http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-06/bc-srp061009.php
QuoteA study of patients and members of the public has shown that most lack even basic knowledge of human anatomy. The research, featured in the open access journal BMC Family Practice, found that people were generally incapable of identifying the location of major organs, even if they were currently receiving relevant treatment.
John Weinman led a team of researchers from King's College London who aimed to update a similar survey carried out almost forty years ago. He said, "We thought that the improvements in education seen since then, coupled with an increased media focus on medical and health related topics, and growing access to the internet as a source of medical information, might have led to an increase in patients' anatomical knowledge. As it turns out, there has been no significant improvement in the intervening years".
The 722 people who took part in the study were shown pictures of the human body (male or female) with certain areas shaded out and were asked which of the shaded areas was the location of a given organ. Although 85.9% of people could identify the location of the intestines and 80.7% knew where the bladder could be found, only 46.5% of people correctly identified the heart and 68.6% misidentified the position of the lungs. Overall, approximately half of the answers were correct. There was no significant difference between men and women, although women did perform better when a female body image was used.
The researchers are concerned about the potential problems these findings reveal in doctor-patient communication, with possible adverse effects on diagnosis and treatment outcomes. According to Weinman, "Recent evidence has shown that when doctors' and patients' vocabulary are matched, significant gains are found in patients' overall satisfaction with the consultation as well as rapport, communication comfort and compliance intent".
:horrormirth: Who the fuck are these idiots that don't know where the heart and lungs are?????
Quote from: Jason Ouabache on June 27, 2009, 01:19:18 AM
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-06/bc-srp061009.php
QuoteA study of patients and members of the public has shown that most lack even basic knowledge of human anatomy. The research, featured in the open access journal BMC Family Practice, found that people were generally incapable of identifying the location of major organs, even if they were currently receiving relevant treatment.
John Weinman led a team of researchers from King's College London who aimed to update a similar survey carried out almost forty years ago. He said, "We thought that the improvements in education seen since then, coupled with an increased media focus on medical and health related topics, and growing access to the internet as a source of medical information, might have led to an increase in patients' anatomical knowledge. As it turns out, there has been no significant improvement in the intervening years".
The 722 people who took part in the study were shown pictures of the human body (male or female) with certain areas shaded out and were asked which of the shaded areas was the location of a given organ. Although 85.9% of people could identify the location of the intestines and 80.7% knew where the bladder could be found, only 46.5% of people correctly identified the heart and 68.6% misidentified the position of the lungs. Overall, approximately half of the answers were correct. There was no significant difference between men and women, although women did perform better when a female body image was used.
The researchers are concerned about the potential problems these findings reveal in doctor-patient communication, with possible adverse effects on diagnosis and treatment outcomes. According to Weinman, "Recent evidence has shown that when doctors' and patients' vocabulary are matched, significant gains are found in patients' overall satisfaction with the consultation as well as rapport, communication comfort and compliance intent".
:horrormirth: Who the fuck are these idiots that don't know where the heart and lungs are?????
They're right where Baby Jesus put them, thank you very much.
Quote from: Jason Ouabache on June 27, 2009, 01:19:18 AM
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-06/bc-srp061009.php
QuoteA study of patients and members of the public has shown that most lack even basic knowledge of human anatomy. The research, featured in the open access journal BMC Family Practice, found that people were generally incapable of identifying the location of major organs, even if they were currently receiving relevant treatment.
John Weinman led a team of researchers from King's College London who aimed to update a similar survey carried out almost forty years ago. He said, "We thought that the improvements in education seen since then, coupled with an increased media focus on medical and health related topics, and growing access to the internet as a source of medical information, might have led to an increase in patients' anatomical knowledge. As it turns out, there has been no significant improvement in the intervening years".
The 722 people who took part in the study were shown pictures of the human body (male or female) with certain areas shaded out and were asked which of the shaded areas was the location of a given organ. Although 85.9% of people could identify the location of the intestines and 80.7% knew where the bladder could be found, only 46.5% of people correctly identified the heart and 68.6% misidentified the position of the lungs. Overall, approximately half of the answers were correct. There was no significant difference between men and women, although women did perform better when a female body image was used.
The researchers are concerned about the potential problems these findings reveal in doctor-patient communication, with possible adverse effects on diagnosis and treatment outcomes. According to Weinman, "Recent evidence has shown that when doctors' and patients' vocabulary are matched, significant gains are found in patients' overall satisfaction with the consultation as well as rapport, communication comfort and compliance intent".
:horrormirth: Who the fuck are these idiots that don't know where the heart and lungs are?????
This doesn't surprise me, nor should it surprise anyone.
I have no idea where the bladder is...
I can feel my heartbeat though, 90% sure my heart is right there.
Guys I seem to have misplaced my entire organs
can anybody help me find it?
:lulz:
Right, that's it.
I'm now putting my doctor friends on retainer. I can no longer trust the public if I require first aid.
The best part is most people I know think they can "diagnose themselves"
Quote from: Thurnez Isa on June 27, 2009, 03:58:39 PM
The best part is most people I know think they can "diagnose themselves"
Well, depending on what it is, sometimes you can... of course, there's a huge difference between "I have a cold" and "I have premature atrial contractions".
Quote from: Nigel on June 27, 2009, 04:30:18 PM
Quote from: Thurnez Isa on June 27, 2009, 03:58:39 PM
The best part is most people I know think they can "diagnose themselves"
Well, depending on what it is, sometimes you can... of course, there's a huge difference between "I have a cold" and "I have premature atrial contractions".
I went to see a doctor back in January because I was getting crushing chest pains and stabbing pains in my back. I thought it was muscular but she was trying to convince me to get loads of tests because she thought it sounded like angina or at least heartburn. It obviously wasn't, so I got a second opinion, and yep - it was muscular. Tension from a little muscle in my jaw was screwing up my neck, and in turn my shoulders and back. Sometimes it's easier to tell what's wrong when you can feel your own body.
Quote from: Xooxe on June 27, 2009, 05:16:19 PM
Quote from: Nigel on June 27, 2009, 04:30:18 PM
Quote from: Thurnez Isa on June 27, 2009, 03:58:39 PM
The best part is most people I know think they can "diagnose themselves"
Well, depending on what it is, sometimes you can... of course, there's a huge difference between "I have a cold" and "I have premature atrial contractions".
I went to see a doctor back in January because I was getting crushing chest pains and stabbing pains in my back. I thought it was muscular but she was trying to convince me to get loads of tests because she thought it sounded like angina or at least heartburn. It obviously wasn't, so I got a second opinion, and yep - it was muscular. Tension from a little muscle in my jaw was screwing up my neck, and in turn my shoulders and back. Sometimes it's easier to tell what's wrong when you can feel your own body.
I thought I was having indigestion, and I keeled over with a heart attack.
Yep. Sure is easy to be a internal medicine specialist, when you can feel your own body.
Quote from: Xooxe on June 27, 2009, 05:16:19 PM
Quote from: Nigel on June 27, 2009, 04:30:18 PM
Quote from: Thurnez Isa on June 27, 2009, 03:58:39 PM
The best part is most people I know think they can "diagnose themselves"
Well, depending on what it is, sometimes you can... of course, there's a huge difference between "I have a cold" and "I have premature atrial contractions".
I went to see a doctor back in January because I was getting crushing chest pains and stabbing pains in my back. I thought it was muscular but she was trying to convince me to get loads of tests because she thought it sounded like angina or at least heartburn. It obviously wasn't, so I got a second opinion, and yep - it was muscular. Tension from a little muscle in my jaw was screwing up my neck, and in turn my shoulders and back. Sometimes it's easier to tell what's wrong when you can feel your own body.
Um what? Did she detect an irregular heartbeat or something?
Angina is pretty obvious... stabbing pains, heart does something funky at the same time. It took the nurses all of 30 seconds to rule it out when I dislocated my sternum.
@OP: The first thing that'll save us is that there are many, many who are much, much stupider than us and they will mostly die first.
:horrormirth:
Quote from: The Good Reverend Roger on June 27, 2009, 06:25:28 PM
Quote from: Xooxe on June 27, 2009, 05:16:19 PM
Quote from: Nigel on June 27, 2009, 04:30:18 PM
Quote from: Thurnez Isa on June 27, 2009, 03:58:39 PM
The best part is most people I know think they can "diagnose themselves"
Well, depending on what it is, sometimes you can... of course, there's a huge difference between "I have a cold" and "I have premature atrial contractions swine flu".
I went to see a doctor back in January because I was getting crushing chest pains and stabbing pains in my back. I thought it was muscular but she was trying to convince me to get loads of tests because she thought it sounded like angina or at least heartburn. It obviously wasn't, so I got a second opinion, and yep - it was muscular. Tension from a little muscle in my jaw was screwing up my neck, and in turn my shoulders and back. Sometimes it's easier to tell what's wrong when you can feel your own body.
I thought I was having indigestion, and I keeled over with a heart attack.
Yep. Sure is easy to be a internal medicine specialist, when you can feel your own body.
This is probably a better resource for refuting a given diagnosis than providing your own. Sometimes you can tell that a doctor is unsure, or flat out wrong, but instinct telling you to get a 2nd professional opinion is very different to it telling you to ignore something. I'm certainly not judging your actions, Roger, just the extent of your sarcasm in that last post.
*edited for typo*
I once had a cardiologist tell me there was nothing wrong with my heart and that it was all in my head, after examining me and having me wear a monitor thing around for a couple of days. A few years later, it took 15 minutes in my GP's office hooked up to an ECG monitor for my regular doctor to tell me exactly what kind of arrhythmia I have.
Even highly-paid specialists miss the diagnosis, sometimes.
Quote from: Nigel on June 28, 2009, 08:40:44 PM
I once had a cardiologist tell me there was nothing wrong with my heart and that it was all in my head, after examining me and having me wear a monitor thing around for a couple of days. A few years later, it took 15 minutes in my GP's office hooked up to an ECG monitor for my regular doctor to tell me exactly what kind of arrhythmia I have.
Even highly-paid specialists miss the diagnosis, sometimes.
Which is why, in these situations, you need to get an appointment with my mom.
She's a general practitioner, and she would have diagnosed all the problems of everyone ITT within five minutes of you walking into her office. With her eyes closed. She's like Dr. House minus the dickery.
Tell your mom to move to Portland!
My husband's the peds equivalent of your mom, Cainad. I think they're twins separated at concpetion.
Just realized that my 2 1/2 year old daughter knows where her heart is. She is already smarter than 46.5% of adults. Now I just need to explain to her where her lungs are.
Quote from: Iason Gayle on June 29, 2009, 05:32:05 PM
Just realized that my 2 1/2 year old daughter knows where her heart is. She is already smarter than 46.5% of adults. Now I just need to explain to her where her lungs are.
High physical intelligence, more body aware. Some incredibly intelligent people (mathematical, linguistic, etc) are horribly body aware.
That's why I said I'm not surprised.
Quote from: Nigel on June 28, 2009, 08:40:44 PM
I once had a cardiologist tell me there was nothing wrong with my heart and that it was all in my head, after examining me and having me wear a monitor thing around for a couple of days. A few years later, it took 15 minutes in my GP's office hooked up to an ECG monitor for my regular doctor to tell me exactly what kind of arrhythmia I have.
Even highly-paid specialists miss the diagnosis, sometimes.
My cousin got dropped by one of those. It was an obscure version of the condition though, and even a trained cardiologist needs to know to look specifically for it. ("dropping dead for no apparent reason" was literally one of the symptoms)
Quote from: Iason Gayle on June 27, 2009, 01:19:18 AM
... There was no significant difference between men and women, although women did perform better when a female body image was used. ...
:horrormirth: Who the fuck are these idiots that don't know where the heart and lungs are?????
[/quote]
No significant change = small comfort.
I thought it was part of a high-school education to learn that. Of course, it was in the "learn this for the class, you'll never need it" group for most of them, I imagine.
Knowing where your heart is located isn't high school level education, it is stuff that is taught in pre-school. Again I ask, WTF is wrong with these people? How have they managed to make it all the way to adulthood without accidentally forgetting to breathe at some point?
:crankey:
Example questions. Might help in drawing one's own conclusions.
http://www.biomedcentral.com/imedia/5300424932483256_article.pdf?random=604463
Quote
(http://img197.imageshack.us/img197/7185/56900679.png)
(http://img218.imageshack.us/img218/1361/86291762.png)
Quote from: Richter on June 29, 2009, 07:25:52 PM"dropping dead for no apparent reason" was literally one of the symptoms
ah yes, they told me that as well, at Academic Hospital Inc.
it didnt help much, as I came there for a different problem (burnout), especially when the test(s) proved negative but the cardiologist refused to acknowledge that I am basically fine.
It took me a few months to realize she was just egging me on, and wanted to do additional research, cause having an elongated QT time is apparently something rare (and it might make a nice paper?)
So then I went to the Other Hospital, where a cardiologist did some tests and said "well it doesnt seem to do much, some people just have a slightly different heartbeat".
:)
(ok this is a very simplified version of the story, i dont want to bore you with details)
Yup, we could both liekely rattle off a good bit more info on this.
Weird that the cardiologist wouldn't outright say you were OK though. I kind of expect that over here, with the culture of frequent malpractice suits. Still, a statement of "Baring unforseen difficulties, or extreme conditions, you are, as best we can tell from available data, healthy." would be nice to get!
My doctor says that I am basically fine. Dropping dead for no apparent reason is apparently NOT a symptom of the type of arrhythmia I have. Like my brain tumor and my epilepsy, it sounds terrible but really it's just an irritation, not a hazard.
So are some of our hobbies, come to think of it. Threat to life is no reason to cramp lifestyle, in either case.
Quote from: Nigel on June 30, 2009, 03:49:39 PMDropping dead for no apparent reason is apparently NOT a symptom
For some reason, when reading this my eyes focused only on this section of the sentence, which made me go "wha?"