An Academic Internist Looks at Euthanasia

This paper points out that to persons unfamiliar with the context and suffering of dying patients, their loved ones, and last, but by no means least, the health care team can only discuss the very concrete question of euthanasia in an abstract way unaware of the fact that this question must, in the final analysis, be differently addressed in different specific patients and under specific circumstances. This paper poses questions which must be addressed and will rarely find a good answer but at least the best among a series of unpalatable options. It again points out the important and legitimate place that emotions play in decision-making.     

实施人才强院战略铸造医院核心竞争力

介绍绍兴市人民医院实施人才强院战略,打造医院核心竞争力的经验和成效创新人才观念,改革内部用人机制;制定育才引才并举的人才策略;创新人才管理体制,构建科学的人才激励机制.     

结直肠肿瘤多学科协作诊治模式的数据体系构建与运作策略

目的阐述在结直肠肿瘤多学科协作（MDT）诊治模式下,如何构建数据体系及其运作策略。方法阐明构建数据体系的原因,结合实践描述结直肠肿瘤数据体系的基本构成及如何支持数据体系的运行,探讨结直肠肿瘤MDT数据体系的价值反馈,并提出对数据体系建立未来的展望。结果通过会诊、随访、院内临床的支持及合理地实现MDT模式中信息化流程的建设,数据体系运行能正常进行。结论数据体系作为整个结直肠肿瘤MDT项目的基础,能够通过医疗模式的改变表现出医疗价值和社会价值。     

Results of a survey of the role of multidisciplinary team coordinators for colorectal cancer in England and Wales

OBJECTIVE: Over the last 6 years, multidisciplinary teams (MDTs) have been established and play a key role in organizing the delivery of cancer care in the UK. There are no published data on the roles of their co-coordinators. To seek the views of colorectal multidisciplinary team co-ordinators (MDTCs) on what they do and how they do it. METHOD: Questionnaires were sent to the colorectal MDTC, or equivalent, in all 180 NHS hospital trusts in England and Wales where colorectal cancer surgery is performed. RESULTS: There was a 70% response rate. Seventy-one per cent of trusts now have a dedicated MDTC, whereas in 2002, only 40% had one. MDTCs generally keep their information on databases, but these differ, and are not coordinated with data entry into the national colorectal cancer database of the Association of Coloproctology of Great Britain and Ireland. In only 26 trusts does the MDTC communicate decisions to primary care, and the patients seem almost completely excluded from this process. CONCLUSION: The recently formed national MDTC Forum should grasp the opportunity of coordinating all of this well-intentioned but pluralistic activity to the benefit of patients, primary care and hospital teams. An effective MDTC with a robust database will be the key in achieving cancer waiting time targets with useful audit, thereby improving patient care.     

Auditing your acute pain service—a UK NHS model

This audit has been conducted in order to provide an evidence base that clarifies the strengths and weaknesses of acute pain management at a UK hospital. Consequently, it sets the strategic direction for service improvement. Awarding up to three stars has identified the quality of each component that constitutes the acute pain service. Six different components were audited and star ratings have been awarded as shown below:

• Pain tool (including patient and staff understanding): no stars.

• Pain team (including education and clinical support): two stars.

• Intermittent opioid analgesia (sub-cut and oral morphine): two stars.

• Epidural patient controlled analgesia (EPCA): two stars.

• Intravenous patient controlled analgesia (IVPCA): two stars.

• Single-dose intrathecal opioid analgesia: three stars.

These star ratings were pulled together in order to award the acute pain service an overall rating. Consequently, the acute pain service was awarded two stars. The findings of this audit identify that this acute pain service provides a safe way to deliver hi-tech pain relief at ward level and can be relied upon to provide good quality pain management. However, too many patients are likely to miss out on the full benefits of the service due to the weaknesses as identified. The quality of the pain relief is impeded across the hospital due to low patient expectation and poor patient education, and also due to a lack of relevant knowledge amongst nursing staff. Developments in the role of the acute pain nurse, staff training and education programs, and a reduction in the variety of pain management pumps are combining to facilitate the opportunities required to address the weaknesses and to build on the strengths of the acute pain service.     

Promoting inter-agency collaborátion in child services

Summary Effective collaboration between agencies is often difficult to achieve. Children and their families/carers, who have complex therapeutic needs, present particular difficulties in that agencies need to work together, if they are to produce a co-ordinated and integrated package of care. A Multi-Agency-Consultation-Team (MACT) was set up in an attempt to overcome some of these problems of interagency co-operation. This paper describes the protocol, types of children referred and the recommendations made by the team. Follow-up of these children at 4 months suggests that a MACT does have a role to play in developing high quality services.     

Providing Interdisciplinary Geriatric Team Care: What Does It Really Take?

We concur with Speer and Schneider's arguments (2003 ; this issue) that more psychologists should offer mental health services to older adults and that the primary care system is a good focus of such efforts. Three issues deserve more prominence in their review. First, their argument that older adults are averse to mental health services seems incorrect, given research indicating that older adults prefer psychotherapy to medication for treatment of depression. Second, psychologists working in primary care need to be aware of new Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) codes that allow documentation of psychological work in medical settings. Third, Speer and Schneider allude to interdisciplinary team functioning, but provide little information about models of team care or issues in developing a well-functioning interdisciplinary team; this commentary expands on those topics.     

国际典型综合类科技期刊公众传播特点及对我国综合类科技期刊公众传播能力建设的启示

【目的】 分析国际顶级综合类科技期刊公众传播模式及特点,为我国科技期刊公众传播能力建设提供建议。【方法】 以Altmetric Top 100入选论文数量最多的Nature、Science和PNAS三刊为研究对象,剖析其在公众传播产品、媒体传播体系和新闻媒体人才支撑等方面的模式和特征。对照分析我国最有影响力的综合类科技期刊《国家科学评论》和《科学通报》的公众传播特点。【结果】 以《国家科学评论》和《科学通报》为代表的我国综合类科技期刊的公众传播能力提升迅速,但仍存在新闻传媒人才短缺、期刊集约化程度不高、公众传播机制尚未建立等问题。【结论】 我国综合类科技期刊需要着力增强传媒人才培育、集约化品牌发展、公众传播机制建设,以促进我国科技期刊公众传播能力提升。     

The surgical care practitioner: a dual perspective

The ongoing balance of service delivery and training offset with the European Working Time Directive has resulted in a requirement to review the surgical workforce and new ways of working. The extended surgical team can be utilized to support the delivery of surgical services. Surgical care practitioners are trained to care for surgical patients across the whole patient pathway: in clinics, theatre and on the ward. They are continual members of the surgical team and can support both the service and training due to the flexible nature of the role. This article gives an overview of the role of the surgical care practitioner (SCP) and how the role impacts surgical training.