Changes to clinician attire have done more harm than good

Changes to clinician attire have done more harm than good.

The introduction of 'bare below the elbows' policies to facilitate handwashing led to the disappearance of the white coat from medical and surgical wards. While rates of key healthcare acquired infections in hospitals, e.g. Clostridium difficile and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus bacteraemia, have fallen, argument continues around the contribution of hand hygiene and dress codes to...

Guidelines have done more harm than good.

Practice guidelines have proliferated in medicine but their impact on actual practice and outcomes is difficult, if not impossible, to quantify. Though guidelines are based largely on observational data and expert opinion, it is widely believed that adherence to them leads to improved outcomes. Data to support this belief simply does not exist. If guidelines are universally ignored, their impac...

Ultrasound: more harm than good?

PSA in screening for prostate cancer: more good than harm or more harm than good?

The aim of screening for prostate cancer is to detect malignancy at an early and potentially treatable stage, thereby increasing the chance of cure. Although serum PSA has been used as a screening test for prostate cancer for over 20 years, the practice is controversial. As a screening test for prostate cancer, PSA lacks sensitivity and specificity for early disease. Furthermore, screening may ...

Residency Postinterview Communications: More Harm Than Good?

T he National Resident Matching Program (NRMP) was designed to provide a fair, reproducible, and confidential means of matching medical students and graduate medical education programs. During the recruitment process, residency programs and applicants actively communicate with one another to gather information to make more informed decisions. When these communications occur after interviews, bu...