medicine

Mother’s Day Brunch is over, and I am feeling appreciated and loved, though a bit bored and lonely now that the “kids” have left for home.   So I’m catching up on stuff.

I went back to finish reviewing a draft practice guideline via an on-line questionnaire.  The authors wrote that I was selected to participate because of my particular field of expertise.  I started but didn’t finish the questionnaire last month.  When I logged in again today, the software jumped me straight to a question that asked whether I agree with a statement that begins: “There is OCEBM Grade C supporting evidence that ……”

This terminology was only semi-famliar to me, so I Googled OCEBM which wasn’t much help.   I still haven’t found the criteria for Grade C (which implies there exists criteria for Grade A, B, and maybe other grades beyond that too).    More Googling will probably help.  But to be truthful, I decided to give up on this effort.   When the researchers asked me to participate, they didn’t tell me the survey has SIXTY FIVE questions each of which seems to require a whole lotta cognitive work including evaluating a set of brief descriptions of the scientific literature pertaining to the subject of each question.   I am NEITHER an academic type nor a methodologist (a person who critiques the experimental design and analytical methods used in research).

HOWEVER, while Googling around I did find a document  entitled “Understanding GRADE: An Introduction” that MAY BE USEFUL to you.  It was for me.  It succinctly describes  (in LESS than 1,500 words) the steps that developers of systematic reviews and practice guidelines should use to assess and rank the quality and strength of evidence supporting a particular practice or treatment.  This method is widely used in appraising scientific studies.  Worth a read – particularly if you are confused by competing guidelines.

Methodology is KING in evidence based medicine — if the scientific quality of a study sucks, you shouldn’t view the results as reliable/valid/believable — no matter how much you love them.  So if you’re like me and not a methodologist yourself, you need to make sure that the committee that produces an “evidence-based guidelines” has members who really do know that stuff.

In theory, I like the idea of wide participation of experts in development and review of practice guidelines.  But based on my (limited) experience with development of the ACOEM practice guidelines for occupational medicine, the work is so hard, detailed, and time-consuming that it tends to be done by a small group of committed experts who put in a TON of hours, and then send their finished product out for comment.  Part of the reason why I felt so uncomfortable reviewing the practice guideline today is that there was so little background information and context provided to me as a reviewer.  Like:  (a)  what were the 65 questions going to be like; (b) how long would it take me; (c) where are they in the development process, and (d) what use is going to be made of the on-line reviewers’ input?

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October 19, 2015

WHY would I want to live to 101?

I am a bit upset and depressed because I just learned my life expectancy is 101 — according to the electronic calculator that analyzed my answers on the Health Age Questionnaire.  I found it on the website of the American College of Lifestyle Medicine.  It seems like a good organization aimed mostly at doctors who prevent chronic disease by prescribing and teaching healthy lifestyles.  However, they had better come up with a better argument for lifestyle change than this:   “Wow, if you do everything we recommend, you get to live until you’re entirely useless, helpless, and bored out of your mind.”

After I got the 101 prediction, I redid the questionnaire, this time shading several answers to the “sad” side instead of the “happy” side — and the darned thing STILL says I’m going to live to 94.  Phooey!  Who the heck WANTS to live that long?  NOT ME!   I can clearly imagine my quality of life is likely to be by then. By the time Americans get over the age of 90-something, the VAST majority are demented, frail, and unable to live independently — and I might add have become totally irrelevant in the eyes of the rest of American society, with a status more similar to pets or babies than adults.

That was my dad’s fate.   He died just a few days before he turned 89 — after refusing medical care for a heart attack because he had been WAITING for a way to die.  Before that day, his medical problems were basically age-related degeneration.

A Harvard College, Harvard Medical School grad, former Director of one of the National Institutes of Health, my dad re-invented himself and his career at least three times.   Originally trained as a pediatrician, he spent most of his career focused on child and maternal health, family planning, and other services to facilitate optimal development and health of the population.  At about age 50, he left the pressure of Washington DC, gave up on a difficult marriage to my mother, and moved to the Eastern Shore of Maryland.  He became a county health officer, developed a wide circle of friends and got involved in community affairs.  He was always a kind, optimistic, creative, and positive person, even though he didn’t have much of a sense of humor.  But his fun-loving second wife put him up to a lot of innocent mischief.  We have a photo of him in Florida wearing a lei on his head, a bra made of coconut shells and a hula skirt — and a HUGE SMILE (while stone sober, I may add).

Around about age 80 he “retired” from medicine.  And then, with some partners, he started a Sylvan Learning Center franchise and founded the Delmarva Education Foundation.  He was still in there pitching, though clearly slowing down.

Shirley, his beloved second wife died in May of 2006, the year he turned 84.   A few days after that, he commented to me “I’ll never be the center of anyone’s life ever again.” His zest for life was gone because she was.  She had cherished him and nurtured him — and vice versa.  He was lonely, sad after that, and grew increasingly bitter.  He had zero interest in finding a new companion or keeping up his social life. Treatment for “depression” had no effect.  My sister who lived nearby did yeoman work to be family and provide companionship to him — and do the practical work required to keep him in the housing complex for independent elders where he lives.   By the time she gave up and moved him to assisted living, there were FOUR part-time workers supporting him — plus her.  However, Daddy was right, of course — he never was the center of anyone’s life again.

He had already given me his healthcare power of attorney.  We had explicitly discussed his wish that I protect him from “the medical juggernaut” in case he was unable to do it himself.  He also did done some exploring of ways to exit gracefully.  I sent him an article from the New England Journal about what dying is like for patients with terminal conditions who refuse food and drink as they near the end of life.  But when my dad in Maryland discussed this with his psychologist, the psychologist pronounced the method both a sin and against the law — so Daddy resigned himself to sticking around.   In February of 2008, almost two years after Shirley’s death, Daddy (who could no longer write because of a worsening tremor) dictated this to his psychologist:

Because of my many disabilities – vision, hearing, etc. – I am happy to take advantage of the first opportunity that the Lord provides to join my wife Shirley in heaven.  My daughter Jennifer holds the medical power of attorney for me.  As a physician, she has the knowledge to determine what conditions are most likely to result in death, or result in disability that I would have to live with.  In the former case, I would like medical care withheld if my condition would ordinarily result in death, and would like for hospice to provide palliative care.  In the latter case, I will just ‘grin and bear it’.   I have made peace with the Lord in this decision, and ask that all my children support the decision that I have made.

As he neared 90, the burdens of age had became even heavier.  He still had no “terminal” conditions other than age.  He was deaf, could no longer read or see the computer screen due to macular degeneration, had a tremor, chronic pain due to joint degeneration, and was very weak.   He had lost all of his curiosity and most of his mental power.  At one point, he was on 14 different medications,  most of them with no discernible effect.  I asked his doctors to stop as many as possible because nothing could reverse the progress of aging.

In the end, Daddy handled his exit firmly and gracefully, by himself, when he developed severe chest pain.  He obviously recognized it for what it was — a potential way out.   He told the ER doctor:  “I’m just here to check and make sure it IS a heart attack.  If so, all I want is morphine, no treatment.”   The ER doctor, luckily, had her wits about her and suggested hospice.  He immediately said yes.  He lived less than a month — long enough to have one last Christmas Dinner with his kids and grandkids.  Then he let go and left this earth.

More than twenty years earlier, Daddy and I had completed a multi-scenario medical decision-making worksheet.  It was designed to make us think about and decide what we wanted our caregivers to do in various medical scenarios if we became unable to express our wishes. Surprisingly, that conversation wasn’t a downer at all.  In fact it was the best conversation I think I EVER had with him because we talked frankly and intimately about what made life worth living for each of us personally — and when it wouldn’t be worth continuing.   At the time, he said he wanted to be kept alive until he couldn’t enjoy the day anymore.   Yet as things turned out, he was forced to live four years after he had stopped being able to enjoy the day.  .

We humans have invented ways that are KEEPING people alive longer, but we haven’t yet invented ways to safely and humanely allow those who HAVE BEEN kept alive past the time when they find quality of life tolerable to say they have “had enough, thank you” and move on to the next realm.

I don’t want to share my Dad’s fate.  The idea of being sidelined, trying to think up “ways to pass the time” because I’ve become too deaf and blind to read or interact with others or do anything useful, beset with the chronic aches and pains of aging bones and joints makes me feel YUCK, or more accurately, DREAD.

Even if I were a “hale and hearty” 90 year old, I can’t think of a PURPOSE that I personally would find exciting enough to make life worth living when I’ve been alive that long.  “Smelling the roses” doesn’t do it for me — because I am already starting to feel like I’ve had my fill of a lot of things.  Been there, done that.  Been THERE and done THAT, too.

For the foreseeable future, my current purpose for living are these:
1)  Devote my energy and talents to leaving the campground of life better than I found it.
2)  Enjoy everyday life with my husband, family, and friends — and the outdoor world.
3)  Seek beauty and truth, especially in music, opera, theatre, dance, the visual arts, and spiritual practice.
4)  Grow in wisdom and kindness.  A VERY COOL thing is that personal growth & development in these two areas are available to all ages, including the very old (ahem, until dementia sets in).

What does this mean for you — if anything?   Maybe you could think about what makes life worth living for you.  It will make you feel STRONG and GOOD to do it.    Fill out a Five Wishes living will from Aging with Dignity that gives your caregivers instructions for how to care for you in case you can’t tell them yourself at a critical moment.   And, do think about what you want the quality of your life to be like and how long you DO want to live.   Do YOU really WANT to live to 101 or to 120?  Why?  What FOR?

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October 8, 2015

Dan Siegel says I can use my mind to reshape my brain — or YOURS!

I’m in the middle of taking an on-line course by Daniel Siegel, MD.  I hope you do, too.   It’s called “Practicing Mindsight” — 6 hours consisting of 32 video mini-lectures delivered live to an audience of about 240 mental health professionals, physicians, educators, as well as organizational behavior and social policy wonks.   (I’ve also  heard a great TED talk by this guy).  He’s a famous psychiatrist, trained at Harvard Medical School and UCLA, now clinical professor of psychiatry at UCLA, an award-winning educator – and expert researcher in the emerging field of “interpersonal neurobiology”.

It’s on a website called www.Udemy.com.  I’ve listened to the first 9 mini-lectures so far.  He began by asking how many of the professionals in the audience think the mind is important in everyday affairs — and in their practices/organizations.  All hands went up.  Then he asked how many had any instruction on what the mind is?   Five percent raised their hands.   He says that the proportion has been similar in 85,000 professionals he has asked.   He  says the purpose of the course is:  How to see the mind and make it stronger.    I say the course is focused on STRATEGIES for changing the STRUCTURE of the brain (one’s own and that of one’s patients/clients) by using the mind.   Think of that:  USING the mind as a tool to INTENTIONALLY remodel circuits in the brain.

Here are three big points I have heard in his lectures so far:

(a) Key definition:   The mind is a PROCESS not a thing.  It REGULATES (monitors and directs) the flow of energy and information both within an individual and between people.  (Energy is roughly defined as stuff that makes things happen.  Information is both data and meaning or story.)  As part of his grant-funded work, he had put together a group of 40 researchers in a wide variety of fields who were all (eventually) able to agree on this definition.

(b) “Attention” – which is where the mind focuses, what it is paying attention to  – is what CREATES new neural pathways, and STRENGTHENS either existing or new ones by reinforcing the pathway.  As the saying goes: “neurons that fire together wire together”.  For example, the more we pay attention to our pain (assessing it, worrying about it, “fighting” it), the deeper we are carving that channel.  Common sense, grandmothers, and “New Agers” have been telling us for years to focus on what we DO want instead of what we DON’T want  — and now science is confirming it.

(c) Humans are genetically programmed to AUTOMATICALLY create internal experiences and capabilities that mirror or incorporate things they see or feel during interactions with others.  As we watch someone else raise a glass of water to his lips, the cells in our brains that move our own arms light up.  We sense his intention to drink, we may experience thirst, or the sensation of water or of refreshment.  We feel sad when someone cries, and are happy at their joy.  Others’ brains shape what goes on in ours —  what circuits are firing and being reinforced — and vice versa.  Simultaneous mutual (interpersonal) experience is a KEY part of the “social” in our “social species”.

So I got this:  The techniques we use to SHIFT our attention (or another person’s attention) away from bad stuff and towards more productive ways of thinking are actually MODULATING neural circuitry in the brain (which is neuroplasticity in action).  This has now been confirmed by rigorous research on techniques such as mindfulness, CBT, etc.   (I personally remember reading a study which showed that SIMILAR changes in the brain can be observed after either medication OR “talk therapy”.  In that TED talk by Siegel that I watched, he asserts that much of the circuitry in our frontal lobe is created and shaped by everyday INTERPERSONAL INTERACTIONS which DEVELOP it – and of course it is our frontal lobes which make us uniquely human.)

The takeaway for us as physicians in tangible organ-system-focused specialties is there is POWER TO HEAL in our words —  and in the human quality of our interpersonal interactions.  We have an opportunity to INTENTIONALLY HARNESS that power and explicitly add it to our therapeutic armamentarium.

Although the mental health professions already are aware of the power of words and relationships, physicians are on the front-line dealing with patients with PHYSICAL complaints and distress.  We are in the best position to use the power of words and relationships to start relieving those symptoms and easing that distress — even if all we do is alert the patient to the healing power of the mind and persuade them to accept help from a mental health professional.  Apparently, the only specialty these days that requires training in patient communication is family practice.  Thus, this appears to be a neglected skill area in all of the other medical specialties.

Those of us who have accepted the idea that sickness and disability are the COMBINED product of bio-psycho-socio-economic factors, and who are setting out to reduce the disruptive/destructive impact of injury/illness on quality of the patient’s everyday life and future – especially in at risk cases and “heartsink patients” — MUST master this stuff.  We need to practice the SCIENTIFIC ART of empathic therapeutic interaction.  We must learn how to effectively redirect the patient’s attention into more appropriate channels so they develop their own capability to adapt to / cope effectively with their own situations.

The tuition for the Siegel Practicing Mindsight course is usually $137, but if you follow the directions below, you may be able to get a $39 special rate.  It supposedly ends TODAY — although it supposedly ended yesterday, too.  Some people don’t seem to be able to find the $39 offer.  There’s probably a glitch of some kind that is making it show up only when you wend your way through the electrons a particular way.

Here’s how I found it again just now:  I use Firefox.  I entered  “daniel siegel mindsight” in the search box, then I clicked on the link for an Udemy ADVERTISEMENT that appeared in the top left corner of the search results.  The website that appears says the rate is $39 again today (coupon valid until October 8).   But when I went STRAIGHT to the udemy site, the cost is $137.

Go for it — fool around, and then REGISTER!   But bring your brain AND appreciation for quirkiness with you.   This is  fascinating material taught by a deep and independent thinker, serious expert and experienced researcher.  And, Siegel is a character with really colorful personal stories:  so far we’ve heard tales of misfittery in medical school, salmon fishery, dance, nudity in Greece, etc.

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July 20, 2015

My “mini-manifesto” to reduce spine disability

You may be interested in the “mini-manifesto” I delivered this past Saturday 7/18 at the Spine 10×25 Research Summit in Chicago hosted by the North American Spine Foundation.  They have declared a worthy and very ambitious goal:  to reduce spine disability by 10 percent by the year 2025.  Thus the name: Spine 10×25. Pronounce it like you’re buying lumber – “10 by 25”.

(You can see the video and listen to my talk —  or even the ENTIRE 8 hour event because it was live-streamed and recorded.  Click here to do so.  Advance the recording by moving the blue dot along the horizontal line.  My talk starts at 5:31:50 and goes until 5:51:30.)

Do you know of any other medical group that has drawn a bold line in the sand like that?  I don’t.  It had never occurred to me that a professional society would set out to measurably move the needle.  They just don’t take on that type of project.  Most healthcare professional associations content themselves with pontificating:  being experts and telling other people what to do and how to do it.

My own professional society (ACOEM – the American College of Occupational & Environmental Medicine) has made many significant contributions to society.  In particular, our evidence-based treatment guidelines are very well regarded and in use by several states.   ACOEM has produced many other useful publications that have had a positive impact.  In fact, some of them were developed under my leadership.  But, in the end, they all amount to pontification.

In 2006, I told ACOEM I didn’t want one of those documents to just sit on an electronic shelf. We had developed it in order to introduce the work disability prevention paradigm and shift the way all stakeholders think about work disability.  Entitled “Preventing Needless Work Disability By Helping People Stay Employed“, that report needed to go out into the world.  Thus, the 60 Summits Project was born to carry it into the 50 US states and 10 Canadian provinces of North America.  We created groups of volunteer professionals who planned and held 20 multi-stakeholder summit-type conferences in 12 states and 2 provinces.  We invited the attendees to consider ACOEM’s 16 recommendations for improving the stay-at-work and return-to-work process.  We asked them to decide if they liked each recommendation, and if so, to make a plan for how they were going to carry it out in their own business, community, and jurisdiction. (60 Summits eventually ran out of money and was mothballed.)

Then last month, the boldness of the Spine 10x 25 initiative made me realize that even The 60 Summits Project had a pontification angle to it.  Propagating a new way of thinking and discussing a set of recommendations for change is not the same thing as CARRYING them OUT.  I felt compelled to go and check out these NASF people and participate in their Spine 10×25 Research Summit.

My assigned topic was “Precedents and Prospects for Success” in a 15 minute time slot that got expanded to 20.  It seemed important to speak straight and share my ideas about what needs to be true in order for their goal to be realized.  I offered the audience a (draft) conceptual foundation to use as a context for change, as well a summary-level vision of the way things will look in the future WHEN things have ACTUALLY changed and spine disability is BEING REDUCED by 10%.  View it here. Remember to advance the recording to 5:31:50.

I may expand a bit on some of the main points of that mini-manifesto in later posts.  I developed all of those slides at the conference in order to take into account what the speakers said who had gone before me!  Luckily, I also had some time at lunch.  The tight time limit meant a few big ideas got short shrift.

 

 

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July 7, 2015

Free on-line CBT course helps Australians living with pain feel better

An Australian study in the journal Pain reports that a FREE on-line course that employs CBT techniques has worked well in helping patients with chronic pain reduce both distress and other symptoms  — no matter how much contact the patients had with a clinician during the several week course – and it clearly outperformed “usual care.”

The Pain Course was developed by psychologists as part of a non-profit initiative of the Centre for Emotional Health, part of Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia.  Their tagline reads:  “Developing effective, accessible and free psychological treatments …”   Before you get TOO excited, this particular course and the other on-line offerings of ecentreclinic.org which developed it are only open to residents of Australia.

Here’s a bit more about this group from their website:   “We comprise a team of psychologists, psychiatrists, and research staff….The eCentreClinic is a specialised research clinic that develops and tests state-of-the-art free online treatment Courses for people with symptoms of worry, panic, social anxiety, OCD, PTSD, stress, depression, low mood and other health conditions including chronic pain. We built the eCentreClinic because millions of Australian adults suffer with these symptoms and conditions each year. But, most do not seek help or see a mental health professional. We believe that people have a right to helpful information and to know about practical, proven, skills that help. We hope that by providing this information and supporting people to learn these skills via the internet more people will learn to master their symptoms and conditions. By doing this we hope they will also improve their quality of life and that of their families and communities.

Here’s a link to the abstract.   It is is an open access (free) article, so you can also download a pdf of the entire article here.

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