Stitches: The Journal of Medical Humour was a print-based Canadian-based humour magazine. It was conceived and founded by Dr. John Cocker, a family physician from Aurora, Ontario in 1990. It rapidly became the best read medical journal in Canada, and was published under licence in Australia, UK, USA and South Africa. At its peak, it was a 200-page monthly journal. After being sold to Canada Law Book in 2005, they were unable to sell enough advertising space, and it ceased publication in 2007. In 2011, Dr John Cocker bought back the magazine, and it is now published as an online magazine, every month.
Stitches had a wide variety of articles from both doctors and patients, and included features from regular authors (columns), as well as many independent writers (features). Each issue contained a large cartoon on the front cover, often depicting a doctor in a humorous situation. The magazine itself contained cartoons interspersed with the articles inside. Many humorous letters from physicians were published each month, and the best one was awarded the STITCHES Gold Stethoscope, this item being specially made by 3M.
Regular columns accounted for a large part of the magazine's content, containing material sent in from regular authors. There were 6 contributors to the columns section, each with their own brand of wit and sarcasm.
The following articles are listed by their article name.
A column by Dr John Cocker appeared in the first 150 issues consisting of news, views and often off-beat humour.
Authored by psychiatrist Lara Hazelton, Bad Advice for Better Living was changed to Best Evidence for Worst Practices in Spring 2006. Hazelton lends her psychiatric advice to questions sent in by her unsuspecting readers. [1] She is a Halifax psychiatrist who has written for a number of medical publications.
Written by Dara Behroozi, a physician in Vancouver, Dr. Dara's Diary chronicles the adventures of the doctor in his office, through a wide variety of subjects ranging from interactions with his patients, to the happenings of his family life, to his experiences boating. Behroozi's humour often places a certain spin on his practise, and his writing style often allows the reader to laugh along while becoming a part of it. Dr. Dara's Diary always follows a five-section structure, beginning with "Monday", the first day of the work week, to "Friday", the day before the weekend. He always ends his articles with the phrase: "Have a(n) [adjective] week".
Claire Moran contributes to Stitches for the article Impatient Patient. As a "self-confessed hypochondriac", [2] Moran writes on general issues such as children, disease (humorously), and on one occasion, predictions of the year 2003. As her article's title confirms, Moran is a patient, not a doctor.
Written by Steve Kaladeen, a physician in an Ontario hospital, Red Tape follows a fictitious version of his own self.
Introduced in January 2004, Alistair Munro writes about the (often cocky) adventures of MacRuaraidh. Pronounced "MacRorie", this student of a six-year undergraduate course (Medical school) "incorporated every Celtic gene in existence into his personal appearance". [3] Following MacRuaraidh's adventures, we see the author's take on a student who clearly shouldn't have made it through medical school, but did.
A relatively new column written by Francis D'Andrade, The Money Doctor focuses on a humorous take on financial situations, and often offers lighthearted advice for the common doctor. Although suggested by the column's name, D'Andrade is not a physician. Not to be confused of course with Ireland's Money Doctor, John Lowe - an authorised financial adviser and former banker whose best selling book "The Money Doctor Finance Annual 2010" is the 5th edition of the book.
First published in November/December 2005, Stitches for Patients is a supplement to the already popular Stitches: The Journal of Medical Humour.
Through the magazine, medial conferences were arranged in warm countries, during the winter. These became very popular, and over 70 have been arranged in 31 different countries. The most ambitious was a two-year cruise around the world in the 74 ft Yawl "Stitches Explorer", skippered by publisher, Dr. John Cocker. The conferences continue, under the name, MDTravel.ca
Doctor is an academic title that originates from the Latin word of the same spelling and meaning. The word is originally an agentive noun of the Latin verb docēre[dɔˈkeːrɛ] 'to teach'. It has been used as an academic title in Europe since the 13th century, when the first doctorates were awarded at the University of Bologna and the University of Paris.
Bloodletting is the withdrawal of blood from a patient to prevent or cure illness and disease. Bloodletting, whether by a physician or by leeches, was based on an ancient system of medicine in which blood and other bodily fluids were regarded as "humours" that had to remain in proper balance to maintain health. It is claimed to have been the most common medical practice performed by surgeons from antiquity until the late 19th century, a span of over 2,000 years. In Europe, the practice continued to be relatively common until the end of the 19th century. The practice has now been abandoned by modern-style medicine for all except a few very specific medical conditions. In the overwhelming majority of cases, the historical use of bloodletting was harmful to patients.
Dr. Julius Michael Hibbert, M.D. is a recurring character on the television animated sitcom The Simpsons. He is Springfield's most prominent medical professional. Although he has a kind and warm persona, he is also often characterized as greedy and lacking in empathy. His signature character trait is his often-inappropriate chuckling, which is generally cued by misfortune rather than something genuinely amusing. The character was voiced from his 1990 debut by Simpsons regular Harry Shearer, and since a recasting of all of the show's non-white characters, by Kevin Michael Richardson from 2021.
Medieval medicine in Western Europe was composed of a mixture of pseudoscientific ideas from antiquity. In the Early Middle Ages, following the fall of the Western Roman Empire, standard medical knowledge was based chiefly upon surviving Greek and Roman texts, preserved in monasteries and elsewhere. Medieval medicine is widely misunderstood, thought of as a uniform attitude composed of placing hopes in the church and God to heal all sicknesses, while sickness itself exists as a product of destiny, sin, and astral influences as physical causes. On the other hand, medieval medicine, especially in the second half of the medieval period, became a formal body of theoretical knowledge and was institutionalized in the universities. Medieval medicine attributed illnesses, and disease, not to sinful behaviour, but to natural causes, and sin was connected to illness only in a more general sense of the view that disease manifested in humanity as a result of its fallen state from God. Medieval medicine also recognized that illnesses spread from person to person, that certain lifestyles may cause ill health, and some people have a greater predisposition towards bad health than others.
A plague doctor was a physician who treated victims of bubonic plague during epidemics mainly in the 16th and 17th centuries. These physicians were hired by cities to treat infected patients regardless of income, especially the poor that could not afford to pay.
An advice column is a column in a question and answer format. Typically, a reader writes to the media outlet with a problem in the form of a question, and the media outlet provides an answer or response.
Charles McMoran Wilson, 1st Baron Moran, MC, PRCP was personal doctor to Winston Churchill from 1940 until the latter's death in 1965. His book The Struggle for Survival revealed much about Churchill's physical and psychological state, possibly including clinical depression, while coping with the strain of high office. It was not, however, the strict historical record that it appeared to be, as it lacked any accredited sources, such as diary-entries or confirmed reporting of conversations. Some people also felt that it breached patient–doctor confidentiality.
Sham peer review or malicious peer review is a name given to the abuse of a medical peer review process to attack a doctor for personal or other non-medical reasons. The American Medical Association conducted an investigation of medical peer review in 2007 and concluded that while it is easy to allege misconduct and 15% of surveyed physicians indicated that they were aware of peer review misuse or abuse, cases of malicious peer review able to be proven through the legal system are rare.
Gelotology is the study of laughter and its effects on the body, from a psychological and physiological perspective. Its proponents often advocate induction of laughter on therapeutic grounds in alternative medicine. The field of study was pioneered by William F. Fry of Stanford University.
Howard Atwood Kelly was an American gynecologist. He obtained his B.A. degree and M.D. degree from the University of Pennsylvania. He, William Osler, William Halsted, and William Welch together are known as the "Big Four", the founding professors at the Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland. He is credited with establishing gynecology as a specialty by developing new surgical approaches to gynecological diseases and pathological research. He also developed several medical innovations, including the improved cystoscope, Kelly's clamp, Kelly's speculum, and Kelly's forceps. Because Kelly was a famous prohibitionist and Fundamentalist Christian, many of his contemporaries expressed skepticism towards his medical professionalism.
Medicine in ancient Rome was highly influenced by ancient Greek medicine, but also developed new practices through knowledge of the Hippocratic Corpus combined with use of the treatment of diet, regimen, along with surgical procedures. This was most notably seen through the works of two of the prominent Greek physicians, Dioscorides and Galen, who practiced medicine and recorded their discoveries. This is contrary to two other physicians like Soranus of Ephesus and Asclepiades of Bithynia, who practiced medicine both in outside territories and in ancient Roman territory, subsequently. Dioscorides was a Roman army physician, Soranus was a representative for the Methodic school of medicine, Galen performed public demonstrations, and Asclepiades was a leading Roman physician. These four physicians all had knowledge of medicine, ailments, and treatments that were healing, long lasting and influential to human history.
The doctor–patient relationship is a central part of health care and the practice of medicine. A doctor–patient relationship is formed when a doctor attends to a patient's medical needs and is usually through consent. This relationship is built on trust, respect, communication, and a common understanding of both the doctor and patients' sides. The trust aspect of this relationship goes is mutual: the doctor trusts the patient to reveal any information that may be relevant to the case, and in turn, the patient trusts the doctor to respect their privacy and not disclose this information to outside parties.
How Doctors Think is a book released in March 2007 by Jerome Groopman, the Dina and Raphael Recanati Chair of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, chief of experimental medicine at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, and staff writer for The New Yorker magazine.
Peter J. Pronovost is Chief Quality and Transformation Officer at University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center, the main affiliate of the Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine. At UH, Pronovost is responsible for improving value across the health system, helping people stay well, get well and manage their most acute medical conditions. He is the clinical lead for population health and the lead for high-reliability medicine, with direct responsibility for the UH employee accountable care organization. He is also responsible for telehealth and virtual health programs serving patient and provider communities.
Julian (Jules) Christopher Paul Eden is an author, journalist, businessman and former doctor with specialisms in remote medicine and dive medicine. He was the founder of the UK's first online medical clinic, e-Med in 2000.
Trauma surgery is a surgical specialty that utilizes both operative and non-operative management to treat traumatic injuries, typically in an acute setting. Trauma surgeons generally complete residency training in general surgery and often fellowship training in trauma or surgical critical care. The trauma surgeon is responsible for initially resuscitating and stabilizing and later evaluating and managing the patient. The attending trauma surgeon also leads the trauma team, which typically includes nurses and support staff as well as resident physicians in teaching hospitals.
Dr. Rebecca J. Keck (1838–1904), was a 19th-century woman physician and patent medicine entrepreneur and one of the wealthiest independent businesswomen in the Midwest.
The husband stitch or husband's stitch, also known as the daddy stitch, husband's knot and vaginal tuck, is a surgical procedure in which one or more additional sutures than necessary are used to repair a woman's perineum after it has been torn or cut during childbirth. The claimed purpose is to tighten the opening of the vagina and thereby enhance the pleasure of her male sex partner during penetrative intercourse. Evidence for the benefit of the woman is lacking.
William Brady was an American physician and pioneering medical columnist.
Dara Kass is an emergency medicine physician and Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine at Columbia University Medical Center. She is also an advocate for advancing the careers of women in medicine. While treating patients during the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, Kass became infected. Since then, she has become a prominent voice advocating for access to personal protective equipment and more effective measures to combat the spread of the disease.