Gurpreet Singh, M.D., Vivek C. Shah, M.D., Murali K. Kolikonda, M.D., Steven Lippmann, M.D. Introduction When determining a patient’s right and ability to accept or to refuse treatment, understanding decisional capacity and competence is important. Do you know the difference? When can your patient agree to or decline a recommended treatment? What should you do […]
Cody J. Connor, BS While many cultures strongly endorse the cosmetic effect of tan skin, the dangers of attaining it often evade the minds of those who seek that “beautiful” status. In fact, for many of those that do consider these dangers, the remote consequences do not seem to outweigh the immediate benefits. Thus, the […]
Jose de Leon, M.D. This editorial proposes that 2013 may someday be known as the year psychiatry was at a crossroad. Practicing psychiatrists were pressured with paradoxical messages including (1) assurances from the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) that better psychiatric medications are forthcoming, which would decrease the impact of mental illness, even as […]
Vivek C. Shah, M.D., Murali K. Kolikonda, M.D., Suneela Cherlopalle, M.D., Steven Lippmann M.D. Okay, marijuana is being legalized in many places across this country. Lots of people smoke pot. Some of them may have the impression that governmental legalization of this drug implies safety. What should you tell your adolescent patients? Cannabis is one […]
Yulin Chu, N.P. The metaparadigm of nursing distinguishes nursing from any other discipline such as biology, sociology, or psychology (Jonson et al., 2012). Initial consensus on the metaparadigm concepts in nursing was proposed by Fawcett in 1984. According to Fawcett (1984), metaparadigm, as the central concepts of nursing, contains person, environment, health, and nursing. These […]
Suneela Cherlopalle, M.D., Murali K. Kolikonda, M.D., Manasa Enja, M.D., Steven Lippmann, M.D. You are in your office evaluating a child with hyperactivity and inattention. The parents want quick intervention; the teacher suggests to “start medication” now. Under pressure, you are considering attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and the child appears to fit the criteria. […]
Said Shahtahmasebi, Ph.D. Human behaviour is dynamic. This means it changes over time. How does this change occur? To answer this question it is necessary to take a look at our own lives as individuals. We do not wake up one day to find out that we are smokers, a champion athlete, obese, have health […]
M. Dolores Braquehais, M.D., Ph.D. Specific programs to treat doctors who suffer from mental disorders and/or addictions (Physicians’ Health Programs, PHPs) seem to provide the best available measures for protecting patients, recovering physicians’ careers and their psychosocial wellbeing (1). First PHPs were developed in the USA since the late 1970s in order to identify and […]
Yulin Chu, N.P. Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and depression associated with AD are two chronic and serious mental illnesses. Alzheimer’s disease is an irreversible, progressive brain disease that affects about 5.1 million Americans (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services [HHS], 2013). Depression associated with AD, usually called Late life Depression (LLD), refers to late-onset depression […]
Leo Sher, M.D. The graduate medical education in the United States has a long and interesting history. In 1840s, there were about 30 medical schools in the US. Seven of them were located in New York (1). In 1847, the American Medical Association (AMA) was formed. The primary task of the AMA was to raise […]
