By the book

The following articles, on a variety of health-related topics, are abridged from books published by Pharmaceutical Press

Ways to avoid an identity crisis when you take on a teaching role

Many individuals who are new to teaching in healthcare come from a professional background. As such, they will be experienced as, say, clinical practitioners yet as new teachers they will be moving out of their comfort zone.

To protect life, well-being and dignity

The Nuremberg Code, the Declaration of Helsinki and the Belmont Report. Before these became the “ethical pillars” of good clinical practice, crimes against humanity were committed in science’s name

Fairies, witchcraft and healing charms: how folk medicine and the supernatural entwined

Long before the advent of clinical pharmacy, or indeed modern healthcare, folk medicine was linked to superstition and a belief in supernatural forces

“There is seldom any sympathy offered to the obese person”

Obese individuals suffer prejudice even from the healthcare professionals they trust, it is argued in a new book (‘The Obesity Epidemic and its Management’). And the modern obsession with thinness does little to change the lifestyles people lead.

Inside Pandora’s box

Swine flu might be the latest zoonosis to rear its head and threaten public health, but it is by no means the most serious

Empty your mind... and listen well

“I remind myself every morning: Nothing I say this day will teach me anything. So if I’m going to learn, I must do it by listening” — Larry King, US television presenter

Why people are disenchanted with orthodox medicine in modern times

With the advent of “healthcare consumerism”, people are now encouraged to be largely responsible for their own health. And so complementary medicines are becoming ever more widely used