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Corona / Covid-19 Virus - General Discussion (politics go to the Off Topic / Politics thread)

This virus has really brought out the sh1ttiest behaviour in so many jobsworths without a life – even by the standards of what we are used to in aviation.

However, that is always a consequence of a regulation which was left deliberately vague so people can use a bit of common sense. The only way that works is if you live in the countryside

Administrator
Shoreham EGKA, United Kingdom

Imagine you have a headache – would you go and see a neurologist because they deal with heads, or an ENT surgeon because they deal with sinusitis, or a neurosurgeon because you have had a bleed from an aneurysm, or a rheumatologist because you have temporal arteritis (and may well go blind before any outpatient appointment) or a GP who may recognise that your headache is actually just due to taking too many painkillers?

A British GP would be able to make a good stab at referring you to the person you need to see, if you need any specialist treatment at all. In turn the neurologist you do end up seeing will probably be a better neurologist because she doesn’t have to spend so much time seeing people with tension headaches.

Being a good generalist is in some ways harder than being a specialist so personally I have every respect for GPs. Obviously there are better and worse ones.

As for drugs companies… I saw the end of the glory days. At the teaching sessions on Friday lunchtimes there were often buffets sumptuous enough for Versailles. Smoked salmon. Black forest Gateau. Bouncers (literally) to stop medical students scoffing the lot. Companies would sponsor training courses next to ski resorts. These days we’re left with drug companies sometimes trying to sponsor biased studies then get them written into national guidelines, and sponsoring the occasional educational meeting by providing Co-op sandwiches and a packet of Walker’s crisps.

It’s not all wrong – if you have developed a new drug or medical device it seems reasonable to try and spread the word. But it was right that the old days came to an end.

OK; your headache example, combined with a dumb customer, is indeed a good case for a GP

Now take a customer who has been fobbed off for 5 years from getting a PSA test. Eventually he gets one and it comes in at 5, free PSA 15%. The GP practice will have no idea. They might send him for a biopsy… The correct course is a £1200 3T MRI and a reference to a top guy in London. In so many areas of health one needs to get clued-up and be proactive. The GP system will let you down, most of the time.

I was peripherally involved in my business doing electronics for the pharma advertising industry. There was seriously heavy bribery in the 1970s and 1980s, with GPs being paid 4 figure annual bribes to prescribe a specific drug. There were ad agencies (in London, of course) which specialised in that end of the market.

But the same went on with Planning (building development). It was normal. It was that, or you were in the freemasons.

It ended in the 1980s but continued in the State sector.

Administrator
Shoreham EGKA, United Kingdom

I’m impressed with my local GP practice. They discuss problems at weekly meetings and come up with solutions.
I’m now very dubious about 2 metres being sufficient. Today I stepped several metres clear of the path to let a guy pass. He was smoking. I was 3-4 metres from him when I rejoined the path. He was going in the opposite direction. I several times smelt smoke over the next 3-4 metres. If smoke, why not a virus? There was a light wind at a right angle to the path, up a cliff.

Maoraigh
EGPE, United Kingdom

There is an old saying amoung professionals – and the old ones are usually the best.

The trick is knowing what you dont know.

In short, its knowing when you might be out of your depth, and a specialist opinion is needed. Strangely it is a skill that takes a long time to perfect – if you ever do.

There is a another along similiar lines.

Its not about what you know, or even what you dont know, but knowing where and how to look for the answers when you dont know

Maoraigh wrote:

I’m impressed with my local GP practice. They discuss problems at weekly meetings and come up with solutions.
I’m now very dubious about 2 metres being sufficient. Today I stepped several metres clear of the path to let a guy pass. He was smoking. I was 3-4 metres from him when I rejoined the path. He was going in the opposite direction. I several times smelt smoke over the next 3-4 metres. If smoke, why not a virus? There was a light wind at a right angle to the path, up a cliff.

Possibly because I think there is evidence that a small amount is not sufficient for the virus to take hold. The nose is very sensitive to smells, and the concentration can be very low to trigger our senses.

I’m now very dubious about 2 metres being sufficient.

Yesterday a woman walked past (in the open countryside) and we could smell her (presumably dirt cheap) perfume from 10m

Just seen some stuff about selenium in the soil correlating heavily with regions in China where people were not getting the virus. Same was apparently found with Ebola. Not much surprises me…

Administrator
Shoreham EGKA, United Kingdom

Off field.
Appalling notice.

Last Edited by flybymike at 04 May 22:28
Egnm, United Kingdom

Fuji_Abound wrote:

The trick is knowing what you dont know.

In short, its knowing when you might be out of your depth, and a specialist opinion is needed. Strangely it is a skill that takes a long time to perfect – if you ever do.

This phenomenon has been researched. Dunning-Kruger effect. There is actually more to it than it appears.

ESKC (Uppsala/Sundbro), Sweden

I also once came across a online quiz where for every multiple choice question (e.g. What is the capital of Scotland?) you had to not only choose an option but rate your confidence in your choice from 1 (I was born there) to 10 (I have no idea but I have to choose something).

At the end you got a score, not for your general knowledge but for your accuracy in assessing the reliability of your answers. Sadly I can’t find it any more, but I thought the concept was interesting. It’s a good skill to cultivate.

Last Edited by kwlf at 05 May 07:01
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