Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Surgical Cap, Which Doctors See As 'Symbolic Of Profession,' Comes Under Fire
The Boston Globe: For Surgeons Working In The OR, A Flap Over Headwear
Surgeons for years have stepped into operating rooms wearing their surgical cap — a snug covering that ties in back and comes in standard-issue blue or hundreds of personalized designs. But a crackdown appears to be underway on that almost sacred piece of headgear. Inspectors in January reprimanded operating room staff at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston for having the hair around their ears uncovered during surgery — and for sporting visible facial hair. And a New York surgeon was written up for showing 3 inches of hair at the nape of his neck. (Kowalczyk, 9/1)
In other news concerning doctors —
Stat: Trudging Through Gettysburg, Doctors Learn Leadership
On the first day of battle at Gettysburg, a moment of hesitation cost the Confederacy a chance at an early advantage. On a steamy morning 153 years later, a group of hospital employees walked the meadows of this famous battlefield to ask themselves how that misstep happened. The 50 staff members from Florida Hospital Waterman, a full-service medical center in suburban Lake County, did not travel to Gettysburg last week for a history lesson, or for a casual respite. They made the trek as part of a leadership program designed to train doctors, nurses, and administrators to think strategically in the face of the bureaucratic and logistical challenges — and the personality clashes — that can undermine medical care. (Ross, 9/1)
Stat: For The Head Of Doctors Without Borders, Impatience Is A Virtue
With little fanfare earlier this summer the humanitarian group Doctors Without Borders did something it had never done before. It reelected its international president. Dr. Joanne Liu, a 50-year-old French-Canadian who practices pediatric emergency medicine, had seen her first three-year term whiz by, subsumed by the civil war in Syria and the West African Ebola outbreak. (Branswell, 8/31)
