Friday, September 23, 2011

Bucksbaum Foundation pledges $42 million to bolster doctor-patient communication

Bucksbaum Foundation pledges $42 million to bolster doctor-patient communication [ Back to EurekAlert! ] Public release date: 22-Sep-2011
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Contact: John Easton
john.easton@uchospitals.edu
773-702-6241
University of Chicago Medical Center

Gift will fund Bucksbaum Institute for Clinical Excellence at the University of Chicago

The Matthew and Carolyn Bucksbaum Family Foundation is giving $42 million to the University of Chicago to create the Bucksbaum Institute for Clinical Excellence, a unique initiative that will focus on how to improve doctor-patient interaction.

"This generous gift offers the opportunity to bring a new level of rigor to the study of the doctor-patient relationship and clinical judgment," said Robert J. Zimmer, president of the University of Chicago. "The Bucksbaum Institute for Clinical Excellence provides an important complement to the biological research and clinical strengths of this institution."

The Bucksbaum Institute will support the career development and activities of physicians at three career stages as medical students, junior faculty and senior clinicians. These physicians will devote themselves to improving doctor-patient communication and clinical decision-making. The goal is to enhance the skills of physicians as advisers, counselors and navigators to help patients make informed decisions when facing complex treatment choices.

The Bucksbaum Institute, under the direction of Mark Siegler, MD, the Lindy Bergman Distinguished Service Professor of Medicine, will train medical students and faculty who, in turn, can serve as role models in communication and shared decision-making.

"Our doctor, Mark Siegler, showed us what good doctoring involved, and it was just as much about compassion and communication as his outstanding clinical competence," said Carolyn "Kay" Bucksbaum. "We decided to support a program that would, over time, teach many physicians the best ways to communicate and export those role-model doctors to other medical schools and communities, where they could carry on the process of superb patient care."

The need for better communication between physicians and patients is well documented. A 2001 survey by the Commonwealth Fund found that doctor-patient communication often fell short. One in 5 American adults had trouble communicating with their doctors, and 1 in 10 felt they had been treated disrespectfully during a recent health care visit.

"These generous donors have pinpointed a fundamental aspect of medical practice that deserves greater attention," said Kenneth S. Polonsky, MD, dean of the Division of the Biological Sciences and the Pritzker School of Medicine at the University of Chicago. "They are giving us the resources to concentrate on training physicians who not only possess extraordinary technical knowledge but can work effectively with patients to reach the best clinical decisions."

Holly Humphrey, MD, dean for Medical Education at the University of Chicago, believes the impact of the Bucksbaum gift will be felt for decades: "This is a transformative gift, the kind that has an impact sustained over generations. The magnitude and the sharp focus of the Bucksbaum Institute will permeate the institution, emphasize the fundamental principles of good clinical care and help physicians connect with patients and their families during their most vulnerable moments."

The gift, one of the largest donations ever pledged to the University of Chicago Medical Center, was inspired by a doctor-patient relationship.

"In Dr. Siegler," Kay Bucksbaum said, "I have had a doctor who is interested in my husband and me as persons, not just diseases although we've confronted him with a few of them. I have so valued that. A special mark of Dr. Siegler's character is his extreme kindness and interest in what makes us tick."

Siegler believes that kind of attention can foster communication with patients.

"Doctors and patients ought to feel confidence, respect and trust in each other," he said. "Good patient care begins with clinical competence, but it combines technical skills and clinical judgment with close attention to the patient's individual values and needs. The doctor-patient relationship relies on communication, discussion and negotiation. They work together to search for the best decision for the patient."

Kay Bucksbaum hopes the Bucksbaum Institute will become a clinical and teaching model nationwide and be emulated at other academic medical centers.

"My own children and grandchildren may be able to enjoy the same kind of excellent medical help that we have had because of what we are doing," she said. "My goal is not just for my grandchildren, but for large numbers of people."

###


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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.


Bucksbaum Foundation pledges $42 million to bolster doctor-patient communication [ Back to EurekAlert! ] Public release date: 22-Sep-2011
[ | E-mail | Share Share ]

Contact: John Easton
john.easton@uchospitals.edu
773-702-6241
University of Chicago Medical Center

Gift will fund Bucksbaum Institute for Clinical Excellence at the University of Chicago

The Matthew and Carolyn Bucksbaum Family Foundation is giving $42 million to the University of Chicago to create the Bucksbaum Institute for Clinical Excellence, a unique initiative that will focus on how to improve doctor-patient interaction.

"This generous gift offers the opportunity to bring a new level of rigor to the study of the doctor-patient relationship and clinical judgment," said Robert J. Zimmer, president of the University of Chicago. "The Bucksbaum Institute for Clinical Excellence provides an important complement to the biological research and clinical strengths of this institution."

The Bucksbaum Institute will support the career development and activities of physicians at three career stages as medical students, junior faculty and senior clinicians. These physicians will devote themselves to improving doctor-patient communication and clinical decision-making. The goal is to enhance the skills of physicians as advisers, counselors and navigators to help patients make informed decisions when facing complex treatment choices.

The Bucksbaum Institute, under the direction of Mark Siegler, MD, the Lindy Bergman Distinguished Service Professor of Medicine, will train medical students and faculty who, in turn, can serve as role models in communication and shared decision-making.

"Our doctor, Mark Siegler, showed us what good doctoring involved, and it was just as much about compassion and communication as his outstanding clinical competence," said Carolyn "Kay" Bucksbaum. "We decided to support a program that would, over time, teach many physicians the best ways to communicate and export those role-model doctors to other medical schools and communities, where they could carry on the process of superb patient care."

The need for better communication between physicians and patients is well documented. A 2001 survey by the Commonwealth Fund found that doctor-patient communication often fell short. One in 5 American adults had trouble communicating with their doctors, and 1 in 10 felt they had been treated disrespectfully during a recent health care visit.

"These generous donors have pinpointed a fundamental aspect of medical practice that deserves greater attention," said Kenneth S. Polonsky, MD, dean of the Division of the Biological Sciences and the Pritzker School of Medicine at the University of Chicago. "They are giving us the resources to concentrate on training physicians who not only possess extraordinary technical knowledge but can work effectively with patients to reach the best clinical decisions."

Holly Humphrey, MD, dean for Medical Education at the University of Chicago, believes the impact of the Bucksbaum gift will be felt for decades: "This is a transformative gift, the kind that has an impact sustained over generations. The magnitude and the sharp focus of the Bucksbaum Institute will permeate the institution, emphasize the fundamental principles of good clinical care and help physicians connect with patients and their families during their most vulnerable moments."

The gift, one of the largest donations ever pledged to the University of Chicago Medical Center, was inspired by a doctor-patient relationship.

"In Dr. Siegler," Kay Bucksbaum said, "I have had a doctor who is interested in my husband and me as persons, not just diseases although we've confronted him with a few of them. I have so valued that. A special mark of Dr. Siegler's character is his extreme kindness and interest in what makes us tick."

Siegler believes that kind of attention can foster communication with patients.

"Doctors and patients ought to feel confidence, respect and trust in each other," he said. "Good patient care begins with clinical competence, but it combines technical skills and clinical judgment with close attention to the patient's individual values and needs. The doctor-patient relationship relies on communication, discussion and negotiation. They work together to search for the best decision for the patient."

Kay Bucksbaum hopes the Bucksbaum Institute will become a clinical and teaching model nationwide and be emulated at other academic medical centers.

"My own children and grandchildren may be able to enjoy the same kind of excellent medical help that we have had because of what we are doing," she said. "My goal is not just for my grandchildren, but for large numbers of people."

###


[ Back to EurekAlert! ] [ | E-mail | Share Share ]

?


AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.


Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2011-09/uocm-bfp092211.php

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Thursday, September 22, 2011

Afghan peace council head killed in Kabul (Reuters)

KABUL (Reuters) ? Former Afghan President Burhanuddin Rabbani and head of the council tasked with trying to negotiate a political end to the war was killed at his home on Tuesday in what one diplomat called a major blow to the government's peace efforts.

Coming just a week after a 20-hour siege by militants in the capital, it was the highest profile killing in Afghanistan since the younger half-brother of President Hamid Karzai, Ahmad Wali Karzai, was killed at his home in July by a highly trusted family security guard.

"Rabbani has been martyred," Mohammed Zahir, head of the Criminal Investigation Department of the Kabul Police, told Reuters. He had no further details.

His residence is in Kabul's heavily guarded diplomatic enclave.

A police source said Masoom Stanekzai, a senior adviser to President Hamid Karzai, was badly injured in the attack.

"Masoom Stanekzai is alive but badly wounded," the police source, who asked not to be named as he is not authorised to talk to the media, told Reuters.

One senior diplomat in Kabul said the death of Rabbani, head of the High Peace Council, dealt a blow to the attempts by Karzai's government to work towards a political end to the war.

"The killing of Rabbani is a serious blow against President Karzai and the government's peace and reconciliations efforts. It also underscores the inability of the government to protect even the most prominent Afghan politicians," the diplomat said.

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid claimed responsibility for the attack outside the residence of former Afghan president Burhanuddin Rabbani.

"Yes, we carried out the attack on Rabbani but will provide you other details shortly," he told Reuters.

Karzai's spokesman said the president had cancelled his trip to New York for the U.N. General Assembly, but the U.S. State Department said Karzai would go ahead shortly with a planned meeting with U.S. President Barack Obama.

"The president is deeply saddened learning about the death of professor Burhanuddin Rabbani and has cancelled his trip to the U.S and will return shortly to Afghanistan," spokesman Hamed Elmi told Reuters.

Rabbani, a former leader of a powerful mujahideen party during the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan in the 1980s, was chosen by Karzai to head the High Peace Council last October.

His plan included offering amnesties and jobs to Taliban foot soldiers and asylum in third countries to leaders.

"This is a big blow to peace process and huge loss for Afghanistan," said Sadiqa Balkhi, a member of the peace council.

"Professor Rabbani was an influential and spiritual leader and was successful in luring Taliban fighters into peace process."

Rabbani served as president in the 1990s when mujahideen factions waged war for control of the country after the Soviet withdrawal.

The assassination comes a week after a 20-hour gun and grenade attack on Kabul's diplomatic enclave by insurgents, and three suicide bomb attacks on other parts of the city -- together the longest-lasting and most wide-ranging assault on the city.

Last week's siege was the third major attack on the Afghan capital since June.

All three of those attacks are believed to be the work of the Haqqani network, a Taliban-allied insurgent faction, based along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border.

(Writing by Emma Graham-Harrison and Jonathan Thatcher; Editing by Sugita Katyal)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/india/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20110920/india_nm/india594488

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Gambling: Playhem Brings Gambling to Online Gaming

All forms of online gambling are illegal in the U.S., but there?s a small loophole: If you are wagering on yourself in a game of skill, it?s completely fair game. That?s where Playhem enters the picture.

Read the rest >>

Wed, September 21st, 2011

Related Gambling News:

Interesting gambling information:

  • Lotteries, along with their close derivative bingo, are the most popular kinds of gambling. The popularity of lottery games is not limited to state-run lotteries. Indian tribes run lotteries and illegal lotteries still exist.
  • The Great Wall of China was financed, in part, by a lottery. The Bible is replete with references to drawing lots. Lot casting was a favored means of communication between man and god.
  • People earning $10,000 per year gamble more than twice as much money as people earning $30-40,000 per year. People earning $10,000 per year gamble four times as much money as those making $80,000 or more per year.
  • 1973: The MGM Grand opens on the Strip, becoming the world's largest hotel.
    1989: One of Vegas's most extravag-ant hotels opens. Steve Wynn's Mirage resort features a man-made volcano and over 3,000 rooms. Siegfried and Roy sign a $57 million, five-year contract to provide entertainment at the hotel.

Source: http://www.gambling-news-source.com/2011/09/21/playhem-gambling-online-gaming-sort-66908/

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Wednesday, September 21, 2011

How the poll was conducted (Providence Journal)

Share With Friends: Share on FacebookTweet ThisPost to Google-BuzzSend on GmailPost to Linked-InSubscribe to This Feed | Rss To Twitter | Politics - Top Stories News, RSS Feeds and Widgets via Feedzilla.

Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/137173353?client_source=feed&format=rss

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Writing Fiction: Developing a setting | Expert Articles About

When writing a novel, probably one of the first things you need to think about is the setting for the story.

You could write in an existing fantasy setting, borrowing the setting for a non-commercial project is a popular way to practice writing and is fine as long as you don?t intend to earn any revenue from it. If you do intend to earn money with your piece, then other options need to be considered.

Of course you could choose to write using the real world as a setting ? though this can be challenging. If you wish to write in the real world as a setting you are going to have to do research into techology, professions, cultures ? anything to which you don?t have first hand experience of. Novel readers can be a fickle bunch and will not looking kindly on continuity errors or inaccuracies.

The remaining option is to create your own.

A well written alternative setting can provide as rich a story at least as a fan fiction or real world setting. One of the most famous examples would be J K Rowlings alternative world created for the boy wizard series, ?Harry Potter? which is an incredibly complex and diverse setting.

Rowling may not have been 100% original in all her ideas, but by assembling the ideas into a cohesive alternate reality in which to write with it?s own rules and structure she created a valuable piece of intellectual property.

The same could be said for Sir Terry Pratchett and his ?Discworld Novels? of which there are currently nearly 50 novels.

You may criticize Discworld for it?s funny characters and comical stories, but if you do you are missing the point. Discworld is a very poignant view of human life and culture. Pratchett has identified how people think, and this is indredibly obvious in the books. The ultimate truth is, Pratchett isn?t making fun of fantasy ? he?s using fantasy to make fun of us, and of himself.

You don?t have to research your personal fantasy story setting, but you should really consider trying to write down the basics about your world. So you can refer to them and maintain continuity.

You might even draw maps, give place names and make notes about the world. Then you have a one stop spot for referring to ? without having to re-read your entire manuscript.

If you want to read more about Terry Pratchetts Discworld Novels see Terry Pratchett Book Reviews

Source: http://expertarticlesabout.com/writing-speaking/writing-fiction-developing-a-setting

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Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Palestinians will submit UN membership letter

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas arrives for a meeting with United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon during the 66th session of the General Assembly at United Nations headquarters Monday, Sept. 19, 2011. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas arrives for a meeting with United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon during the 66th session of the General Assembly at United Nations headquarters Monday, Sept. 19, 2011. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, bottom, signs a book while surrounded by his advisors before a meeting with United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon during the 66th session of the General Assembly at United Nations headquarters, Monday, Sept. 19, 2011. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, right, is greeted by Hanan Ashrawi, left, legislator and activist, as he arrives at his hotel in New York, Monday, Sept. 19, 2011, to attend the 66th General Assembly session of United Nations, which begins Tuesday, Sept. 20. The United States and Europe scrambled Sunday, Sept. 18, for a strategy that would help avoid a showdown over whether to admit an independent Palestine as a new United Nations member. (AP Photo/David Karp)

(AP) ? The Palestinians said they will submit an application for full U.N. membership on Friday, the first step in a process to a declaration of statehood that has already sparked a frenzy of diplomatic activity and vows of a U.S. veto in the Security Council.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas informed U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon of his plans on Monday, as behind the scenes efforts by key Mideast mediators intensified to try to bring the Israelis and the Palestinians back to the negotiating table.

Any candidate for U.N. membership must submit a letter to the secretary-general stating it is a "peace-loving" state and accepts the U.N. Charter. Ban is expected to examine the letter and then send it to the U.N. Security Council which must give its approval before an assembly vote. That approval will not be forthcoming because of U.S. opposition.

Abbas said earlier Monday that he would not be deterred from seeking U.N. recognition for Palestine despite what he described as "tremendous pressure."

His meeting with Ban and the reaffirmation that he would submit the application for "Palestine" to join the United Nations reflected his determination to move forward with setting up an independent nation in the West Bank, the Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem. The new state would be in lands captured by Israel during the 1967 Mideast war.

The U.S. and Israel oppose the Palestinians' bid, arguing that a state can be established only through negotiations. Washington has vowed to block the move in the Security Council, where it is one of the five veto power-wielding permanent members.

Given that, the most the Palestinians could come away with is a symbolic victory if they then go to the 193-member General Assembly where there are no vetoes and they would easily win approval for a resolution raising their status from a permanent observer to a nonmember observer state.

While it wouldn't mean U.N. membership, recognition as a state would likely open doors for the Palestinians to join U.N. agencies and become a party to international treaties.

Ban, during his meeting with Abbas, "reiterated his support for the two-state solution and stressed his desire to ensure that the international community and the two parties can find a way forward for resuming negotiations within a legitimate and balanced framework," said U.N. spokesman Martin Nesirky.

The secretary-general and the Palestinian leader also discussed the ongoing efforts by the so-called Quartet of Mideast mediators ? the U.S., U.N., European Union and Russia ? to restart negotiations, he said.

Abbas stressed his commitment to "a negotiated solution," said Nesirky.

The mediators have been meeting over the past few days to try to persuade the Palestinians to drop their U.N. membership bid and return to the negotiating table. Another Quartet meeting was slated for later Monday, officials said, and EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton might present more ideas to Abbas later in the day.

The Palestinians argue that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's vision of peace is starkly different than theirs, and that a two-state option which he would support fails to reflect their key demands including halts to settlement construction in the West Bank and east Jerusalem as the capital of the new state. Netanyahu, for his part, has said the Palestinians are the ones who are unwilling to seriously enter negotiations.

Full U.N. membership can only be bestowed by the U.N. Security Council, where the recognition bid could be derailed if fewer than nine of the 15 members vote in favor or if the U.S. uses its veto.

U.S. officials believe six other members may vote against or abstain, meaning the Palestinians would fall short. That tally could not be immediately confirmed. An Israeli official said it's too early to say how the votes would go, while a senior member of Abbas' delegation said he believes 11 Security Council members will back the Palestinians.

In Warsaw, Poland, which holds the rotating European Union presidency, said it was seeking member consensus on the Palestinian bid for independence. Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski said the EU's position would depend on the wording of the Palestinian request, which is not yet known. Neither Britain nor France, both permanent members of the Security Council, have said how they will vote.

While the U.S. can derail the Palestinian bid at the Security Council in any scenario, the breakdown of the votes is key to both sides. Nine or more votes for the Palestinians would signal broad support for their statehood quest, while the U.S. image in the Arab world would suffer another blow if it uses its veto in this case.

While Abbas appears set to go the Security Council, he has suggested he might change tactics at the last minute and go for the lesser option of General Assembly approval of Palestine as a nonmember observer state. Chances for success are much higher in the General Assembly, which Abbas is to address Friday.

"From now until delivering the speech at the General Assembly, we have no thought except going to the Security Council," he said. "Then, whatever the decision is, we will sit with the leadership and decide."

A nod from the General Assembly could give the Palestinians access to international judicial bodies such as the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court. But Israel, which has grown increasingly isolated in the region amid strains to relations with its few regional allies Turkey, Egypt and Jordan, fears such courts would target it unfairly.

But the membership bid also carries some potential costs for the Palestinians, with Abbas saying that he was warned by American officials that "things will be very difficult after September."

"We don't know to what extent," he said. "We will know later."

Some members of Congress have been threatening to punish the Palestinians.

"Current and future aid will be jeopardized if you abandon direct negotiations and continue your efforts," Reps. Kay Granger, Republican chairwoman of the House of Representatives Appropriations foreign operations subcommittee, and Democrat Nita Lowey, the panel's senior Democrat, wrote to Abbas this summer, echoing a plea they made to the Palestinian leader in an April letter.

Concerning the possibility of mass protests in the Palestinian territories, Abbas said, "All our people will do is demonstrate peacefully inside the (Palestinian) cities."

Israeli security forces have been preparing for possible West Bank violence, but Amos Gilad, a senior Israeli Defense Ministry official, played that down. "I am not identifying energy for violence and terror," he told reporters.

Abbas, however, holds no sway over the Gaza Strip or its rulers from the violently anti-Israel group Hamas, which drove out forces loyal to Abbas during a power struggle in 2007. Hamas opposes the U.N. initiative.

___

Associated Press writers Karin Laub in Ramallah, West Bank, Bradley Klapper in New York, Edith M. Lederer at the United Nations and Diaa Hadid in Jerusalem contributed reporting

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2011-09-19-UN-Mideast/id-78ae8d5071be419f948b67017cc12141

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Monday, September 19, 2011

Android Wallpaper Review: Mystic Halo Live Wallpaper

 
YouTube link for mobile viewing

I'm not sure what this wallpaper reminds me of, but it's cool. Maybe Tron? Maybe the last boss fight in Deus Ex: Human Revolution? A plane engine? It's hard to nail down, but I know I've seen something like it before, and like then, it intrigues me.

That's the essence of Mystic Halo Live Wallpaper. Rotating rings, glowing, responding to your touch, etc. It's all pretty compelling visually, and fortunately, it doesn't drag your phone down.

Mystic Halo Live Wallpaper has a pretty full settings menu, too, assuming you buy the paid version. From here you can change the fade scheme (linear, heartbeat, or none), changing little things like the center staying lit or even glowing.

You can also set the rotation pattern (random, alternating, or sync), and enable or disable touch events. Touch events are kind of interesting; swipe a finger or something the the wheels will go crazy. Tap the screen and they'll return to their normal speed. Kind of irritating sometimes, also kind of cool.

Mystic Halo Live Wallpaper doesn't have unique color picking yet, but it does support seven colors. If cool blue isn't your thing, you can also choose from: antique pink, magenta, red, crisp green, tron blue, and MagBlue. MagBlue is the only two-toned color of the whole set, but I'm hoping that will complete color customization (coming in a later update), the ability to choose two colors is also included.

On the performance side, I didn't notice any lag on my EVO 3D. Screens swipe quickly. Not sure if it's the beefy phone or a well made wallpaper, or both. The developer says his wallpaper truly stays in the background and doesn't interfere, and if performance on my phone is any indication, he's telling the truth.

There are both paid and free versions of Mystic Halo Live Wallpaper, with the paid version only costing 99 cents. If you do opt to go all-in and pay the buck for it, you'll open up the touch events, multiple fade options, rotation control and other "special effects." If you can live without that, the free version'll do you fine, but this looks like a really quality wallpaper, and it goes easy on the battery.

We've got more pictures and download links after the break.

read more


Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/androidcentral/~3/ZFEB9_eqKjQ/android-wallpaper-review-mystic-halo-live-wallpaper

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