Search

Introduction: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection and subsequent lockdown restrictions brought drastic changes in the lives of the people. Doctors' community led the fight against COVID-19 as frontline warriors leaving their families at home for prolonged periods. The psychological issues among the family members, particularly spouses of doctors, are significantly high and need special attention. Aims: We aimed to assess the level of psychological distress among doctors' spouses and the possible relationship between different variables and the level of the distress. Materials and Methods: The study was conducted in online mode using chain-referral sampling method. Sample size was 120 and comprises doctors' spouses who were not related to medical field. Those who were working in medical field or having any past psychological illness were excluded from the study. A semi-structured pro forma was used to collect the basic demographic details, and Kessler's Psychological Distress Scale (K10) was used to rate psychological distress. Results: 72.5% of the study population had reported psychological distress, and half of these participants reported severe psychological distress. Age was the single variable that had significance (P < 0.1), whereas other variables did not show statistically significant values. Conclusion: Psychological distress is much higher compared to the general population in the spouses of the doctors. In long run, this may result in psychological illnesses such as depression and anxiety disorders. As a special group, these require targeted interventions and care for the prevention of severe mental health problems.

Hippocrates oath has been considered the gold standard of ethics in medicine since long. But, the oath was formulated long before the advancements in bioethics. In this article, we try to analyse the important aspects of the oath and examine whether it holds up in the current era of medical malpractice and consumer laws or has lost its relevance.

Violence against doctors at their workplace is not a new phenomenon. However, in recent times, reports of doctors getting thrashed by patients and their relatives are making headlines around the world and are shared extensively on social media. Almost every doctor is worried about violence at his/her workplace, and very few doctors are trained to avoid or deal with such situations. This article aims to discuss the risk factors associated with violence against doctors and the possible steps at a personal, institutional, or policy level that are needed to mitigate such incidents.

The Mad Genius is a recurring stereotype of contemporary cultural expression, and many famous personalities and creators have suffered from psychopathology. Creativity and genius may be a sought-after trait; however, it is also commonly believed to be associated with psychopathology. This has been examined, starting with Lombroso's investigation of genius and madness in 1800s followed by a dearth of literature debating the association between the two. This evidence for this polarizing issue ranges from psychometric to neuroscientific disciplines and creates ambiguity neither refuting nor accepting this association completely. Through this article, we briefly review the literature on this subject and try to decipher what is written in between the lines, how creativity and psychopathology may fuel each other, and what may be its clinical implications.

Byline: T. Sathyanarayana Rao, Vishal. Indla, Indla. Reddy There was a time when we started and ended our day by looking at somebody we love. In today's digital world, for most of us, our day starts and ends with a gadget. Our brains are under the influence of an ever-expanding world of gadgetry: Hi-definition multichannel television, video games, internet, wireless networks, i-pads, Bluetooth links - the list is never ending. The current explosion of digital technology is not only changing the way we live and communicate but is rapidly and immensely altering our brain. Daily exposure to high technology and search engines like Google and Yahoo stimulates alteration of the neurons, gradually strengthening new neural circuits in our brain while weakening old ones. As we rely on the Internet and other forms of technology for almost everything from entertainment to political discussion to even social reform as well as communication with friends and co-workers, our brain are evolving at a speed like never before. Economic experts, though point to technology's positive impact on productivity and standard of living. The efficiency of the Web reduces the cost of transactions needed for producing and distributing many products and services. It's easier for consumers to shop for an item among many vendors, which allows for greater savings, choice, and shopping convenience. Routine transactions, such as making a mortgage payment or transmitting financial information, require less time and expense using Web- based technology. [sup][1] As the brain shifts its focus toward new technological skills, it drifts away from fundamental social skills, such as reading facial expressions during conversation or grasping the emotional context of a subtle gesture. A Stanford University study found that for every hour we spend on our computers, traditional face-to-face interaction time with other people drops by nearly thirty minutes. [sup][2] With the weakening of the brain's neural circuitry controlling human contact, our social interactions may become awkward, and we tend to misinterpret, and even miss subtle, non-verbal messages. In short, the modern digital world could well be altering our human identity. It is also interesting to note that just as evolution has programmed men and women to behave differently, there are differences even in the way they use and respond to technology, and a recent survey from the Pew Internet and American Life Project shows that women are more likely to email friends and family to share concerns, forward jokes, or plan events. They value the way the Internet enriches their relationships. Women tend to seek diet and health information on the Web and to worry more about criminal Internet threats. They are also more likely to download online map directions than are men. By contrast, men frequently log on to the Web for news and financial updates, sports scores, and video games. The study also showed that men tend to be more tech-savvy, more confident in using search engines, and more likely to try new gadgets and software. [sup][3] Today's young people in their teens and twenties, who have been dubbed Digital Natives (a term coined by the US writer Marc Prensky), have never known a world without computers, twenty-four-hour TV news, Internet, and cell phones. Many of these natives rarely enter a library, let alone look something up in a traditional encyclopedia; they use Google, Yahoo, and other online search engines. [sup][4] It's almost as if something hasn't really happened until it's been posted on Facebook or YouTube. The neural networks in these brains differ dramatically from those of digital immigrants: people who came to the computer age as adults but whose basic brain wiring was laid down during a time when direct social interaction was the norm. Digital natives tend to have shorter attention spans, and this young high-tech generation often finds television too boring when simply watched on its own. …

Byline: T. Sathyanarayana Rao, Vishal. Indla Work is taking over the lives of many of us in today's fast-paced, global environment, and if we do not guard ourselves against work-life imbalance, there could be increasing work-family conflicts and stress resulting from long hours and workload escalation. Vacations are getting shorter and are often clubbed with work, or even worse, many do not have the time for a vacation. Quality family time is getting invaded by the omnipresence of media and the internet. It has been well established that most adults suffer adverse health effects from stress, and 75-90% of all physician office visits are for stress-related ailments and complaints. Stress is linked to the six leading causes of death: heart disease, cancer, lung ailments, accidents, cirrhosis of the liver and suicide. [sup][1] People who experience stress typically go through different stages and degrees of suffering and along the way they pass on their stress to their direct environment, their families, co-workers and friends. Research in the field of work and family has well established the spillover and crossover effects of stress affecting co-workers, spouses, children, and the community at large. [sup][2] Decrease in work-life balance has been linked to higher unwanted turnover, lower physical and psychological well-being, lower productivity, greater stress-related ailments, and the like. The Waste is immeasurable. Myth of the Ideal Employee Myth of an ideal employee perpetuated by the society creates intense time pressure, or what some refer to as a time famine, [sup][3],[4] which can lead to stress and job dissatisfaction, possibly creating work-family conflict. The male model of work prescribes an ideal employee who is male, full-time, and continuously at work from the end of the education, fully committed to the organization, and without any responsibilities outside of work. [sup][5] This model is no longer valid and has become outdated. [sup][6] In addition, we can also observe a change in attitudes toward what constitutes a successful career, especially among the newer generations. The current generation started to question old assumptions about how work is done, how to show commitment, where and when to work, and how to advance in the company. Along with having a highly paid job, they strive for a more "complete" life that includes both a successful professional and a personal life. Organizations that monopolize the time of employees challenge the ability of employees to perform well in other important roles within the family and the community. The cover of Fortune's November 2005 issue was dedicated to the stress and burnout of the most elite group of employees within organizations today - the senior executive level. In this issue, senior executives were surveyed about their issues of work-life balance. While 49% of respondents were self-confessed workaholics, 64% of respondents stated that at this stage of life, they would choose more time over money. The most profound result was that 87%of the respondents agreed that the companies that restructure senior management jobs in ways that would both increase productivity and make more time for a life outside the office would have a competitive advantage in attracting talent. Changing Demographics and the Impact on Work-Life Balance The percentage of women in the active work population has increased rapidly in many countries around the world, including ours. As a consequence, we have seen the proliferation of dual-income families where role expectations toward men and women, both in their work activities and their domestic responsibilities, have radically changed. [sup][7] Apart from the many positive effects of women's integration into the work force, like the increase in nations' productivity, the wealth and consumption power of families, the financial independence of women, and an improvement of gender equity, there are some negatives in the form of pressure on family time. …

Hematohidrosis is a very rare condition of sweating blood. A child's case who presented to us with hematohidrosis is reported. There are only few reports in the literature. A 10-year-old boy presented to our hospital with a history of repeated episodes of oozing of blood from navel, eyes, ear lobules, and nose. During the examination, it disappeared as soon as it was mopped leaving behind no sign of trauma only to reappear within a few seconds. Bleeding time, clotting time, and prothrombin time were normal. Patient was diagnosed with hematohidrosis and oppositional defiant disorder clinically. Management of this condition at our center is discussed below.