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Leisure Reading


Don't know if anyone has noticed, but I haven't been doing a lot of social media stuff lately. Why? Not really sure. Contrary to what people think, no, I haven't quit or anything like that. Anyway, one of the things that I have gotten back to is some leisure reading. Well, not actually reading, but listening to audio books. When I first started my job (has it been almost 10 years already?), I had a long commute and popped in a CD to listen to a book.

Over the past weekend, I also went to an interesting meeting (I'll post about that soon), and I listened to another book during the drive. Reading/listening to books really make traveling just go quicker. Don't get me wrong, I am the furthest thing from a book reviewer. But here are a few books I've read over the past couple of weeks.

An Object Of Beauty by Steve Martin: I'm usually not a fiction reader type guy. But I really enjoyed Martin's book called Shopgirl. This present book takes you through the world of art from the early 1990s until present day. Most of the story is centered around the character Lacey as she goes from an entry level position at an art auction house to full fledged art collector and dealer. I wouldn't be surprised if this is made into a film in the next 3-4 years. While reading the book (actually while listening to the audiobook), I was trying to picture the actors who would be in this film. Anyway, for what it's worth, Steve Martin is a good writer and I look forward to his next work.

Decision Points by George W. Bush: The world is so freaking partisan these days that some out there may think I'm making some kind of political statement by reading this book. I'm not. The book is setup with a bunch of topics - around what are thought as controversial decisions. Bush tells his point of view of the story and his rationale behind the decision and lets the reader judge for himself and herself. I'm always fascinated behind the process to make a decision - like getting the background information and updating said information - and then making a choice on the information that you have at the moment. I also learned a lot about the federal government - especially when it comes to interfacing with state and local government. Bureaucracy is frustrating, but hearing from someone in the center of it was interesting.

The War For Late Night: When Leno Went Early And Television Went Crazy by Bill Carter: When the whole Conan/Jay thing went down in January of this year, I was riveted in front of the TV like a lot of other people. This book takes you back to the contracts and the deals of when this drama started and then works it's way forward to take you behind closed doors to those days in January 2010 when everyone was wondering what was happening in the Conan, Jay, and NBC camps. Mr. Carter also wrote the book 20 years ago describing the Carson/Letterman/Leno story which again involved the Tonight Show. Really enjoyed this book. But, hey, I'm kind of a late night comedy junkie.

Germs And Kids


Everyone knows that when it comes to germs and kids, it sometimes can be difficult to limit the spread of infection - especially in the day care setting. In the video above, I talked with local TV news last week about this topic and also the topic of trying to prevent infection in college students during finals week. If you find the above video helpful, I invite you to check out my other videos over at MikeSevilla.TV. Enjoy!

Comeback Is King


Here in Youngstown, Ohio, football is king. There is a great tradition at the high school, college (Jim Tressel won national championships at Y'town State before heading to Columbus), and professional level. But, if the press had a number 2 sport in this town, it would have to be boxing.

Yesterday, in the midst of the Black Friday news coverage, people talking about their Thanksgiving, and continued complaints about TSA security at airports, there was a small story in Yahoo Sports which has a lot of local people talking.

Former middleweight boxing champion Kelly Pavlik has been in the Betty Ford Center in Rancho Mirage, Calif., since Nov. 4 for treatment of a problem with alcohol, the fighter’s father, Mike Pavlik, told Yahoo! Sports on Friday. The 28-year-old slugger’s boxing career is in doubt, said co-manager Cameron Dunkin, who said, “I don’t know if he’ll ever fight again.”
The article goes on to say that after Pavlik won the title, he didn't quite know how to deal with his new found fame.
“The kind of kid Kelly is, he doesn’t want to say no to anyone. It was kind of like the Mickey Mantle syndrome here. Everywhere he went, everyone wanted to buy the champ a beer. He didn’t want to disappoint anyone or say no and it wound up causing him a pretty serious problem.”
Now, don't get me wrong, people are responsible for their own actions. However, in this town, successful sports figures are elevated to such a high pedestal, it's definitely understandable about how this situation played out.

What will be interesting for me to see now is how Youngstown, Ohio responds to news of this nature. Since he lost his title 6 months ago, there has not been too much local press on this guy. Has this town now abandoned this guy since he is no longer the champ? Does this town now consider him damaged goods since he is now in rehab?

C'mon Youngstown, you're better than that. This is the time to rally around this guy again, but not because he's fighting for a titie. Now, he's fighting for his life. His father says it best at the end of the article.

“My whole concern for him is for him is to get healthy and be a good husband, a good father, a good son, a good citizen and a respectable man,” Mike Pavlik said. “That’s what I want from him. We’re all supportive of that goal. As a father, it’s destroying me to see this. Here is somebody that God has shed His blessing on and he had everything right at his fingertips.
In its heyday, Youngstown, Ohio was one of the leading steel towns in all of the world. Many local business and thought leaders are trying to write its comeback story. But, how nice would it be for the community to come together for one if its favorite sons to help him make a comeback of his own. We'll have to see if this community has the courage to do just that...

Dr. A on Radio Rounds Ep416

You may remember a few weeks ago, I was lucky enough to be invited to the studios of the Radio Rounds program which is a show/podcast exclusively created and produced by medical students in Dayton, Ohio.

On Sunday, November 28th, 2010 at noon eastern time, I invite you to tune in live at RadioRounds.Org for Episode 416 where yours truly will be the featured guest. Thanks so much to the Radio Rounds crew for letting me hang out with them.

In the video above, you'll see portions of episode 410 featuring Howard Dean. If you miss she show live, that's ok. You'll be able to download the podcast later next week through iTunes. Enjoy!

Dr. A Show 194 Wrap-up

Even though it's Thursday, there is not going to be a Doctor Anonymous Show tonight. However, in the video above, you can see a segment from last week's Show 194 which was on Saturday night. It was a really fun show with my co-host Kat. On our Saturday nite shows, we talk about the news of the week when it comes to current events, health/medicine stories, and some not-so-serious news. In the video above, Kat and I talk about the recent observance of Veteran's Day 2010.

You can listen to the entire audio podcast in the sidebar of the blog. Or, you can download Show 194 by going to the iTunes page for the show, and then listen anytime. I also encourage you to check out the show's Facebook page, and click the big "Like" button at the top. Finally, you can check out other videos of my on my YouTube page. Enjoy!

Great American Smokeout

The Great American Smokeout is an annual event that encourages smokers to quit for at least 1 day in the hope that this might challenge them to stop permanently. The American Cancer Society and other organizations observe this event. This year, the Great American Smokeout is Thursday, November 18, 2010.

In the video above, I was interviewed by local TV news about the event, the risks of prolonged tobacco use, and what to do to prepare for your quit day. One of the most important things, I think, is to make sure that you have a good support system with friends and family - when you're trying to quit smoking. For more information, I encourage you to check out the American Cancer Society site. Did you know that 2010 is the 35th year of the event? If you found the video above helpful, then I encourage you to check out other videos on my youtube site. Enjoy!

Alcoholic Energy Drinks

In the video above, you will see an interview I was asked to do on Thursday, November 11, 2010 on local TV news about alcoholic energy drinks like four loko that has been in the news recently. I talk about the potential harmful effects of the ingredients of a product like this. As of this posting, there have been a number of states, colleges, and universities who have taken steps to ban these type of beverages.

At the end of my interview, I talk about how I don't think banning a product like this is going to solve the problem. In the article, "Banning Four Loko Doesn't Solve Problems," by Alex Belz from The North Wind explains:

It seems these health officials are either unaware of or choosing to ignore the fact that combining a caffeinated beverage with an alcoholic one is a time-tested formula for a decent drink. So far, they’ve not proposed banning drinks like Jager Bombs and vodka and Red Bulls from being served in bars, but perhaps that’s just around the corner.
As of this post, it has been only hours since the ban was announced in Washington State has been announced. Since the ban does not take effect for about seven days, guess what is happening? According to The Seattle Times, a "Buying Rush Follows Washington Ban On Four Loko."

Now, don't misunderstand. I have read the stories of the sickness, illness, and tragedies that have occurred associated with this product. However, it wasn't due to the product. It was due to irresponsible use of the product. An editorial from The New Hampshire sums it up the best, "If you want to discourage something, educate us on its risks. It makes more sense to convince us to follow a practice than to force it upon us (particularly in this case, when it's not that hard to get across the state's border). Education is the way to go."

Thanks Med City News!


Wanna know why social media matters? Here's why. Yesterday afternoon, I was contacted by Brandon Glenn from Med City News in the Cleveland, Ohio area about my post called "NEOUCOM Restructuring." I encourage you to check out article posted today entitled "NEOUCOM cuts 8 workers, plans to add more for strategy’s sake." The really cool phrase was at the end of the article.
News of the layoffs began spreading primarily from the Doctor Anonymous blog, which is maintained by Youngstown-area family physician Dr. Mike Sevilla, a NEOUCOM graduate.
Something that is still really interesting to me is that there is no official press release on the NEOUCOM school website (as of this posting). But, yet it looks like news organizations like Med City News, Akron Beacon Journal, and Ravenna Record Courier (local newspaper where the med school is located) received a some kind of press release and/or talked with their PR people (I would guess the med school PR people are really not happy with me right now)

One of the things that I hope comes out of this incident is that the med school consider being a little more transparent when it comes to major decisions and major moves like this. The perception of a coverup or the perception of deception really doesn't help build bridges with the people and the stakeholders who are supposed to be your supporters. Thanks again to MedCity News for following up on this story!

AMA Social Media Policy


In San Diego this week, the American Medical Association announced some guidelines to help physicians navigate social media:
  • Use privacy settings to safeguard personal information and content to the fullest extent possible on social networking sites.
  • Routinely monitor their own Internet presence to ensure that the personal and professional information on their own sites and content posted about them by others, is accurate and appropriate.
  • Maintain appropriate boundaries of the patient-physician relationship when interacting with patients online and ensure patient privacy and confidentiality is maintained.
  • Consider separating personal and professional content online.
  • Recognize that actions online and content posted can negatively affect their reputations among patients and colleagues, and may even have consequences for their medical careers.
About a month ago, my home state Ohio State Medical Association released a "Social Media Toolkit" to assist physicians which goes a little bit deeper as far as practical steps and tips.

The importance of these two moves at a state and national level from organized medicine cannot be overstated. This is HUGE. Hopefully my professional organization, the American Academy of Family Physicians, will follow suit with some guidance for their physician members.

I have said all along that people like professional organizations will not be the ones to push physicians to social media use. It will ultimately be patients who drive physicians to social media. However, I agree with Doctor_V in saying that this major step by a physician organization will help solidify the importance of the use of social media.