The five most-read stories this week on Scope were:
Top 10 reasons I’m glad to be in medical school: As part of our SMS Unplugged series, first-year medical student Hamsika Chandrasekar highlights ten things she likes about being in medical school. Among them: discount coffee, sleeping in scrubs, and (on a more serious note) “finding meaning every day of my life.”
Stanford study finds Lyme disease among ticks in California parks: Ticks infected with the bacterium at the root of Lyme disease have been found roaming California parks, as described in a Stanford study to be published in Emerging Infectious Disease. The findings, Ana Thompson, executive director of the Bay Area Lyme Foundation, said in a Stanford Report piece, are “an important step toward dispelling the perception that you cannot acquire Lyme disease in California."
New Stanford-developed method finds tumors in children without exposing them to radiation: Researchers here have developed a way to scan young cancer patients’ bodies for tumors without exposing them to radiation. The technique could reduce patients’ risk of developing secondary cancers later in life.
Sleep on it: The quest for rest in the modern hospital: In this SMS Unplugged entry, medical student Mihir Gupta writes about helping hospital patients rest and heal. "As students," he writes, "we can at least identify role models who are the kind of physicians we want to be – physicians who notice when a patient is sleeping and decide, 'I’ll come back later.'"
A physician shares his story of being diagnosed with amyloidosis: In a recent Stanford Hospital video, Kevin Anderson, MD, shares his story of working with Ron Witteles, MD, co-director of the Stanford Amyloid Center, to receive a heart transplant and get his health back on track after receiving a diagnosis of amyloidosis.
And still going strong – the most popular post from the past:
What are the consequences of sleep deprivation?: Brandon Peters, MD, an adjunct clinical faculty member at the Stanford Center for Sleep Sciences and Medicine, explains how lack of sleep can negatively affect a person’s well-being in this Huffington Post piece.
