Saturday, April 23, 2011

NEW PODCAST- Delirium vs Dementia vs Delusion Some Considerations

Click below on play bar to listen


Here is a new podcast on Delirium, Dementia and Delusion. Some of the major differences and considerations. If you have quesitons please email me or comment below. The podcast is in lecture format, and there is too much to cover for one podcast, but some major features and genreal informaiton are discussed. These issues seem to come up frequently on the blog in search engine queries, so I hope this podcast is helpful.

Saturday, April 16, 2011

Book Giveaway Winner Goodreads,and New Zealand stuff- love the Kiwis

Congratulations to Stan down there, over in Christchurch, New Zealand. He is the winner of the When Can I Go Home? Goodreads book giveaway. He will receive a signed copy of the book.
I have got to say I love and always will have a fondness in my heart for New Zealand. Long ago when I was a young man like age 32, in the early 90's, I worked a locum tenans psychiatry job in old Palmerston North, New Zealand. working at Wanganui-Manawatu Health later named Mid-Central Health. I was fresh out of residency and life was hopeful. It seemed optimistic that you could actually pay off your loans and get out of debt as a practicing psychiatrist. -Ha!. It seemed like being a physician was a respectable thing to do in society (I hadn't lived in MN yet hah ha.) and all around life was okay. The world seemed my oyster. So I explored the world including N Zed.
Working and paying taxes there was interesting. The things that I remember most about the work are the fact that the Kiwis never seemed to wear shoes in the summer. I was there in Dec and Jan, the middle of summer. In terms of psychiatry the thing that I will never forget is that NZ was a much less violent society. It came out all the time in the daily practice of psychiatry. The Kiwi's were not always interested in getting ahead of one another, of messing one another up of dominating one another, of killing one another. It affected a person's mental health. It was a cultural phenomenon. They were less violent. It was also nice not to take you life into you hands every day as many American psychiatrists have to. They were polite too. "Please" and "thank-you" were rampant.
I remember the boiling ground and Geo-thermic activity in Rotorua, Jet Boating, Climing Mt Taranaki or Eggmont, whichever you prefer; Repelling into a cave at Waitomo and wathcing glowworms on the ceiling; hitch hiking from Nelson on Christmas Day to get to Picton, to catch the Ferry across the Cook Straight to get back to work,  and of course bungi jumping at Lake Taupo (I enclosed an old pic)
Driving on the left, eating pies for lunch, meat pies (before I had to worry about cholesterol)
Hanging out and exploring and doing many of these adventure with my buddy Darren, who worked as a psych tech.
Sad to say I only spent a few hours in the city of Christchurch on the South Island, where Stan lives. Remember that's where the earthquake was, It seems in the United States if something is not blasted in our face by the media we quickly forget. It was only a couple months and 181 people died there. So remember them and their families in you hearts and prayers. Now is the hard part for grieving. Remember all the "disaster mental health experts" have pulled out, because there is now little chance of getting their mug on the TV and flaunting their expertise. The sad things is this is when the going gets the toughest, after a disater when the media and experts have pulled out.
Anyways NZ rocks!

Simpler Times Lake Taupo Bungi Jumping

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Is There A Dr. In The House?

NO there is not. See Doc is playing in the sunshine in California. Long Beach, CA that is. I drove up from Oceanside about 80 miles south to see the bugger. You know he is all sunburned and man his wife must not feed him.  A good wind could take him away.  Just being a pain Doc.  He is well and it was great to see him. This is his nutty friend with Alzheimer's, just letting you know that today he is fine.

God Bless & Keep You &This Country of Ours!!!!
joe
Living With Alzheimers

Talking about the book with the Lake Superior wind....... a calm day