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Doc-Related: A satirical comic on the challenges of practicing medicine today as seen through the eyes of physicians working in a large health care system

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Guest Post by Peter Valenzuela, MD I’ve been a practicing family physician for almost two decades. In the past that would be considered “mid-career” for a doctor. But today, it’s quite a feat. Recent statistics show that over half of the one million active physicians in the U.S. show signs of burnout[1]. Many are opting to leave the profession. When I began practice, I was the medical director of a rural clinic in West Texas, performing the full scope of family medicine that included: ambulatory clinic, inpatient care, emergency room, nursing home and even home visits. I delivered babies, performed… Read More

CFP: Comics on the Couch.

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Comics on the Couch A Special issue of American Imago Edited by Vera J. Camden Professor English Kent State University, Training and Supervising Analyst, Cleveland Psychoanalytic Center Psychoanalysis has from its origins been imbricated in culture, both high and low. As we all know, Sigmund Freud defined and illustrated his pivotal discoveries through explications of folklore and fairy tales as well as Sophocles, Shakespeare and other venerable texts. Mental health practitioners have long been invested in comics for better and worse: from psychologist, William Moulton Marston’s creation of Wonder Woman to psychiatrist, Fredric Wertham’s infamous attack on comics as a… Read More

Graphic Pharmacy

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Guest post by Giang Ho Pharmacy is a dreadful job. Who can really stand for 8-12 hours straight verifying prescriptions, dealing with medical insurance, with mean customers, having no bathroom or lunch break, working overtime then coming back the next day to repeat it all again? To many people, being a pharmacist means you must be amazing or just insane. When I started pharmacy school, I thought the same thing. But after three years in this field, I would say pharmacy is a very interesting and unique profession that is vastly misunderstood. I hope my comics work about pharmacy school can show what it is… Read More

Don’t be afraid of surgery! Comic monkey takes pediatric patients by the hand

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Guest post by Claudia Thomas & Anne Schirrmeister A large body of evidence indicates that dealing with pediatric patients’ anxiety prior to surgical interventions is not optimal, and that this is true worldwide. Literature shows that preoperative anxiety results in increased pain after surgery, a higher incidence of postoperative delirium and longer hospital stays. In addition, behavioral disorders like enuresis nocturna and separation anxiety as well as sleep disorders and nightmares often occur.   Developing easy-to-use and standardized tools for reducing preoperative anxiety in children could be an approach to address this problem. Using the ability of imagination and magic thinking… Read More

Primary Care as Adventure! By Richard Stark, MD.

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Primary Care as Adventure! – guest blog by Richard Stark, MD.   The rumors you’ve heard that Primary Care is boring and repetitious are not true! Primary Care is an adventure, and I’ve accumulated the stories and anecdotes over 40 years in medicine to prove it! Yes, you see the same patients year after year, in sickness and in health. But you learn a lot about people and their behavior. You also learn a lot about the attitudes and concerns of staff. And if you attain an administrative position in a bureaucratic healthcare organization you gain an appreciation of a… Read More

Call for Contributors for “Missing Panels”

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Call for Contributors for “Missing Panels” Zine funded by the University of Leicester – Wellcome Trust ISSF. “Missing Panels” focuses on the impact a lack of representation has on the lives and mental health of members of BME communities, illustrating the need for more equal representation as one of the many strategies required to build a more equal society. Specifically, we are looking for contributors to create a 2 or 4-page full colour comic revolving around questions such as: i) is NHS outreach/campaign material inclusive to BME communities? ii) in what way has your personal experience of accessing health care… Read More

The Hillary Chute Award for Best Graduate Student Conference Presentation

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From Candida Rifkind, Associate Professor, Department of English, University of Winnipeg: The Comics Studies Society (CSS) has extended nominations for “The Hillary Chute Award for Best Graduate Student Conference Presentation” to April 15th! Nominations and inquiries should be sent by email to the CSS Awards Coordinator at awards@comicssociety.org by April 15th. The Graduate Student Caucus (GSC) of the Comics Studies Society (CSS) is invested in encouraging finely-crafted and innovative comics scholarship by members of the graduate student community, so please do send in your work. All conference presentations given during the 2017 calendar year on the subject of comics, cartooning, and caricature qualify for this… Read More

Comic Epidemic: Cartoons, Caricatures and Graphic Novels – CFP.

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16 February 2018 – 17 February 2018 Convenors Lukas Engelmann (University of Edinburgh) Christos Lynteris (University of St Andrews) Summary The ushering in of the modern epidemiological age was marked not only by the invasion of Europe and America by cholera and other pathogens, but equally by a public commentary on epidemics through the use of caricatures and comic strips. Graphic figures of speech, visual condensations and sketched comparisons provide shortcuts to the ‘hardened political metaphors’ (Gombrich) at stake in epidemic crises. As such, this popular mode of communication, debate and critique, was soon taken up by epidemic deniers, health critics… Read More

Le Medicina en el Cómic

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Charo Sabariegos professor at Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha got in touch to tell us that the the school of medicine in  Albacete, Spain, has put together a collection of graphic pathographies. They intend to make known the usefulness of comics to both teachers and students by holding an exhibition, Le Medicina en el Cómic from December until the end of February. The exhibition is divided into six major themes:  The interview with the doctor. Medical tests Feelings The great round of doctors (in honour of David B.) Waiting rooms. What is it? Extracts from comics are shown in each of the… Read More