Emoji Power | Harvard Medical School

 

Emoji, the colorful and clever symbols used to replace or augment the written and spoken word, could be a valuable tool in the field of medicine, allowing patients to better communicate symptoms, concerns, and other clinically relevant information, according to a Massachusetts General Hospital physician and others.

In a commentary published Sept. 7 in JAMA, senior author Shuhan He, HMS instructor in medicine and an emergency department attending physician at Mass General, suggests that each medical discipline begin discussions around the creation of its own unique set of iconography for official adoption and incorporation into everyday practice.

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“The need to listen to patients is at the core of our mission as physicians, and the use of emoji is a great opportunity to take communication to another level,” said He, who is also director of growth for the Mass General Center for Innovation in Digital HealthCare.

“Emoji could be particularly important in treating children with still-developing language skills, people with disabilities that impair their ability to communicate, and the many patients who speak a different language.”

Emoji, which translates from Japanese as “picture character,” originated in Japan more than a decade ago, and today an estimated five billion are used daily on Facebook and Facebook Messenger alone.

Although around 3,500 emoji are currently within the domain of the Unicode Consortium—the nonprofit organization that maintains text standards across computers and which must approve every emoji before it can be digitally used—only about 45 emoji can be considered relevant to medicine.

The first of these, introduced in 2015, were the syringe and the pill. In 2017, Apple added emoji to represent people with disabilities, followed by symbols of the stethoscope, bone, tooth, and microbe in 2019.

He was co-creator of the anatomical heart and the lung emoji introduced globally in 2020 and is now working with co-authors Debbie Lai, chief operating officer of the Act Now Coalition, and Jennifer 8. Lee, founder of Emojination, as well as with a wide range of medical societies and organizations to advocate for an additional 15 medically related emoji.

More than a fad

“It’s tempting to dismiss emoji as a millennial fad, but they possess the power of standardization, universality, and familiarity, and in the hands of physicians and other health care providers, could represent a new and highly effective way to communicate pictorially with patients,” said He.

In emergency medical settings where time is critical, emoji could lead to a point-and-tap form of communication that could facilitate important clinical decisions, he added.

Anatomically correct heart emoji co-created by He

The tiny graphic symbols which now span all digital platforms—from mobile to tablet to desktop—could also have utility as annotations to hospital discharge instructions, which are often confusing or incomprehensible to some patients.

In addition, the recent growth of telemedicine could be a rich opportunity for emoji to make medical inroads. The interactive platform is seen as particularly well suited for patients to transmit to health care providers visual information that charts the intensity of pain they have experienced over a period of days, weeks, or months and for those providers to make it part of the patient’s digital health record for ongoing treatment.

He is continuing his research to better understand how emoji could help patients and doctors communicate common symptoms—such as mobility, mood, and duration and quality of pain—that are associated with various diseases and conditions.

“It’s clear that emoji have become part of the global mainstream conversation, and that medical societies and physician committees and organizations need to take them seriously,” said He.

“Which means they should be determining now which emoji would best serve the interests of their patients, building consensus around the medical accuracy of these emoji, then working to get them approved through the global standard-setting body and working through the long adaptation and implementation process.”

Adapted from a Mass General news release.

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Ayesha Gulzar, PharmD – Verywell Health

Highlights

• Board-certified Clinical Pharmacist
• Medical Communication
• Health Journalism

Being a pharmacist and medical writer, I believe in sharing research and information to adapt to medical science and healthcare’s ever-increasing complexity. I am committed to providing quality healthcare information as an essential link in disease control and management for the communities.

— Ayesha Gulzar, PharmD

Experience

Ayesha Gulzar is a clinical pharmacist with an interest in medical research, pharmacy practice, and medication therapy management. Dr. Gulzar has been working in medical communications, writing medical and clinical research for patients and health professionals in the United Kingdom. She has been associated with various organizations as a health journalist and medical editor. Prior to her medical research and communication role, she worked as a drug research and quality control pharmacist in the pharmaceutical industry.  As a hospital pharmacist, Dr. Gulzar has worked across various therapeutic areas, including chronic and rare diseases, patient care, and medication therapy management. 

Education

Ayesha Gulzar has received her Doctor of Pharmacy degree from the University of Lahore. She is pursuing further studies in clinical pharmacy and therapeutics.

Verywell Health Editorial Process

Verywell Health is an award-winning online resource for reliable, understandable, and up-to-date health information on the medical topics that matter most to you. We take a human approach to health and wellness content and reach more than 300 million readers annually.

Our editorial team includes writers, editors, and fact checkers who make sure our information is clear, accurate, and useful so you can make confident choices about your health.

Our writers are notable voices in their respective disciplines, from physicians to medical journalists to patients/patient advocates. These individuals are specifically selected for their extensive knowledge and real-world experience, as well as their ability to communicate complex information in a clear, helpful, and unbiased way.

Our team of qualified and experienced fact checkers provide a critical step in our commitment to content integrity. Fact checkers rigorously review articles for accuracy, relevance, and timeliness. We use only the most current and reputable primary references, including peer-reviewed medical journals, government organizations, academic institutions, and advocacy associations.

Learn More

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Los Angeles firefighters, cops pushing back on ‘unconstitutional’ COVID vaccine mandate

Hundreds of Los Angeles firefighters and police officers are pushing back on a coronavirus vaccine mandate.

“It’s not necessarily whether I want to get vaccinated or not. The point that we are bringing to the table here is that we should have a choice in the matter,” “Firefighters 4 Freedom” leader John Knox told “Fox & Friends” host Ainsley Earhardt. 

Firefighters 4 Freedom was launched by a group of Los Angeles city firefighters “to stop the mandated vaccinations for all city employees as well as the citizens of this great country,” their website states. 

Their goal is “to bring education and truth to the people without being censored.”

Democrats Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti and City Council President Nury Martinez announced in a July 27 ordinance that they would push mandatory COVID-19 vaccines for city employees. City employees are required to submit proof of vaccination or a weekly negative test. Signed by the mayor last month, the Los Angeles City Council approved it unanimously

“It comes as the highly contagious Delta variant continues to drive an alarming surge in COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations and deaths among the unvaccinated in Los Angeles County and across the country,” a press release from Mayor Garcetti’s website stated.

OREGON POLICE, FIREFIGHTERS SUE GOV. KATE BROWN OVER VACCINATION MANDATE

The Los Angeles Times reported that unions representing police and firefighters are warning that terminating or prompting employees to leave over the vaccine mandate would make the city less safe.

Knox said that they are planning to fight the vaccine mandate in court.

According to the L.A. Times, Firefighters 4 Freedom attorney Kevin McBride plans to challenge the law based on a privacy clause in the California Constitution. McBride said that his clients’ rights are protected by the state’s Medical Experimentation Act.

The group has 350 members, according to McBride.

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Knox said that the firefighters and police officers feel the vaccine mandate is “unconstitutional both federally and at the state level.”

“And so for us it’s — we feel that we have the right to have informed consent and that we should be able to make the decision what we do with our bodies and not be told what we need to do,” he said. 

The Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti released a statement saying “the Delta variant continues to spread and it is more important than ever that people get vaccinated right now. This requirement is critical to protecting the health and safety of our workers and Angelenos.”

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Eliminating health care arrogance as important as building medical school | The Eastern Graphic

Dan MacKinnon

It’s the worst kept secret on the Island. UPEI President Alaa Abd-El-Aziz wants to build a medical school, which could provide the province a much needed local source of doctors, and deliver the type of professional gravitas needed to attract research dollars to the province.

So far it’s nothing more than inside chatter among the university, health care and political class. But it does seem to have credible momentum, despite what would be significant upfront and ongoing operational costs. Speculation is that a UPEI medical school would partner with an already established school, such as Memorial in Newfoundland or Northern Ontario School of Medicine, the two leaders in rural focused medical training in the country. 

The school idea isn’t new. It was first proposed by former Island NDP leader Herb Dickieson, who tried unsuccessfully to build the needed coalition. But perceptions change and a school is now seen as one piece toward improving PEI as a work destination for health care providers. But if we don’t deal with other issues, like the ‘toxic’ work environment described by many departing Health PEI employees, a medical school investment will likely be a waste of time and money. 

The toxic environment is a byproduct of a top down approach, driven by political interference and an unwieldy bureaucracy disparate in focus and priorities, and prone to promotion of pet projects like the mental health research centre that will do nothing to improve frontline services in the province. 

An issue that is equally tough to fix is the PEI College of Physicians and Surgeons, a self-regulating body for Island MDs that is too often an impediment to problem solving. 

Self-regulating bodies have the power to make up, and enforce, their own rules for entry. The college has historically been unnecessarily slow to accept foreign medical school credentials. Part of the issue is college self-importance. Part is fear of shrinking the lobby power of doctors by eliminating the chronic shortage (Negotiating power is always stronger when demand outstrips supply).  And part is no doubt driven by public interest. 

But someone needs to oversee the college, which has authority to investigate and deliver penalties to its members.

One recent decision involved a Montague GP.  For the record my doctor, who I have always found to be courteous, professional and competent. I won’t detail the allegations, which the doctor self reported to the college and were the focus of numerous news stories. The punishment, for the most part, seemed reasonable. Save one. A demand that if the doctor returns to practice she: “Shall live outside the community where she practices …”

Shall is a powerful word in the law. It compels an action. 

The problem with telling anyone where they can live is it runs smack dab into the Constitution of Canada and specifically mobility rights enshrined under Section 6. 

I asked the college for a legal opinion to support its residence demand. The college was indignant, ridiculously saying it is a suggestion on where the doctor can practice, not where they must live.

Words matter. This is clearly not what the college ruling states.

Once again I asked for a legal opinion in support of its position. Once again crickets from the PEI College of Physicians and Surgeons.

Now to be fair, George Carruthers is new to the college and was only recently named registrar after serving a high-risk Charlottetown population with distinction for years. The issue is not with Carruthers but the institutional bias within the college that suggests its decision making is beyond reproach. 

Look at this decision – and this specific demand – through the lens of a doctor who may be interested in moving to PEI. It can easily be viewed as unnecessarily heavy-handed and over the top. And quite possibly contrary to the Constitution of Canada. It could be an impediment to successful recruitment.

If our province wants to build a sustainable health system that recruits and retains health professionals, including doctors, we need more than a medical school. We need to strip away self-important silos found in the health care bureaucracy and College of Physicians and Surgeons because they are not always focused on the greater good.

Paul MacNeill is Publisher of Island Press Limited. He can be contacted at paul@peicanada.com

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How to Create a Good Medicine Research Paper for College – The Katy News

Writing a medical research paper for college is the same as writing other papers in terms of resource requirements, structure, and style. A medical research paper should be based on evidence to prove the arguments since it is essentially scientific work. The data should also be accurate and genuine with properly referenced sources.

Writing a good research paper for college requires you to understand formatting, style, referencing, and citations. Here is the guide on how to do so.

Craft a research topic and determine the type of paper

Identifying the topic is one of the critical steps in research process because it represents the area of focus. Identify the general idea and narrow it down to something specific based on the current research. Obtain relevant background information regarding the topic and look for sources to use in your research.

The best way to go about this is to pick something that interests you and has unanswered questions. Your research paper format depends on the type of paper you want to write and the availability of research sources.

A medical research paper may require sections such as research questions or hypotheses, method, past findings, limitations, and discussion. You may identify strengths and weaknesses in previous studies as the basis of your future research.

Research the topic well

Consult people who are knowledgeable and experienced in the area of research, such as scientists and academicians. Use sources of information such as databases, books, and academic journals to enhance the credibility of your research paper.

Track your sources by writing down the information you will need for citation, such as the author, article title, book title, edition, and publisher. Other important information to track includes the date of publication, issue, number, volume number, and the page number of the source.

As you continue reading, take some notes by paraphrasing the information to prevent plagiarism. Your librarians and professors may help you to identify good resources and keep the notes with the right source.

Create the paper outline

Organize the paper in a sensible and easy-to-follow manner and decide the information to include in different subheadings. Creating an outline will help you to start the writing process more easily. If you have a good medical research topic but are unable to proceed with the writing process, consider finding help from outside.

Help with your medicine paper

In case of any difficulties in creating a good medical research paper, you can pay someone to do research paper. Find the best research paper experts at StudyClerk, learn from them, and have the research work completed faster. The writing experts have helped many students to get good grades in research writing, thereby allowing them to proceed with their college education. Hiring experts will create a learning opportunity as you continue studying the research papers and perfecting your writing skills.

Compile results

Segment your research paper into small sections based on the subheadings you have created and the paper type. For quantitative paper, include the main sections such as the research questions, past findings, and so on.

For a qualitative paper, come up with the main points, continue naturally and ensure that the content makes sense. Breaking down the information into small sections and subsections may help you to pay attention to a specific point at a time.

Include data tables and figures that support the main ideas to guide your reader when making an assessment. A quantitative study may require you to reveal the methods used to arrive at the results.

Discuss your findings and conclude

The discussion part can be complex due to the number of tasks and roles it needs to accomplish. Let the reader know about your findings and their relevance to the medical field.

Reveal the future studies that can be done to advance research in this area and summarize the main ideas. Highlight the theoretical applications of your research where appropriate and suggest future directions relating to the research.

Keep the discussion brief and focus more on explaining research results and the methods. The discussion should also honestly and accurately communicate the findings and enable the reader to recognize their value.

Conclusion

Writing a good medical research paper for college requires adhering to the above procedures and finding help where necessary. Whether you are writing a qualitative or a quantitative medical research paper, pay attention to its structure and content. Following the guidelines will ensure that the paper is coherent and logical, which are some of the most important features of scientific papers.

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Author’s Bio:

Jeremy Raynolds is a star writer and editor working for an online academic writing agency where he provides essay and thesis writing help to university students. He’s a good blogger too and has written for some very popular websites and online publications. In his free time, he enjoys swimming, reading superhero comics and watching documentaries.

 

 

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NYC Schools Eye Full In-Person Return as Delta Variant Stokes COVID Concerns Anew – NBC New York

With the nation’s largest public school system eyeing the in-person returns of more than 1 million students in less than a week, New York City officials are closely monitoring COVID-19 numbers following a busy holiday weekend that experts had warned could fuel new case surges across the country.

More than five million travelers were expected to travel through Port Authority facilities over Labor Day weekend as the CDC urged unvaccinated individuals to stay home. Ninety-five percent of U.S. counties are still considered “high transmission” rate areas, according to the agency’s data.

The CDC also cautioned vaccinated people to weigh the risks of potential exposure to their children of the delta variant, which evidence has suggested leads to more severe infections among kids as the strain became dominant in the U.S. and the world. In New York City, delta accounts for 98% of positive samples tested, though transmission rates have started to ease over the last three weeks.

The rate of hospitalization for COVID-19 among kids ages 0-17 rose five-fold from late June to the middle of August as the delta variant took hold in the United States, the CDC said last week.

The COVID-associated hospitalization rate for children and adolescents the week ending Aug. 14 was 1.4, an increase of almost five times from the week ending June 26 and nearly an all-pandemic high, the CDC said. Its findings were based on data from New York, Connecticut and 12 other states.

The latest research is sure to add fuel to the raging debate about how kids should return to school and social activity safely, especially since no vaccine has been federally emergency-use authorized for children younger than 12 at this point.

New Jersey is joining the growing list of states to require teachers to be vaccinated for COVID-19 this fall.

To help protect kids who aren’t eligible for vaccination, Gov. Kathy Hochul and the state health department have mandated masks in New York schools for “anyone who enters a school building,” regardless of vaccination status.

All New York City public school teachers and other staffers must be vaccinated against COVID under a mayoral mandate, and Hochul says she’s working toward the same end statewide.

For now, weekly testing is required for state educators who aren’t vaccinated. New York City’s Department of Education has also unveiled a slate of new and revised COVID policies that take into account the vaccination factor as well as the delta variant one. Learn more about those here.

As we head back to school this fall, we are working to make sure that our kids, teachers and school staff return to the classroom safely.

Wishing those in New York State who start this week a great and safe first day of school.

— Kathy Hochul (@GovKathyHochul) September 7, 2021

A number of districts in New Jersey, meanwhile, reopen their doors Tuesday.

Masks are also required for all personnel and students in the Garden State. Gov. Phil Murphy is among the Democrats nationwide who instituted vaccine mandates for teachers as well.

The CDC says such ongoing precautions are proven to reduce COVID transmission and severe outcomes among kids alongside the ongoing spread of delta. The agency also found that among vaccine-eligible kids ages 12-17, the hospitalization rate was 10 times higher for the unvaccinated than for the fully vaccinated.

Source: CDC

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UMass Medical School gets $175M donation, new name

The University of Massachusetts Medical School is getting a $175 million donation that will more than double its endowment, officials said Tuesday.

The gift is from Morningside Foundation established by the family of T.H. Chan, the late Hong Kong real estate developer, and the school will be renamed UMass Chan Medical School.

Its three graduate schools will be called: the T.H. Chan School of Medicine, the Tan Chingfen Graduate School of Nursing and the Morningside Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, the school said in a statement.

Those names will honor the family’s matriarch, Tan Chingfen, who was a nurse, and patriarch T.H Chan, who died in 1986.

“This gift is a powerful statement about the stature — and the potential — of our medical school, a very special place,” said UMass Medical School Chancellor Michael Collins.

T.H Chan’s son, Gerald Chan, told The Boston Globe in an interview that the school is an “undervalued asset.”

“It makes a lot of sense to support the public universities,” he told the newspaper. Private universities have abundant resources so “any incremental giving probably won’t mean as much as it does to the publics that are so starved for resources,” he said.

The gift is unrestricted, which means the school can decide how best to spend it. Collins told the Globe the money will allow the school to “substantially” expand enrollment.

The Morningside Foundation also gave a $350 million gift to Harvard University’s School of Public Health in 2014 and the school was renamed the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

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