Showing posts with label doctor. Show all posts
Showing posts with label doctor. Show all posts

PostHeaderIcon Fort Hood Muslim Army MD being investigated as a terrorist

11/09/2009 | Posted by mesiamd | Edit Post


Major Nidal Malik Hasan recuperates from the gunshot wounds inflicted to stop him form his shooting rampage at Fort Hood Military Base. The medical army officer is being investigated for terrorism. Operatives are trying to know if he has deep ties with radical groups espousing violence and mayhem in the Western world.

The 39–year old unmarried gunman took the lives of 13 fellow soldiers and injured 30 innocent victims. Relatives and friends pointed to Hasan as a benign peaceful man with no criminal records. But others saw him as a troubled medical professional with religious fanatical views who was upset of being deployed to Afghanistan. The vicious killer shouted “Allahu Akhbar” (God is Great,) a signature battlecry of militant Muslim suicide bombers.

Later inquiries suggested that Hasan was a devout Muslim who talked stridently against the war. He believed Muslims are justified to rise against aggressors like the Americans. Born and raised in Virginia, he went to in Dar-al-Hijrah mosque in Virginia, a worship house led by a radical Muslim preacher said to be a "spiritual adviser" to three of the hijackers who attacked the United States on Sept 11, 2001. Hasan has great respect for Anwar al-Awlaki, an American-born Yemeni imam accused of supporting terrorist organisations including Al-Qaeda.

These emerging clues raised the need to dig deeper into Hasan’s background. Exercising political correctness, civilian and military authorities seemed slow and hesitant to explore the terrorist angle, but this needed to change quick to protect America.

Endorsing a thorough investigation, Sen. Joe Lieberman talked of his suspicions that a terrorist link is possible given Hasan’s story. The Obama administration had been criticized for not giving enough focus on the tragedy that befell men and women in the service of the country.

For fear of a backlash among the radical Islamists, authorities preferred to think the attack was a criminal event rather than an attack of a terrorist. Those in denial had the tendency to push key questions under the rug. Part of a feeling of dread and tendency to accommodate, they were dismissive of violent people in the ranks of Muslims. They seemed unprepared to accept the truth that terrorists had entered in US soil. (Photo Credit: Telegraph.co.uk) =0=

RELATED BLOG: "Army major massacres 11 and injures 31 people in Fort Hood, Texas" Posted by mesiamd at 11/06/2009

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PostHeaderIcon Bicol Medical Center and its Surgeons

6/01/2009 | Posted by mesiamd | Edit Post


After years of painstaking build-up of the hospital, the Bicol Medical Center (BMC,) the region’s premier government and training center has established a remarkable team of doctors to serve the surgical needs of patients in Naga City and its environs.

UP Ibalon Bicol and friends extend its congratulations to Dr. Francisco Sales Jr. who currently heads the Department of Surgery. =0=

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PostHeaderIcon A cosmetic surgeon shows off his sex video

5/20/2009 | Posted by mesiamd | Edit Post




A sex video scandal reached the Philippine senate faster than the alleged military corruption in the US-RP Balikatan fund as alleged by Lt. Nancy Gadian. In a privilege speech, Sen. Ramon Revilla, Jr. castigated a certain Dr. Hayden Kho for taking a sex video of himself and starlet Katrina Halili, his girlfriend--- then showing the raunchy clips in the internet. The accused cosmetic surgeon had similar perversions done to other women which angered Sen. Revilla and feminist groups like Gabriela.

“I have also been informed that there are at least two other sex videos involving the same man with other women. These videos show explicit sexual acts and were obviously taken without the consent of the women,” Sen. Ramon Revilla Jr. said. Philstar (o5/20/09, Calica, A)

One wonders why such a doctor who is held in high regard can be so immature, short-sighted and reckless. Such obscene actions of Dr. Kho are deplored by the public. His alleged misconduct tarnishes the trust that people readily give to the healing profession.

There are those who demand that Kho’s medical license be revoked by the Professional Regulations Commission (PRC). In addition, Revilla wants the passage of a law against voyeurism and the display of sex videos. He is joined by party list house representative Irwin Tieng who calls for the approval of a bill which criminalizes violations of a person’s privacy.(Photo Credit: Inquirer; Philstar) =0=

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PostHeaderIcon Nepalese MD’s to train and render service in Bicol Medical Center

2/14/2009 | Posted by mesiamd | Edit Post


As a result of the drop in the number of medical school graduates and the exodus of local doctors to foreign countries, the Bicol Medical Center (BMC) in Naga City has resorted to bringing in 40 doctors from Nepal. From the remote country close to Mount Everest, Nepalese foreign medical graduates will be in the city to train and render service.

"The Bicol Medical Center (BMC) in Concepcion Peque̱a, Naga City is a 500-bed government tertiary hospital under the direct supervision of Department of Health Center for Health Development РBicol, Legazpi City. It is a non-profit institution and one of the 13 medical centers under the National Government." http://doh.gov.ph/bmc (Photo Credit: bmc)

The presence of imported healers in Naga is expected to beef up the medical personnel of the government hospital which has suffered the lack of MDs for the last 5 years. There have been fewer applicants to fill in the 28 doctor-vacancies in BMC. Therefore, the coming of the international physicians appears to be a boon to the hospital service in the city. But is it?

Without inciting any nativist sentiment against the foreign professionals, I think it is justified to ask if the Nepalese doctors’ schooling is comparable to those of the local physicians. The adherence to standard medical training (i.e. in the tradition of Western allopathic medicine) is important before they are allowed to handle patients. Their medical background must be adequate to meet the peculiar health needs of the community. To ascertain competency and avoid compromising the health of patients, they must be tested for basic communication and clinical skills.

Though the Department of Health (DOH) approves of these foreign doctors, does the government have guidelines that define the scope of medical duties and accountability? Are the professional regulations in place to protect the doctors, their patients and the hospitals where they work? Will the presence of these trainee-MDs not interfere with the training and oversight of local doctors, nurses, and other paramedical professionals? Are there enough senior MDs to supervise and teach them? Are they not in violation with the rules of the Professional Regulations Commission (PRC) which regulates physician licensure and practice? Has there been discussions on the effects of foreign doctors on the healthcare of the nation? Their presence may distract the government from pursuing the programs which will make local doctors stay and serve the community instead of going abroad.

In a blog I posted on August 27, 2008, I wrote:

According to Philippine Medical Association (PMA) president Reynaldo Santos, M.D. the arrival of these foreign medical trainees attests to the high quality of education in the country. But this is doubted in the wake of a sharp decline of the number of hospitals, a marked rise in patient load for doctors and nurses, a low passing rate of Filipinos in the United States Medical Licensure Examination (USMLE,) an over-crowding of patients and trainees, lack of budget, equipment upgrade, and medical facilities in many hospitals.

I hope Bicol Medical Center has ironed out the important issues cited above. Otherwise, sending in the Nepalese doctors will solve some of the current healthcare problems of Naga City, but it can also spawn fresh and bigger challenges that haven’t been given enough attention and consideration.=0=

RELATED BLOG: "RP’s 40% drop in med school enrollment & the foreign doctors" Posted by mesiamd at 8/27/2008

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PostHeaderIcon More primary care MD’s needed for Obama’s promised healthcare reform

12/02/2008 | Posted by mesiamd | Edit Post
After a survey came out disclosing the frustration of primary care doctors who suffer in their job, the American College of Physicians (ACP) followed with a paper culled from more than 100 studies from the last 2 decades.

The report details the need for more primary care physicians whose number is dwindling. They are needed to improve healthcare and lower the cost of treatment.

If primary care physicians in a metropolitan area are increased by 15 %, researchers on health care utilization believe there will be beneficial cuts in the following services: emergency room 10.9%, surgeries 7.2%, inpatient admission 5.5% and out patient visits 5%.

In the last 10 years, US medical graduates entering family medicine and internal medicine have decreased to half its number. Many young doctors prefer high-paying specialties with less demand for time to see patients.

The developing doctor shortage crisis is a result of extended hours, low pay for primary care, and paperwork hassles associated with medicare, Medicaid, and private insurers. Sixty percent (60%) of surveyed MDs won’t recommend their profession. ---American Medical News (12/08/08, O’ Reilly, Hedger, B)

The situation is best characterized by Ted Epperly, MD, president of the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) when he said, “What remains unclear is how politicians' promises to rescue primary care will play out in a likely fierce battle over health system reform. But raising awareness of the crisis is the start of finding a solution…. This won't be turned around overnight. It will take a decade to get out from under this.“

A decade! That's 10 years. 3,650 days!

A decade to correct the problem is incredibility long in the face of increasing health needs of Americans and rising cost of medical care. Obama has been served the notice. =0=
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PostHeaderIcon MDs plan to quit & its potential impact when 46 million uninsured Americans get their medical coverage

11/20/2008 | Posted by mesiamd | Edit Post
Before Pres. Barack Obama can assume office and work on his promised universal health care for Americans, primary care physicians in the United States are saying they are overworked.

Almost half of them plan to cut back on their practices or quit seeing patients. They are lobbying for rational reimbursements in their insurance claims particularly on Medicare and Medicaid patients.

In the survey by the Physician’s Foundation, 90% percent of doctors complain they devote too much time in paper work rather than take care of patients. Frustrated by the work environment, 60% of those surveyed is not recommending medicine as a career. Reuters (11/17/08, Fox, M; Wilson, C)

Experts say that there’ll be an increase in number of those who’ll need health care services. A rise of work load required for the aging Americans and the newly insured plus the upward climb in cost of treatment and medicines are likely to lead to a rationed medical care that Americans haven’t been used to.

Under the plan of Obama, 46 million uninsured will gain access to medical services. If not handled correctly, these may mean more triage of patients in the emergency rooms, longer lines in the doctor’s offices, greater cuts on tests, denials on procedures, and slowing of getting consultation appointments and treatments. The current health care isn’t ready to absorb the volume of work, much worse, if doctors scale down their practices or retire early from their jobs. (Photo Credits: by Julie70; Allsus)=0=

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PostHeaderIcon Paying Homage to Community Service

9/11/2008 | Posted by mesiamd | Edit Post


The Diamond in the Rough Awards of a fraternity at UP-PGH caught my attention. I thought UP Ibalon Bicol had an excellent candidate-M,D. for the nomination. But there had been obstacles to hurdle. So I wrote a letter to the secretariat which oversees the contest for service-oriented doctors to share my thoughts. Read and you decide.

“To the Diamond in the Rough Awards Committee:

I’m elated to know about the Diamond in the Rough Awards. I thought I have a fine candidate in mind, but I was a bit disheartened that it has age and location restrictions. Here’s why.

I have difficulty reconciling that age matters in giving honor to a lofty and admirable endeavor such as community service. In the US, there are a few bases of discrimination that I know. One of them is age. I believe it is also true in the Philippines.

Come to think about it. Isn’t there a shade of injustice if we give a shelf-life (expiration date) to recognize exemplary deeds? I always think honorable work must be for all and for eternity. I believe many of us in the profession feel young way beyond 40 years old. Besides, we’re not thinking here of an award that can prop-up careers, but awards that careers have made.

Also I notice that the contest is for rural doctors. But aren’t there blighted and underserved areas too in the big city which have worse conditions than in the countryside? I believe doing grassroots work in the city can be no less daunting.

I don’t have control over the rules. I humbly respect your age limit of 40 and other restrictions. But in my opinion, in considering a person’s recognition, longevity of work and service gives more bone and credence to a person’s motivation. It will give prestige to your contest. The location of the exemplary work isn’t very relevant as I explained above.

An award such as what you offer is better not restricted for prodigies or upstarts who dazzle us like evanescent dewdrops that may vanish in the cold. How many outstanding young men have gone astray? Who has left the rural areas after receiving honor? How many of them abandoned their cause or tarnished their recognition?

I’m sure there are unsung people out there who in their middle age or in their twilight years got the holy grail of their life passion. They are among the people worth honoring in the contest. I’m pretty sure they’ll inspire us more, just like the young ones to pursue causes greater than their own.

I hope this observation may help your fraternity reconsider the criteria of your award. If there is any change, please tell me and I’ll be happy to try and make a nomination. Thank you so much for your attention.” =0=
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