Dartmouth Medicine Summer 1999
Dear Reporter, Editor, or News Director:
Inside the Summer 1999 issue of Dartmouth Medicine, (to request a printed copy, call 603-653-0772 or e-mail dartmed@Dartmouth.edu), read about:
Some counterintuitive findings about medical care: Two Dartmouth Medical School professors are questioning the effectiveness of ever more medical care--advocating a skeptical approach to testing and treatment decisions. See page 24.
Variations in heart-attack care: A surprisingly low percentage of heart attack patients receive the treatments they should, a Dartmouth study has found. Its principal author says as much attention may need to be paid to delivering care known to work as to developing new treatments. See page 17.
The potential for calcium to prevent colon cancer: A recent study by Dartmouth researcher John Baron suggests that a regular dose of calcium may help prevent colon polyps, a precursor to colorectal cancer. See page 5.
How doctors-to-be learn the human dimension of care: A medical student writes about the first house call he made in his "On Doctoring" course; the impact was more personal than medical. See page 23.
What's different about Denmark (and Sweden): Two Dartmouth medical students spent a month in Scandinavia and noted some interesting cross-cultural differences, including saner hours for doctors and medical students and a tax-supported medical system, but less hands-on training and more book-learning. See page 10.
Insights into India: A Dartmouth Medical School alumnus who has spent 12 years living and working in India shares his thoughts on the country's strengths and challenges. See page 40.
A couple's decision to donate their bodies to medicine: Noted writer Nardi Reeder Campion has eloquently articulated her innermost thoughts about the decision she and her husband recently made to donate their bodies to Dartmouth Medical School after their death. See page 22.
The worst heavy metal pollution anywhere: Dartmouth pediatrician James Sargent led a study that identified three Mexican cities with the highest concentrations ever found of toxic metals. See page 16.
Escargots to go: By studying a member of the snail family that more usually appears in gourmet restaurants, a Dartmouth physiologist has elucidated an important respiratory function. See page 11.
What happens when a new idea turns out to be not so new after all: In the case of Dartmouth physiologist Allan Munck, a positive, long-term relationship developed from an unwelcome discovery 15 years ago. And the story culminated recently with an ironic twist. See page 13.
A research collaboration across many years and many miles: A Dartmouth toxicologist is working with colleagues from his alma mater as well as from China to track down a carcinogen. See page 50.
If you'd like to pursue any of these stories, contact:
- Hali Wickner, communications coordinator for Dartmouth Medical School, at (603) 650-1520.
- The Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center Office of Public Affairs, at (603) 650-7041.
Or feel free to give me a call; my direct line is (603) 650-4058.
Dana Cook Grossman,
Editor