A succinct primer on delivering more effective medical presentations

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There is a succinct 5-page article by Adin Nelson et al. in the Journal of Hospital Medicine for April 15, 2026 pages 946 to 950 (Volume 21, Number 8) titled Developing, designing, and delivering more effective research and didactic presentations: A primer and recommendations. Their advice applies to presentations in general, not just medical ones.

 

The article has sections titled:

 

Introduction

Learning Objectives

Explicit Organization

Slide Design

Accessibility

Public Speaking Skills

Next Steps

 

The second paragraph in their section on Learning Objectives begins by stating that:

 

“Objectives should be outcome‐focused and learner‐centered. Outcome‐focused means describing what will happen after and because of (not during) the presentation. Learner‐centered means describing what will happen to or for learners, rather than describing what the speaker will do.”

 

The third paragraph begins:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“Bloom's Taxonomy [Ref. 5] and the SMART framework are two useful tools that can help ensure objectives are learner‐centered, actionable, and achievable. Bloom's Taxonomy is a set of suggested keywords to use in learning objectives. The words are all action verbs (e.g., ‘list’, ‘plan’, or ‘contrast’), so using one of them ensures that the learning objective is outcome‐focused. Additionally, Bloom's Taxonomy divides the verbs into six categories, [as shown above] which are ranked in order of increasing cognitive challenge from Remembering (e.g., Recall, List, etc.) to Creating (e.g., Design, Construct, etc.). SMART is an acronym for five characteristics of effective learning objectives. They should be Specific (not overly‐broad or vague), Measurable (possible to objectively determine whether or not a learner meets them), Achievable (able to be accomplished by the targeted learners), Relevant (appropriate to the learners' needs), and Time‐bound (planned to be accomplished within a predetermined period, not open‐ended).”  

 

The second paragraph in their section on Slide Design states that:

 

“The Assertion‐Evidence framework is a more effective alternative to slide design. It consists of four core tenets: (1) Each slide should contain one key point, and multiple points should be divided across multiple slides. (2) Each slide's key point is expressed in a single declarative sentence - the assertion - in place of the slide title. (3) The remainder of the slide is devoted to visual evidence (ideally a picture or diagram) demonstrating or reinforcing the key point (see Figure 1). (4) Supporting details, background explanations, and additional context go in the oral presentation, not on the slide.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I blogged about it back on February 19, 2014 in a detailed post titled Assertion-Evidence PowerPoint slides are a visual alternative to bullet point lists. An example is shown above from a post on August 20, 2023 titled Reading a fracture surface like a road map – fractography in failure analysis.

 

Their final section on Next Steps says:

 

“Learning to be a more effective presenter can seem intimidating, but as with any new skill, practice makes progress. In this article, we explain core concepts and key first steps for planning goals and objectives, designing slides, and optimizing your public speaking for clear and effective presentations. If adopting all of these recommendations at once feels overwhelming, pick one - maybe using assertion sentences in place of slide titles - and incorporate that into your next presentation. Then solicit feedback and continue to iterate. Making one small change at a time, every hospitalist can improve their teaching skills and become a master educator.”

 

 

The toughest task I had to do as a medic in the Air Force Reserve was taking footprints of aircrew

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

At the July 8, 2026 Pioneer Toastmasters Club meeting in Boise I was the Table Topics Master. The meeting theme chosen by our Toastmaster Brian Reublineger was The Toughest Job You Will Ever Love [from the Peace Corps, where he once had been a volunteer]. So, I prepared and used the following job-related questions:

 

What was the toughest job or project that you ever had?

 

What is your current job? What do you love or hate about it?

 

What was the best (or worst) project you ever worked on?

 

What was the best (or worst) job that you ever had?

 

At your current job, what was the best (or worst) day you ever had?

 

At your first job, what was the best (or worst) day you ever had?

 

From 1972 to 1978 I served as a medic in the Air Force Reserve. The clinic I worked at once weekend a month did flight physicals. The toughest task I ever had to do was taking footprints of aircrew. A Student Report, 88-2610, from April 1988 by Gary M. Triplett at the Air Command and Staff College titled Use of a Computer-Assisted Identification System in the Identification of the Remains of Deceased USAF Personnel said:

 

“The DOD has recognized the applicability of fingerprints, footprints, and dental comparison for the scientific identification of deceased active duty personnel for some time. In 1959, the USAF began footprinting of all aircrew members. The footprints are to be used for remains identification to supplement the fingerprints obtained from all active duty members when they enter service.

 

The footprints of USAF personnel performing flight duty recorded as a permanent part of the member’s medical record on AF FM 137, Footprint Record, are reviewed for accuracy and currency during each flight physical.”

 

Both footprints were taken on a single record card using printers ink rolled onto a glass plate. But the Air Force manual describing footprinting was vague about how to get the inking right. Luckily I found out that the United States Secret Service had a publication, a 14-page Guide to Taking Palm Prints published in 1972, with the following succinct explanation:

 

“STEP 1: PREPARATION OF INKING PLATE

 

In order to obtain clear, legible palm-prints, fingerprint ink must be spread on the inking plate in a thin, uniform coat. This can best be accomplished by placing a daub or two of ink on the plate (Figure 2). The ink can be spread evenly over the entire plate by rolling the ink roller back and forth over the plate until the desired consistency is obtained. (Figures 3 and 4.) The proper thickness of the ink may be judged by placing a slip of white paper under the inked glass plate. If the ink is of the desired thickness, the outline of the paper will be barely visible.”

 

An image of soles came from Wikimedia Commons.

 

 

Bixonimania is a fake disease, but artificial intelligence told people it was real

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Wikipedia page says that:

 

“Bixonimania is a fake disease invented by researchers to examine artificial intelligence and its ability to utilize information in medical and healthcare applications. The disorder, with symptoms of sore eyes and darkening around them (‘periorbital hyperpigmentation’), is supposedly caused by blue light from screens.”   

 

One article about it by Chris Stokel-Walker at Nature on April 7, 2026 is titled Scientists invented a fake disease. AI told people it was real. A second article by Lucia Auerbach at Inc. on April 10, 2026 is titled Scientists Invented a Fake Disease Caused by Blue Light – Now It’s in Medical Papers. And it added:

 

“There were also dozens of easter eggs designed to clue readers in to the fact that the condition was made up. The lead researcher, Lazljiv Izgubljenovic, is a fake name and they work at a fake university, Asteria Horizon University, in a fake town, Nova City, California. One paper’s acknowledgements thanked ‘Professor Maria Bohm at The Starfleet Academy for her kindness and generosity in contributing with her knowledge and her lab onboard the USS Enterprise’. Both papers say they were funded by ‘the Professor Sideshow Bob Foundation for its work in advanced trickery. This work is a part of a larger funding initiative from the University of Fellowship of the Ring and the Galactic Triad.’ “

 

Sideshow Bob (also known as Dr. Robert Terwilliger) is a cartoon character - Bart Simpson’s nemesis in The Simpsons. A third article by Rebecca Watson at skepchick on April 15, 2026 is titled ChatBots are Diagnosing Diseases that Don’t Exist Based on Blog Posts.

 

The doctor cartoon was adapted from OpenClipArt.

 

 

Can crystals protect you from psychic attacks?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Probably not. There is a paranoid article by Deborah King at Psychology Today on February 9, 2011 titled Are You Under Psychic Attack? and subtitled Is someone out to get you?

 

Crystals are claimed to be useful against such attacks. A recent Coast to Coast AM radio show on April 14, 2026 discussed Operation Fishbowl/Crystals & Self-Defense in the second half:

“In the latter half, author Nicholas Pearson shared insights into the mystical and energetic properties of crystals, and how they can be used for protection and to counter negativity. He described crystals as ‘cells and substances with a regular composition and a periodic and symmetrical structure,’ emphasizing their inherent order and coherence. This structural perfection, he continued, allows crystals to influence human energy fields by bringing ‘clarity, structure, organization’ to otherwise irregular human psyches, which can lead to tangible effects on mood, perception, and overall well-being.

Highlighting the symbolic qualities of crystals, he noted their enduring nature as ‘ancient parts of Mother Earth’ that have been used for spiritual and ritual purposes across cultures for millennia. Crystals can shield individuals from ‘discordant, intrinsic, and outright malevolent’ energies, he said, and can act as a form of psychic self-defense to filter out these undesirable elements, whether worn as jewelry or carried with you. When asked about a single protective crystal, Pearson chose labradorite, describing it as a ‘broad spectrum protection tool’ that reflects away harmful energies while enhancing one’s natural radiance.

According to Pearson, psychic attacks occur due to three factors: openness of the recipient, a power imbalance, and a connection between attacker and target. ‘Crystals can eliminate any one, or hopefully all three of these causes,’ by reducing sensitivity, severing connections, or balancing energetic power, he suggested. Signs of psychic attack include persistent bad luck, insomnia, unexplained illnesses, and even physical marks. Pearson cautioned against jumping to conclusions without ruling out medical causes and recommended divination or consulting reputable practitioners for diagnosis. On interacting with crystals, he advised mastering selection, cleansing, and programming of stones to imbue them with purpose, after which their applications are ‘just about infinite,’ including manifesting abundance and supporting healing.”

And, of course, he has a 2025 book titled Crystals for Psychic Self-Defense: 145 gemstones for banishing, binding, and magickal protection. There is a preview at Google Books.  

 

There also is a 2018 book by Ethan Lazzerini titled Psychic Protection Crystals: The modern guide to psychic self defence with crystals for empaths and highly sensitive people. He also has an article on August 12, 2019 titled 7 Crystals for Protection from Psychic Attack.

 

I think crystals are questionable even for healing. On October 4, 2009 I blogged about Crystal therapy for stage fright. And on February 5, 2017 I posted on Can turquoise and other crystals heal fear of public speaking? Also, on October 2, 2019 I blogged that Crystal healing is still questionable.

 

RationalWiki has an article on Crystal Healing and another on Crystal woo which has a section on Protection crystals. Wikipedia has an article on Crystal healing that includes pointing out:

 

“In 1999, researchers French and Williams conducted a study to investigate the power of crystals compared with a placebo. Eighty volunteers were asked to meditate with either a quartz crystal or a placebo stone, which was indistinguishable from quartz. Many participants reported feeling typical ‘crystal effects’; however, this was irrespective of whether the crystals were real or a placebo.”

 

There is an article by Steven Novella at Science-Based Medicine on September 18, 2019 titled Crystal Healing. He says:

 

“Crystal healing has many of the hallmarks of alternative medicine pseudoscience, and is just another manifestation of many common themes. It is a form of energy medicine. Proponents claim that different types of crystals either contain, amplify, attract, or repel different kinds of energy. Like energy medicine in general, we are not talking about any kind of real energy that can be identified or measured by physicists. This energy is not predicted by the standard model of particle physics, and don’t expect the Large Hadron Collider to find any force carrying particles related to crystal energy. There is no Higgs Boson of energy medicine.

The ‘energy’ referred to in energy medicine is purely metaphorical and mythical. Proponents generally claim that it is ‘spiritual’ energy, which is just a way of saying that the energy has no physical properties that can be detected, and is therefore outside the realm of scientific discovery. But at the same time they claim that this mysterious ‘energy’ can affect living things, which is the inherent contradiction at the core of this belief.

Invoking undetectable ‘energy’, without defining it in any testable way, as an explanation is a common tactic of pseudoscience. Types of energy medicine include straight chiropractic, Reiki, acupuncture, therapeutic touch, healing touch, and is a good fallback position for any other treatment lacking a plausible mechanism.

How do you know which kind of crystal to use for which problem you are having? You can find many guides, which use the typical CAM standard – ‘It can be used’, ‘Is often used’, or ‘Is known to’. That’s it. There is no supportive framework in theory or in evidence. This is the equivalent of parents saying, ‘Because I said so.’ What this illustrates is the human tendency to develop explanatory systems and elaborate on them. We are good at finding patterns and inventive at making stuff up. The history of pseudomedicine is full of such systems, complex and detailed, but ultimately based on nothing. These systems then take on a life of their own, they become culture, and then authoritative knowledge – but again, it is ultimately vaporware.

Some of the claims are based on another common theme in some alternative systems – the superstition of sympathetic magic. This is the intuition that something will have effects suggested by what it looks like. So walnuts must be good for the brain because they kind of look like a brain. One tradition of homeopathy is entirely based on sympathetic magic. Many traditional remedies make this connection as well.

In crystal healing, rose quartz ‘is commonly used for attracting and keeping love, as well as protecting relationships’. Of course it is – it’s pink, so it must be infused with the energy of love. Whereas, ‘Obsidian crystal stone also protects you from shadow traits — addiction, fear, anxiety, and anger– by acting as a mirror to your inner self.’ It’s black, so it must have to do with negative energy. This is metaphor, not reality.” 

An image of healing crystals came from Wikimedia Commons.

 

 

Tips for tackling wordiness

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There is a brief article by Barbara Bashein on page 28 in the November 2019 Toastmaster magazine titled Shed the Dread of Business Writing. Her tips are to:

 

Eliminate wordiness. For example, change ‘at the present time’ to ‘currently’ or ‘now’.

 

Use clear and concise words. For example, change ‘utilize’ to ‘use.’

 

Use active rather than passive sentence structures. For example: ‘The team wrote the report,’ rather than ‘The report was written by the team.’

 

And there is a web page by Margaret Procter at University of Toronto: Writing Advice titled Wordiness: Danger Signals and Ways to React with tips about how to change:

 

Doubling of Words (choose one)

 

Intensifiers, Qualifiers (omit or give specific details)

 

Formulaic Phrases (use a one-word form or omit)

 

Catch-all Terms (can sometimes omit)

 

Padded Verbs (use a one-word form)

 

Unnecessary ‘to be’ and ‘being’ (omit)

 

Passive Verbs (change to active voice, if possible with a personal subject)

 

Overuse of Relative Structures (‘Who,’ ‘Which,’ ‘That’) (omit when possible)

 

And a four-page pdf article by Barb Every in Medical Writing magazine for March 2017, pages 17 to 20 (Volume 6, Number 1) is titled Writing economically in medicine and science: Tips for tackling wordiness. She says to avoid repetition, eliminate redundancy, and minimize purposeless words. Barb’s Table 1 on omitting redundant words is as follows:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The cartoon was modifed from this one at OpenClipArt.

 

 

Steeped in an excellent metaphor

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There is a very serious, 9-page pdf article by Pragnesh Parmar and Gunvanti Rathod at Academic Forensic Pathology on January 13, 2026 titled The Tea-Steeping Metaphor: Origin, Application, Advantages, Disadvantages, and Impact on Forensic Medicine Teaching. I found it by searching PubMed Central. The article describes how:

 

“The ‘tea-steeping metaphor’ originates from a universally familiar process—brewing tea—where the infusion of flavor, color, and aroma is directly influenced by the duration of steeping and the conditions in which it occurs. This analogy has been increasingly embraced in educational literature to illustrate the pedagogical necessity of allowing learners adequate time and appropriate contexts to achieve deep, meaningful learning. The metaphor emphasizes that just as tea leaves gradually infuse water to create a robust brew, learners too require sustained engagement within conducive environments to fully internalize, reflect upon, and apply new knowledge.”

 

Four paragraphs describe advantages, which are:

Encourages Deep Learning

Supports Patience and Persistence

Promotes Reflective Practice

High Adaptability Across Contexts

 

And another three paragraphs describe disadvantages, which are:

Time-Intensive Nature

Risk of Over-Saturation

Dependence on Optimal Learning Conditions

 

On April 19, 2022 I blogged about How to do a better job of researching medical and health articles. In that post I mentioned PubMed Central, which is a database with 11.6 million articles compiled by the U. S.  National Library of Medicine.

 

The image of a tea bag came from here at Wikimedia Commons.

 

 

Does the design of slides for medical lectures follow the Cognitive Theory of Multimedia Learning?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Of course not! There is a very recent and serious article by Rajin Le Blanc and Nicola Cooper at Clinical Teaching on December 10, 2025 which is titled Investigating Death by PowerPoint: Do Medical Lecturers Adhere to the Cognitive Theory of Multimedia Learning in Their Slide Design? They examined 52 lectures presented at the University of Nottingham. And they found that:

 

“Students were exposed to text‐heavy slides 84.4% of the time, an approach that CTML [Cognitive Theory of Multimedia Learning] shows impairs learning through violating the minimal text principle. In addition, the mean word count per slide was 38.2 – significantly more than the ‘few words’ suggested by the principle. Lecturers did however use images relatively frequently at 59.9% of the time.”

 

Counting its title, my slide example modified from Section 2.1 (and shown above) has 85 words, more than twice the 38.2 average.

 

There is another succinct four-page pdf article by Jacob B. Waxman and Sue J. Goldie from the Center for Health Decision Science at the Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health titled Cognitive Theory of Multimedia Learning. That theory is also described by Richard E. Mayer in the 2020 third edition of his book, Multimedia Learning.

 

Displaying risks from vaccines and other dangers

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There is an interesting article from Edzard Ernst on July 16, 2025 titled Yes, vaccination risks are real – but how do they compare with other dangers? In order to show the range from the tiny one in a hundred million for the MMR vaccine to one in 1,100 for drowning (and up to one) we need to use a chart with a logarithmic scale - as is shown above. I had discussed risk in a post on November 12, 2024 titled I am not going to throw out my black plastic spatulas.

 

Also, back on January 13, 2010 I had blogged about How thin is “extremely thin”? and used a table with a powers of ten for comparing thicknesses over a range in centimeters from one to one in ten to the minus eighth power.

 

Give people a picture to teach them about health

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There is a brief and useful article by Pernilla Garmy in the Journal of Research in Nursing on October 23, 2025 titled Reaching beyond words: supporting self-care through visual health education. She says that:

 

“From my own experience as a nurse and educator, I know that there is no single educational format that works for all patients. Some people benefit from verbal dialogue, others prefer detailed written materials. But for many, visual aids are a crucial complement. Pictures can clarify, engage and motivate – especially when literacy is limited or when energy and focus are low due to illness, stress, or comorbidities.

The fact that this resource is printed – not digital – also matters. A physical object can be held, browsed at one’s own pace, and brought along to consultations. It does not require a smartphone, internet access, or digital skills; which may be barriers for some groups. At the same time, digital tools may be more effective in other contexts. The point is: healthcare professionals need a flexible set of educational tools, adapted to the needs, abilities, and preferences of each individual.”

 My PowerPoint cartoon was assembled from those of a nurse and a pain scale at OpenClipArt.  

 

 

Seven tips on how to write a great speech

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There is an excellent short article by Kulamkan Kulasegaram, Douglas Buller, and Cynthis Whitehead in Perspectives on Medical Education on pages 270 to 272 of the July 13, 2017 issue titled Taking presentations seriously: Invoking narrative craft in academic talks. They give the following seven speechwriting tips:

 

1] The act of writing a presentation can yield a clear academic presentation and provide clarity on the topic of presentation.

 

2] Work backwards from key message or conclusion you want the audience to understand at the talk.

 

3] Plot the most efficient and engaging route to this conclusion when writing your presentation. Remove extraneous information that distracts from this conclusion; focus the presentation on the salient points that lead up to your conclusion.

 

4] Each element of the presentation must serve the dual purpose of conveying information and facilitating engagement with the presentation. The effectiveness of conveying information depends on the level of engagement or interaction with the audience.

 

5] Interaction with the audience in a talk means engaging their attention and memory on the concept(s) you wish to convey.

 

6] You can more effectively engage with the audience by designing your talk around instructional design and information processing principles that address the audience members’ capacities for attention and memory.

 

7] Creating presentations is an exercise in creating meaning out of slides, words, and concepts. Revisit your talk once you have completed it and evaluate whether the meaning you want to convey is delivered effectively through the elements of your presentation.

 

The image was adapted from this one at OpenClipArt.

 

 

Quit pissing around and fix your presentation slides

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

There is a brief but excellent article by Michael Leveridge at the Canadian Urologic Association Journal for April 2025 (Volume 19, Number 4, pages 78 and 79) titled This is a busy slide: Fix your presentations this year. He has the following advice:

 

Cognitive Load

 

“Your presentation imparts a ‘load’ on the audience member. All of the information piles into working memory for processing, and only if connections are made will schemata form and encode into long-term memory.

 

The intrinsic load is the complexity or difficulty of the material. It varies between recipients, as those already expert can process complex concepts more easily than novices. There’s not much you can do in the moment to change the complexity or the audience’s knowledge base, but you can think ahead about each.

 

The extrinsic load is everything about the speech and visuals that is not relevant to understanding the material. It is the mental effort required in deciphering redundant text, linking words and visuals, or parsing dense graphics: a marginally relevant image, the static of hearing words being read as you try to read them, irrelevant lines on that table, the back-and-forth to align the figure legend with the curves. These fall under the research-backed principles like coherence, redundancy, and spatial contiguity, and these names suggest the solutions (Ref. 2).

 

Cut the superfluous text and visuals, even if interesting. Signal to the relevant points on the tables and visuals. Bring like elements together on the slide to decrease the work of linking them. Graphic design principles – alignment, repetition and proximity – are the tools of facilitating understanding by removing clutter. Again, a sweep to declutter and intentionally arrange your slide deck is a quick and powerful thing.”

 

My cartoon was adapted from this one at Wikimedia Commons.

 

 

Speechwriting, storytelling, and 55-word stories

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Back on January 23, 2012 I blogged about 101-word stories and 50-second elevator speeches. Could we get even briefer and tell a story using just fifty-five words? We sure could! Back In fall 1987 Steve Moss created the Fifty-Five Fiction writing contest. In 1995 (and 1998) he had a book of them titled World’s Shortest Stories: Murder. Love. Horror. Suspense.

 

Three excellent articles discuss how 55-word stories have been used in medical education. One June 2010 article by Colleen T. Fogarty in Family Medicine is titled Fifty-five Word Stories: “Small Jewels” for Personal Reflection and Teaching. She has a table describing ten steps for writing a story. And Colleen says:

 

“Well-written 55-word stories include the key elements of narrative: (1) Setting, (2) Character(s), (3) Conflict (something has to happen!), and (4) Resolution (what’s the outcome of the story?) Writers of 55-word stories must remember that just because they are short doesn’t mean they are easy!”

 

A second article by Julie Fashner in the HCA Healthcare Journal of Medicine for April 2020 (Volume 1 Number 2) on pages 115 to 117 is titled Creative Writing in Residency Training. And a third 2024 article by Nancy E. Krusen in Translational Science in Occupation (Volume 1, Number 2) is titled 55-Word Stories: Insight into Healthcare.

 

You could tell one or more fifty-five-word stories within a five-to-seven-minute speech for a Toastmasters club meeting.

 

 

The Certainty Illusion: What you don’t know and why it matters

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There is an interesting 2025 book by Timothy Caulfield on separating nonsense from sense titled The Certainty Illusion: What you don’t know and why it matters. A preview is at Google Books. This book is divided in three parts:

Part I: The Science Illusion

Part II: The Goodness Illusion

Part III: The Opinion Illusion

 

In Part I, in a section on The Predator Problem on page 63 he discusses predatory journals:

 

“Predatory journals profit by charging researchers a fee to publish – which many legitimate publications also do (sometimes the fee is more than $10,000!), especially journals that are open access. But predatory journals have a lax peer-review process or almost none at all. They’ll publish just about anything. Their editorial boards – the entities meant to apply rigorous standards to decide what gets published – are often padded with questionable ‘experts.’ For example, Dr. Olivia Doll sat on the editorial board of seven academic journals. She is, or so it has been claimed, a celebrated authority in ‘avian propinquity to canines in metropolitan suburbs’ and ‘the benefits of abdominal massage for medium-sized canines.’ No surprise, as Dr. Olivia Doll is a Staffordshire terrier named Ollie. Chasing birds and belly rubs are central to her career agenda. Despite these passions, she has found time to review manuscripts for journals like Global Journal of Addiction & Rehabilitation Medicine and Psychiatry and Mental Disorders. She did that. Good doggie! And she has published a few articles herself, including co-authoring a piece with Alice Wuenderlandt from Lutenblag University in Molvania…

 

Ollie’s career as an editor was the brainchild of professor Mike Daube, a public health researcher at Curtin University in Australia. He wanted to demonstrate how these journals lacked credibility. Mission accomplished. The credentials of Dr. Olivia Doll, also known as Ollie the dog, were accepted by all these publications, despite the fact that, as Professor Daube has noted, ‘it would take a five-year-old one click to expose this. In fact, one journal told Ollie that they were ‘delighted to have such an eminent person as yourself.’ Woof.”

 

Dr. Doll is discussed by Ryan Cross in a Science article on May 24, 2017 titled Australian dog serves on the editorial boards of seven medical journals and another article by Kelsey Kennedy at Atlas Obscura on May 25, 2017 titled This Dog Sits on Seven Editorial Boards.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And in Part II: The Goodness Illusion, starting on page 101 he discusses The Devious Dozen buzzword terms, which are: Natural, Holistic, Healthy, Organic, Non-GMO, Gluten-Free, Chemical-Free, Toxin-Free, Locally Grown, The Colour Green, Immune-Boosting, and Personalized. Another three honorable mentions: are Low-Fat, Sugar-Free, and Protein.

 

The cartoon was adapted from this one at OpenClipArt.  

  

A sticky story on the glue you lick to seal envelopes

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There is an interesting article by Joe Schwarcz at the McGill Office for Science and Society on March 26, 2025 titled A Sticky Story. He states that:

 

“The adhesives that are used on envelopes and stamps have very stringent safety requirements. That shouldn’t be surprising. After all, some of the stuff may be swallowed, so it has to be regulated as a food. Gum arabic from the acacia tree, dextrin from corn starch and the water-soluble resin, polyvinyl alcohol are the adhesives most commonly used. There are also additives for flexibility and spreading quality which include glycerin, corn syrup, various glycols, urea, sodium silicate and emulsified waxes. Preservatives such as sodium benzoate, quaternary ammonium compounds and phenols are also included. These substances may not taste great, but they are not poisons.”

 

The final episode from the 1995 season of Seinfeld titled The Invitations is not realistic:

 

“Disregarding George's suggestion to use glue for the wedding invitations since the adhesive in the envelopes takes a lot of moisture to work, Susan keeps licking envelopes until she passes out. George returns to his apartment, finds that Susan has collapsed, and takes her to the hospital. After the examination, a doctor informs George that Susan is dead from licking the envelopes, since the adhesive is toxic.”

Nursing Story Slam: five-minute contest speeches from the University of Calgary

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There is an interesting article from the University of Calgary Faculty of Nursing titled Nursing Story Slam. They had contests with five-minute speeches in 2023 and 2024. The 2025 contest will be held on May 8, 2025. Videos from this contest will be of interest for Toastmasters who are in nursing or other areas of medicine.

 

There is a great YouTube video from a critical care flight nurse titled Logan Rutter BN’15 – 2024 Nursing Story Slam | UCalgary Nursing.

 

Another excellent video is titled Katherine Stelfox – 2024 Nursing Story Slam | UCalgary Nursing. This deals frankly with defecation, so it is not safe for work. It discusses a situation where a wheelchair patient needed to be lifted, but the two staff members and lift already were tied up taking care of another patient.

 

 The cartoon was adapted from one at OpenClipArt.

 

Natural always being better is a fallacy

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There is an article by Amanda Ruggeri at BBC on February 12, 2025 titled Natural doesn’t always mean better: How to spot if someone is trying to convince you with an ‘appeal to nature’. It also was discussed by Steven Novella at Science-Based Medicine on that day in another article titled BBC Takes On Appeal to Nature Fallacy. And there is a Wikipedia page on Appeal to nature.

 

Natural may be terrible. For example, poisonous arsenic can be in well water. There is a web page at the Minnesota Department of Health titled Private Well Protection Arsenic Study with the following information:

 

“Approximately 10 percent of new wells in Minnesota contain arsenic above the drinking water standard. Drinking water with low levels of arsenic over a long time increases the risk of diabetes and increased risk of cancers of the bladder, lungs, liver, and other organs. It can also contribute to cardiovascular and respiratory disease, reduced intelligence in children, and skin problems such as lesions, discolorations, and the development of corns. Health impacts of arsenic may not occur right away and can develop after many years, especially if you are in contact with arsenic at a low level over a long time.

 

Arsenic can be found in groundwater throughout Minnesota, but is more likely in some areas than others, due to the way glaciers moved across Minnesota. Because it has no taste and no odor, testing is the only way to know whether or not a well has arsenic in it. All new wells must be tested for arsenic before being placed in service.”

   

Arsenic can also show up in foods grown in water like rice. In November 2014 there was a Consumer Reports article titled How much arsenic is in your rice? and a long report titled Analysis of Arsenic in Rice and Other Grains. In July 2023 there is an article by Lihchyun Joseph Su, Tung-Chin Chiang, and Sarah N O’Connor at Frontiers in Nutrition titled Arsenic in brown rice: do the benefits outweigh the risks?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

How about poisonous plants, for which Wikipedia has a web page. And the Wikipedia page about Cassava discusses how there is cyanide in bitter cassava (manihot esculenta).

 

What about fish? There is a Wikipedia page about poisonous fish. The Wikipedia page on the Fugu (pufferfish) says it can be deadly if not properly prepared, as shown in a YouTube video from The Simpsons.

 

The adapted water warning sign and Poison Garden gates are from Wikimedia Commons.