As I write this, I am just back - last night - from Sharjah, where I spoke at a conference. With all due respect to my most gracious hosts, before receiving the invitation to speak in Sharjah, I had never even heard of it. This is despite the fact that I have been to the United Arab Emirates (of which Sharjah is one) before, for a World Health Organization project in Abu Dhabi some years ago. I have been to neighboring Qatar for a public health conference as well. Even so, I had not heard of Sharjah- which now occupies a special place in my memory, and a warm spot in my heart.
As I write this, I am just back from the Connecticut State Legislature, where I gave testimony in support of a “soda tax” proposed by our Governor. Before answering the questions (and provocations) of legislators (again) both favorably and ill-disposed to the measure, I had roughly 3 minutes to make my case. I lay it out for you below, along with the embellishments that did not fit in so tight a space.
I keep a couple leather-bound albums in my office. They hold thank-you letters from patients and their families. A kind of melancholy reminder of days gone past, when writing a letter meant something, when it required a bit of effort, postage, a trip to the mailbox, and not just a “send” button. I guess I hope one day my kids will flip through them after I’m gone. Maybe think to themselves, “Dad made a difference.”
A combination of physical and mental signals forced me to take a break, after being in an innovation marathon for over 9 years that was as compelling as addictive for good reasons. When my body took over I had to decide to take a step back and recuperate, like top-athletes do (no pun intended).
Handling stress and balancing life are important ingredients for health and well-being. Stress is unavoidable so it's in our best interest to figure out a way to deal with it. When we are caught up in a stressor sometimes it is hard to gain perspective. If we are anxious, this can lead to catastrophic predictions about what the outcome may be.
Telepsychiatry visits are just like any other medical appointments- the only difference is they are conducted from the comfort of your own home or office using live video-conferencing. There are different names used for the same thing: virtual doctor visit, telehealth, telemedicine, telepsychiatry. They all mean the same thing: delivering health care services at a distance.
The University of Denver will no longer require students to submit SAT or ACT scores with their applications joining 1000 other universities making the change. National studies found that high school grades are the best predictor of a student’s future college success, and standardized test scores have a low correlation with persistence and graduation.