Research in Medical Education (RIME) Annual AAMC Meeting

Every year an important meeting for medical educators and researchers to attend is the RIME meeting, which forms part of the American Association of Medical Colleges Annual Meeting.

The 2011 RIME meeting will be held from Sunday November 6 to Wednesday November 9 in Denver, Colorado.

Every year the RIME abstracts are published in a special issue of Academic Medicine and indexed in PubMed. Here are the 2011 RIME abstracts and the PubMed records.

Before 2003 the PubMed records for RIME do not include the abstracts. If you are interested in reading the RIME abstracts back to 1990, you can view the relevant issues of Academic Medicine, or link to the PubMed citations here: 
2010; 2009; 2008; 2007; 2006; 2005; 2004; 2003; 2002; 2001; 2000; 1999; 1998; 1997; 1996; 1995; 1994; 1993; 1992; 1991; 1990

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The Zombie Research Society (ZRS)

Here is something special for Hallowe’en ~ The Zombie Research Society. From the home page:

Founded in 2007, the Zombie Research Society (ZRS) is dedicated to raising the level of zombie scholarship in the Arts and Sciences.  ZRS Members represent diverse backgrounds, interests, and theories, but are unified in their support of the Society’s three foundational principles:

1) A zombie is a biologically definable, animated being occupying a human corpse.
2) The zombie pandemic is coming.  It’s not a matter of if, but a matter of when.
3) Enthusiastic debate about zombies is essential to the survival of the human race.

Acording to the ZRS, Zombies have a long history. Check out the Zombie Outbreak Map:

The first ZRS Board member listed is George A. Romero of “Night of the Living Dead” fame. As a ZRS member, you can follow the blog, buy merchandise, join the book club and celebrate Zombie Awareness Month.

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What improvements in medical education will lead to better health for individuals and populations?

This was the Academic Medicine editor’s 2011 Question of the Year. Editor Steven L. Kanter writes:
In this issue of the journal [November 2011], you will find 15 essays responding to my 2011 Question of the Year, What improvements in medical education will lead to better health for individuals and populations? In addition, 15 more essays appear online at http://journals.lww.com/academicmedicine/pages/collectiondetails.aspx?TopicalCollectionId=27.

Academic Medicine November 2011; 86(11) is being offered free online at http://journals.lww.com/academicmedicine/toc/2011/11000

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Web Sites, Facebook and Twitter ~ What I’m doing now

Hello, everyone out there ~
I haven’t been keeping this blog up to date but I am still very much involved in continuing health education and chiropractic. This is what I am doing now ~

I am the Web editor for these two Web sites:

  

• I administer facebook pages for Index to Chiropractic Literature  and CACHE/ACEMC 
• Both of these facebook pages automatically produce Tweets for my Twitter accounts for Index to Chiropractic Literature  and CACHE/ACEMC. You can read all my Twitter accounts from the sidebars of this blog.
• I have Site Meters for Index to Chiropractic Literature, CACHE/ACEMC, and this blog. Check out the map of the last 500 visitors to Anne T.-V.s Blog.

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CME Congress 2012 ~ Registration now open

CME Congress 2012 will be held in Toronto next year and is partnered by AHME, Alliance for CME, CACHE/ACEMC, SACME and the University of Toronto. Online registration is now open!
http://www.cmecongress.org/

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CACHE 2011 Annual Conference in beautiful Banff!

The conference was a great success. Read about it here.  Check out the photos from the conference.

 

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CE Measure: The Journal of Outcome Measurement in Continuing Healthcare Education

CE Measure is the first peer-reviewed journal dedicated specifically to the art and science of healthcare educational outcomes measurement.

Original manuscripts that address outcomes methodologies, results, practice-based protocols, CE conference highlights and abstracts, and case histories will be published to promote vigorous academic scrutiny of this important subject.

Sample articles (all available free online):

• Changing Performance among Practicing Pharmacists through Comprehensive Educational Initiatives
• Use of Uniform Outcomes Methodologies to Measure Clinical Impact of Large-Scale CME Initiatives
• Measures of Perceived Self-Efficacy as a Method of Evaluating Educational Outcomes
• Case Report: Web-Based Commitment-to-Change Evaluation of an Annual CME Conference
• Taking the Plunge: A CME Provider’s Journey to the 21st Century
• Continuing Professional Education in Athletic Training: Is Knowledge Acquired and Retained?
• Improving Primary Care Management of Joint Pain through a PI/QI-CME Approach

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Brand names make it to the OED!

I first created this post in 2007, and apart from the home page, it has been the most viewed page on my blog (over 6,000 views). So here it is again, with a link to the latest OED update.

It’s fascinating to peruse the new words added to the OED. (Here is the latest update, December 2010.) Brand names often enter the language as generic terms, and I’ve listed a few of them below. (I wonder who they have in mind with the word “flip-flopper”. And what on earth is a cotylosaur? I thought “chicklet” meant a little piece of gum, but I was disappointed to discover that it means a small chick or girl.)

Google
Goo·gle – verb: to use the Google search engine to find information on the Internet.

Botox
bo·tox – noun or verb – A proprietary name for: a preparation of botulinum toxin which is injected into specific muscles to create temporary paralysis, as part of the treatment of various medical conditions and in the cosmetic treatment of wrinkles of the face (esp. frown lines and crow’s feet). Also: treatment by this means; a course of such treatment.

Popsicle
pop·sicle – noun – A proprietary name for: an ice lolly.

Hoover
hoo·ver – verb: to clean with a vacuum cleaner (Chiefly British)

Kleenex [see more ads]
klee·nex – noun: the proprietary name of an absorbent disposable cleansing paper tissue.

Xerox
xe·rox – noun or verb: a name for a copying machine or the act of reproducing printed, written, or pictorial matter by xerography.

Thermos
ther·mos –noun: a vacuum bottle or similar container lined with an insulating material, such as polystyrene, to keep liquid hot or cold

Prozac
pro·zac -noun: a brand of fluoxetine hydrochloride
Spandex
span·dex –noun: a synthetic fiber composed of a long-chain polymer, used chiefly in the manufacture of garments to add elasticity

JELL-O
jell·o -noun: brand of dessert made from a mixture of gelatin, sugar, and fruit flavoring, dissolved in hot water and chilled until firm

Band-Aid
band·aid -noun: adhesive bandage with a gauze pad in the center, used to cover minor abrasions and cuts

Viagra
vi·ag·ra -noun: sildenafil citrate, used to treat impotence

Frigidaire
frig·i·daire – noun: the proprietary name of a brand of refrigerator.

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This blog on Wordle – January 8, 2010

These word clouds are fun to make on Wordle. This is a representation of this blog, today (atvtoronto).

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The MMR-Autism Connection

Clear evidence of falsification of data should now close the door on this damaging vaccine scare
In a series of articles starting this week, and seven years after first looking into the MMR scare, journalist Brian Deer now shows the extent of Wakefield’s fraud and how it was perpetrated.

The  alleged MMR/autism fraud was exposed this week by the British Medical Journal. Below are the links to the main documents in this case.

The original article:
Wakefield AJ, Murch SH, Anthony A, Linnell, Casson DM, Malik M, et al. Ileal lymphoid nodular hyperplasia, non-specific colitis, and pervasive developmental disorder in children. Lancet 1998;351:637-41.  Full Text

The retraction:
Retraction–Ileal-lymphoid-nodular hyperplasia, non-specific colitis, and pervasive developmental disorder in children. Lancet 2010 Feb 6;375(9713):445.

The BMJ editorial:
Godlee F, Smith J, Marcovitch H. Wakefield’s article linking MMR vaccine and autism was fraudulent [editorial]. BMJ January 5, 2011;   342:c7452.

Journalist Brian Deer’s article in the BMJ:
Deer, Brian. Secrets of the MMR scare: How the case against the MMR vaccine was fixed. BMJ January 5, 2011;342:c5347

Brian Deer’s blog entry:
Piltdown medicine: The missing link between MMR and autism. Jan. 6, 2011.

Globe & Mail article:
Picard A.  Medical fraud revealed in discredited vaccine-autism study. The Globe and Mail, Jan. 6, 2011.

Determination on Serious Professional Misconduct (SPM) and sanction [of] Dr Andrew Jeremy WAKEFIELD. This case is being considered by a Fitness to Practise Panel applying the General Medical Council’s Preliminary Proceedings Committee and Professional Conduct Committee (Procedure) Rules 1988. Date: 24 May 2010
Fitness to Practice Hearing – General Medical Council. Date: 28 January 2010

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