About

Hi! I’m PalMD, the sole author of this blog. This is obviously not the name my parents gave me. Having a pseudonym allows me more freedom to write what I wish, and helps maintain the anonymity of the people and places about which I write. Still, if you bothered to read this far, I guess I can tell you a little about me.

I’m a practicing internist in the Midwestern United States. I am also a Clinical Assistant Professor of Medicine, which means that some medical school was running short on off site teaching faculty. That also means I don’t have to publish, I just get to teach. I have the best job in the world.

I post occasional observations about culture and medicine, and I welcome feedback. I welcome all comments, without moderation, and will only censor blatantly offensive comments, misleading medical information, or posts trying to sell something. Be advised that your comment may become the next article if it seems interesting enough to me. That is not always a good thing for the commenter.

I am very good at making the kind of spelling errors that spool checkers don’t ketch. Feel free to send comments on them so I can look a little less illiterate.

Anyone who recognizes the picture above better email me. You know who you are.


As Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote, “A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds…” Feel free to comment on the blog—maybe you’ll educate me and change my mind about something.

Advertising, etc.:

I don’t do it, and I have an aggressive anti-spam policy. Any links that make it through my spam filter and are perceived by me to be advertisements will be deleted. I receive no payment for the very important work I do here. WordPress is nice enough to give away blog space to any idiot who wants it.

I don’t sell anything, including the right to read my rants.


Contact Info

Feel free to contact me using the mail link below. I’ll read everything, but I can’t promise to write back. I will not reveal personal communication or email information, but remember that anything you send can potentially be intercepted.

Click…HERE…to get the address.
Last updated 2/20/2008

16 Responses to “About”

  1. Jay Chamblin Says:
    January 16, 2008 at 3:23 pm

    Just surfed to your site riding the Ron Paul wave, that is, the wave of truly alarmed news junkies watching and wondering how far Doc Paul gets before people and the MSM pause long enough from their play-by-play accounts of the campaign games to dig into some substance of what the Pauls, Huckaboos, et al truly stand for.

    Taking a shot at the pic above - could easily be many maritime places in the PNW, and would venture the San Juans.

    Aloha,

    Jay
    Beach Haven, NJ

  2. PalMD Says:
    January 16, 2008 at 4:11 pm

    Buzz! Thanks for playing! Good guess…no tide lines on the granite, though.
    And stop by anytime!

  3. Kathy Says:
    January 31, 2008 at 3:11 pm

    I found your blog today via the Healthcare Blogger website, and have enjoyed reading your posts. I wonder if you have heard of Dr. Richard K. Bernstein, best known for his series of diabetes publications (http://www.diabetes-normalsugars.com/). I’ve never read any of them and don’t follow medical advice other than my doctor’s, but there seems to be a camp in the diabetes community that fervently supports him.
    FYI, I’ve had type 1 diabetes for 25 years. I have no complications other than intermittent microaneurysms in one eye. I also have no blood pressure/cholesterol/other issues. My last A1C was 5.9 and I’ve been under 7% for years. All this has been the result of my own hard work, but also the dedicated efforts of my internal medicine doctor, ophthalmologist and other specialists.

    I’ve heard my own share of ‘woo’ over the years as it pertains to diabetes–but Dr. Bernstein is a puzzler. Self-testing is certainly key to controlling blood glucose levels, but I’m wary of any diet that tells me to avoid whole categories of food (fruit in particular). What do you think?

    Thanks in advance for your consideration. Oh, and I guess Capitol Lake (Olympia, WA)?

  4. PalMD Says:
    January 31, 2008 at 4:26 pm

    I’ll have to check him out. He happens to share a name with a local personal injury lawyer.
    Nah…couldn’t be…

  5. TawnyHare Says:
    February 16, 2008 at 4:38 am

    Hi Pal, I am still reading your blog! Nice. Well, we know there is a man/woman inside that cool exterior of yours - so I have tagged you to list seven random and weird things about yourself, see here:
    http://constantstateofflux.wordpress.com/2008/02/16/7/
    looking forward to reading the (revealing) results!
    x

  6. PalMD Says:
    February 16, 2008 at 8:57 am

    Damn. I’ll work on it.

  7. PalMD Says:
    February 21, 2008 at 6:51 pm

    OK, I haven’t figured out who to meme-tag yet but here’s my 7 odd facts:

    1) I am an expert canoeist, and carve my own paddles from cherry wood.

    2) I am a terrible klutz.

    3) My toddler thinks I ate the moon during the recent lunar eclipse.

    4) My favorite birdsong is the white-throated sparrow.

    5) I hate puns, but use them constantly.

    6) I take care of my own hospice patients—I don’t farm them out to other doctors.

    7) I grow vegetables to make my own salsa.

  8. psychscribe Says:
    February 28, 2008 at 8:47 am

    I’m guessing you’re a woman (actually I’d sensed it from your writing). Based upon egregious stereotype, numbers 3,6, and 7 are the clues. I like your site and I’ll be back!

  9. PalMD Says:
    February 28, 2008 at 9:23 am

    My wife will be very surprised!

  10. psychscribe Says:
    February 28, 2008 at 10:11 am

    Seriously? Well, here’s a prime example of where stereotypes can bite one in the butt :)

  11. PalMD Says:
    February 28, 2008 at 10:21 am

    If you want, I can double check, but I’m pretty sure.

  12. psychscribe Says:
    February 28, 2008 at 10:52 pm

    Ha! Apparently you doc folks really need training in gender identification…. My first husband was an internist. We had two children together. The first was a boy. Great. The second was a girl. Hmmm… When the docs pulled her out of my c-section in his full view, and she was pronounced a girl, he was apparently stunned despite all his training. He kept saying, “are you sure, are you SURE?”. He later admitted he didn’t think he could “make” a girl! (Ok, I confess there was also some ethnic macho stuff going on here for him)…anyway, nice to meet you.

  13. wayne Says:
    March 11, 2008 at 12:24 pm

    Hi PalMD,

    Discovered your site a few days ago and love reading it. You write so well that I’m wondering if I’ve read your work in places other than this one. If this blog site is the lone repository for your thoughts right now, I hope you’ll consider other venues one day.

    BTW, I appreciate #6 on your odd facts list, as I helped hospice my best friend through pancan during the summer of 2005. It was a life-changing experience and wouldn’t have missed it for the world… except to still have him around.

    Question: How do patients and colleagues feel about your personalized hospice care? Sounds like a column idea to me…

    Heard this Winston Churchill quote on Keith Olbermann’s Countdown show last week, and believe it applies to some of the folks you discuss here:

    A modest man, but then he has so much to be modest about…

    Keep on keeping on…

    Wayne

  14. PalMD Says:
    March 11, 2008 at 12:30 pm

    Thanks for the kind words. Actually, I have a hospice piece in the hopper, just finishing it off…

  15. wayne Says:
    March 11, 2008 at 12:50 pm

    Hi PalMD,

    Looking forward to reading your hospice piece.

    Thanks,

    Wayne

  16. david mabus Says:
    May 1, 2008 at 8:13 am

    http://www.centerforinquiry.net/forums/viewthread/3283/P0/

    how we stopped randi’s paranormal challenge

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