News stories about 'legal highs' are an increasingly common sight in the UK, and more of these substances are coming into circulation all the time. Figures for 2013-2014 show that in England, 'legal highs' were the primary drug for only a small proportion of adults in contact with drug treatment...
How many doctors say, 'It's just a PD'? This often-used phrase may be heard before or following an assessment when someone presents with psychological distress. Acronyms throughout medicine are legendary, used by all practitioners at some point as shorthand in communication. Rarely would these terms flatter. Worse, they may reveal...
Beyond the models of disease and choice Kent Dunnington Intervarsity Press USA, 2011 £19.99 Pb 199pp, ISBN 978 1 84619 186 2 This book explores varying ideas people have about addiction, seeking to advance from the false dichotomy of viewing it as either a disease or a matter of choice,...
1. Why as doctors we should care about substance misuse It is common At medical school it perhaps seemed that esoteric syndromes were the key areas to study (linked to their significance in examinations). Substance misuse was barely mentioned yet in the working lives of many doctors across a wide range of...