"The thing that fundamentalists fail to understand is that science is an approach and not a compendium of irrefutable facts. In other words it's a method not an outcome. What constitutes scientific knowledge changes all the time and that is a good and necessary thing. For example, much of what scientists knew in the days of Galileo or Copernicus was wrong. Like any human endeavor science is imperfect but the method should remain immutable and consists of three parts: (1) gather evidence, (2) make a hypothesis, and (3) test the hypothesis. That's it." SubmarinerExactly Sub. Exactly. That is the scientific method.
But the application of the Scientific Method and the practice of Modern Medicine are as different as Jesus and Pat Robertson.
The current practice of modern medicine is an application of the Profit Motive not the Scientific Method. To even call the current vaccination policy of this nation the product of a scientific endeavor should be criminal.
Those who continue to allow themselves and their children to be injected with every vaccine mandated by Pharmaceutical companies, their government lackeys and the doctors who apologize for them are demonstrating FAITH in an orthodoxy and an outdated medical paradigm that is as much a religion as is the Jehova's Witnesses.
You cats teasing Big Man about Jesus when you have just substituted one God for another.
Vaccine Studies Under Fire : Under the Influence of Pharma
A study published in the British Medical Journal reveals the clout that Pharmaceutical companies have has in the world of medicine journal publishing, specifically the publishing of scientific articles about vaccines.
In a Cochrane Collaboration review and analysis of published influenza vaccine studies conducted by Tom Jefferson, M.D., Ph.D. and his colleagues, they found that influenza vaccine studies sponsored by industry are treated more favorably by medical journals even when the studies are of poor quality. Click here to view the BMJ study:
10 comments:
The current practice of modern medicine is an application of the Profit Motive not the Scientific Method.
On an institutional level that is partially correct. But in modern capitalist society, from which you benefit greatly (don't forget the awesome salad your wife made for you the other day or the feeling of exuberance during your time spent on the golf course), that is true of the military, political and judicial administration, and your precious religion. So you're really not bringing forth any profound or remarkable insights. The chemistry of human and institutional interaction is too complicated for you.
Doubtless you have been to the ER or doctor's office for a sick child and diligently followed the prescribed course of antibiotics. It is a certainty that you received the requisite vaccines up to adulthood. There's a reasonable chance that you've had an appendectomy, tonsillectomy, or (if you truly are a serious athlete and physical hegemon - I ran a half marathon in just under 2 1/2 hours last week and was able to run only 3 miles five days later) arthroscopy. In all probability, your wife delivered her babies in a hospital and may have a C-section scar. Oh, and if your son is circumcised I'm sure a surgeon did the honors and not a rabbi.
It is right and good that you should question the medical profession. And in the dialectical approach to truth it necessary for the medical profession, like all other professions, to prove itself worthy of the public trust. But at 3AM incessant braggadocio and doctrinaire abstractions are little comfort to a sick crying infant. Therefore, I think that as long as individual doctors continue to practice medicine with discipline, compassion, and sacrifice, we shall have little to fear from the Denmark Veseys of the world. Pardon my interruption and please continue with your mighty enterprise.
"Doubtless you have been to the ER or doctor's office for a sick child and diligently followed the prescribed course of antibiotics."
Haven't had an aspirin in 24 years. I remember a few vaccinations as a kid. Some mysterious "shot" in college and whatever craziness they gave us at Ft. Bragg.
My kids don't take antibiotics. No vaccinations 'cept the oldest one.
(Congrats on the marathon. That's big.)
True. I had arthoscopy some years ago. It was fuggin' amazing.
Yeah. I remember that damn circumcision. If I knew then what I know now. It would never have happened. I had reservations, but it was almost with religious zeal and institutional efficiency that little man was hustled off to the cigar cutter.
As with the vaccinations ... it wasn't really presented to my wife and me as a choice.
Now Doc. I can see you are struggling to appear patronizing, but those types of affectations are unnecessary.
I'm sure you are not offended because you can see this enterprise is just an exercise.
Consider it a ... Hypocrisy Pap Smear.
I hold the High Priests of medicine in as high regard as you hold Priests of the Catholic Church.
Dude you don't take your kids to the doctor?
No offense taken, Denmark Vesey. I am a healer and you are not. If you ever manage an actively seizing 4 year old with a 105F temperature who collapses from heat stroke on a playground like I did 2 weeks ago then I'll take you seriously. Until that moment arrives, however, what you express are the futile perseverations of a certain type of eccentric. And that's fine because we need individuals willing to wander along the boundaries of existence. Besides on an individual and personal level I easily contradict all your myths. When former patients stop me in the street or tell their mother to ask for me when they get to the hospital, the admonishments of a blogger are irrelevant.
I went into ER medicine because it allows me to serve the greatest number of people and pecuniary interest plays no role in my decision making. If you're rich or poor and you see me you can be assured that my care is the same. During medical scool and residency I have administered vaccines to children and infants. During my current practice I've given Ovral and Methotrexate without any sinister intent. I guess I shouldn't speak for the entire profession but it's like that with a lot of us. And as long as local physicians practice ethically then the conspiracy theorists like yourself will remain marginal. It's the same for anyone with serious responsibilty and power. You must and should continuously work to earn trust and respect.
Submariner,
You are a physician to admire. The one thing that makes me lose my cool is finding intelligent people who actually BELIEVE the tales MOTI spins on a daily basis. I keep thinking I'm going to get an email stating that this was some sort of online improv group, and that I wasn't in on the joke. It is still painful to watch, and I wonder about the people not commenting who are swallowing this stuff as gospel endangering their health...passing along the rumors. I remember seeing an unvaccinated child with epiglottitis for the first time as a resident, scalpel in hand ready to perform a surgical airway procedure, wondering why this kids parents were so against vaccinating their children. Excitement, fear, and anger at the same time.
My year of research ends in a couple of weeks, so I won't be able to split the "Denmark Vesey" call schedule with you after that. I suppose you have a better bedside manner as you are probably exposed to this sort of thing more often than I down in the E.D. These days I generally only have to talk about vaccines and such after splenectomy.
Thank you for the kind words. And that remark about about splitting the DV call schedule is too funny! BTW, what is MOTI?
I wouldn't get too perturbed by what goes down here because again what you and I do on an individual level carries far greater cachet than the ravings of a blogger. People should be free to choose between the advice of a licensed professional versus the maudlin delusions of an eccentric. And as long as they can see us act with compassion and skill then we'll always prevail during any public discussion or consensus.
What you see here amounts to little more than irredentist agitations. Religion as an institution arbitrating society has been displaced.
It used to be that Christians of antiquity were revered for treating people with ailments like leprosy and the plague. Stories from the early common era depict followers of Christ as going to minister to the sick and neglected.
But today what we see on a personally verifiable level is a group of scared and suspicious people who call Hurricane Katrina, 9/11, and AIDS God's just punishments. So what we're left with are people who celebrate the Pentagon but protest abortion clinics. The priest who officiated my wedding and coincidentally that of my neighbor resigned in disgrace over sexual scandal and was later shot by one his alleged victims. And a local protestant church secured a Bentley for its pastor shortly before the building was foreclosed. And local preacher, Jamal Bryant, was suspended for reported sexual indiscretion. Numerous examples such as these have now become caricatures like pipm in the pulpit. Gone are the vanguard of heroes typical of the Civil Rights Movement. Even Denmark Vesey lampoons Jackson and Sharpton.
As Craig Nulan has observed, these fundamentalists don't even know the tenets that undergird religious praxis.
Submariner,
MOTI is how I refer to our host, it's taken from the blog title "Man On The Internet", as I have a difficult time calling him Denmark Vesey, or acknowledging his exclusive claims to his degree "blackness".
I know I shouldn't get so worked up, but it just brings to mind patients I've encountered, some with unfortunate outcomes. I'm sure you've had similar experiences. Interacting here gives me the same feeling of alarm and frustration as watching a petulant child back away from his parents outstretched hand--into on coming traffic.
I'm OK with people like MOTI, II, and Mahndisa backing into the proverbial traffic, because they've made a choice...a poor one, but they've presumably weighed what they believe is evidence. I just have a problem with them dragging others with them. I was sitting next to an elderly black woman on the train a few days ago while I read a journal article and she asked if I was a physician. She then proceeded to ask my advice about having to check her blood glucose and if taking some online product rather than her insulin was a good idea, because she'd "heard somewhere" that the doctors only wanted her to take insulin so they could amputate her feet and legs to sell to someone else. She then proceeded to tell me how she'd been confused and a bit tired lately...
My first thoughts, of course, were of this blog and the many online and real life sources of misinformation. It's hard to believe that in 2009, we are still fighting against this sort of ignorance.
While I disagree with the form, I do respect and concur with the sentiment which inspires it. Ceding complete control to any authority is dangerous. Recently, I was surprised and alarmed to learn that one of my neighbors permitted their 8 year old son to go on Concerta. His dad told me that other than weight loss there was no adverse effect and that his son's performance has improved. He was reportedly having difficulty in school with attention span and was recommended to see his doctor who followed up with a script. I think this is wrong.
While trying not to sound too judgmental I told the dad to monitor him closely. In this case I think the doctor is aligned with the school against the parent's interest. The boy is active but seems reasonably manageable and intensely focused in his interests.
When he was into trains a couple of years ago he could recite a litany of models and their special features. Currently, he's into military history and obsessed with the History Channel. Last month he came over to watch The Longest Day with me and my daughter and I was astonished to discover that he knew the names of all the beaches invaded on D-Day. Being a modest history enthusiast myself I knew only Utah and Omaha.
One of my closest friends told me that he took his third grade daughter for psychometric testing because of negative reports by her teacher. Being an endodontist and my man since college I was candid and told him that if diagnosed with ADD or hyperactivity and recommended medications that he should take his child to Hopkins for a second opinion before acquiescing.
Early this year I absolutely objected to the plan by DC to require nine year old girls to get the Gardisil(?) vaccine. So in the spirit of secular theodicy I think these skeptics and eccentrics are not only necessary but inadvertently helpful. The responsibility becomes yours and mine to make our our case and put forth a goodhearted effort. Because at 3:00AM all those people will be sound asleep but you and I will be there to take the call of a desperate parent or treat the child upon arrival in the ER.
DMG you know nothing of my personal choices so keep my name out of your mouth.
Asshole.
mandeezer's primary personal choice
Submariner,
Well said. I am of the belief that in our quest to have "successful" offspring, we are asking them to leave their childhood behind too quickly. Is it any wonder that 3rd graders are fidgety in class when recess, and physical education have been cut back, playtime scheduled down to the minute, and the demand for academic achievement has increased? I realize some children (namely my son's friend) have benefited from ADHD medication after trying other non-pharmacologic treatments-- the kid damn near burned down the house. However, like you I believe medication should be the last choice. I think I need to look into the diagnostic criteria of ADHD a bit closer.
The Gardasil vaccine is an interesting subject. Although I can understand the desire to administer the vaccine well before the girls primary sexual experience, doing so by fiat could cause a backlash and do more harm than good in the long run, as many parents of 9-year olds can't imagine the thought of genital warts and cervical cancer.
Rational skepticism is needed by physician and patient both, as the latter's health is of paramount importance. I'm always happy to walk a patient through an abbreviated version of the science if time and situation permit. I welcome that even from the crowd on this website.
Irrational fear mongering on the other hand...
(CNu--I guess it only took one post today. I suppose my next challenge will be to see how few words I can use)
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