Dear AuntMinnie Member,
It started with an idea: Comic books could be a good vehicle for teaching residents and medical students.
And it may sound unusual, but the idea has been put into practice by a Pennsylvania doctor, who collaborated with an illustrator to produce "Missed It." The five-page work details the experiences of a young resident who is woken up on night call to deal with what seems like a routine case of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Or is it?
Dr. Michael Green based "Missed It" on his own experience during his residency, and he hopes that others can learn through the comic's dramatic pictures and story line. Dr. Green isn't alone in recognizing the didactic power of comic books -- there's even an upcoming conference in the U.K. on the topic.
Check out our article in the Residents Digital Community by clicking here, or visit residents.auntminnie.com.
MRI in pregnant women
In other news, U.S. researchers have investigated whether MRI can change the clinical management of pregnant women suspected of having acute appendicitis -- one of the most common nonobstetric conditions requiring surgery in pregnant women.
Clinicians want to avoid using radiation-based modalities such as CT and x-ray in these women, for obvious reasons. But not performing any imaging at all could lead to higher rates of negative laparotomies or, even worse, a perforated appendix.
What was MRI's impact on clinical management? You can find out by clicking here, or visit the MRI Digital Community at mri.auntminnie.com.
Gamma Knife pay cuts
If you're one of the users of the Gamma Knife stereotactic radiosurgery system, you're probably not a happy camper this week following the implementation on Monday of a 58% pay cut in reimbursement for procedures performed with the system.
The massive pay cut was conceived by -- wait for it -- the U.S. Congress, which overrode longstanding Medicare payment policy in deciding that Gamma Knife rates ought to be the same as those for linear-accelerator-based radiation treatment. Learn more about the change by clicking here, or visit our Radiation Oncology Digital Community at radiation.auntminnie.com.
In other news this week, check out this study about how better communication can address anxiety in women sent for biopsy of suspicious breast lesions, and this article on one of the giants of radiology, Dr. Russell H. Morgan of Johns Hopkins University.
