On the blogs: MCASitis, PubMed search 'tricycle'
On Dr. Gwenn Is In, pediatrician Dr. Gwenn Schurgin O’Keeffe reminds us of a rite of spring: standardized tests for children that can bring with them a malady she calls MCASitis.
"Test taking anxiety is truly real, even for young kids. And, with anxiety can come physical symptoms such as stomach aches," she writes. "I worry about the impact of State testing on kids. ... Young kids don't need that pressure and I feel very strongly about that."
On Nature Network Boston, PhD student Anna Kushnir fumes about PubMed, the online database of scientific journal citations and abstracts created by the U.S. National Library of Medicine. She's not sure she can call it a search "engine." Maybe a tricycle, she suggests.
"I hate PubMed. I hate it with a burning passion. For a site that is as vital to scientific progress as PubMed is, their search engine is shamefully bad. It’s embarrassingly, frustratingly, painfully bad," she writes. "When is it going to get better? Is there any chance this might happen before my dissertation is due? Because frankly, it’s driving me more bats than the dissertation itself."
About white coat notes
|
White Coat Notes covers the latest from the health care industry, hospitals, doctors offices, labs, insurers, and the corridors of government. Chelsea Conaboy previously covered health care for The Philadelphia Inquirer. Write her at cconaboy@boston.com. Follow her on Twitter: @cconaboy. |
Browse this blog
Boston Medical Center
Boston University
Brigham Womens
Broad Institute
Cambridge Health
Steward
Childrens
DanaFarber
Harvard University
Joslin
Lahey
MIT
Mass General
Mass Health Law
McLean
Mental Health
New England Baptist
Public Health
Short White Coat
Tufts Medical Center
Tufts University
UMass
UMass Memorial
VA Medical Centers
- Diseases About.com disease information
- Symptom checker What your symptoms could mean
- Drugs A-Z Side effects, drug interactions, and more
- Lab Test Interpreter What your lab results mean
- Natural Medicine A-Z Safety of herbs, supplements
- Flu.gov Government flu information
- CDC.gov Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Be Well Boston on Twitter
Gideon Gil, Health and Science Editor
Elizabeth Comeau, Senior Health Producer
Liz Kowalczyk
Kay Lazar








