Medicine and Science from The BMJ

In today’s episode, new research, which has looked at the impact staff turnover is having on patient outcomes. Giuseppe Moscelli, associate professor at the University of Surrey joins Navjoyt Ladher to explain more.   Also, every year the BMJ has a Christmas appeal - and this year we have chosen the International Rescue Committee as our partner. To talk more about what they do, and to give us some insight into how geopolitics are affecting health we're joined David Milliband, president and chief executive officer of the International Rescue Committee, and former UK foreign secretary.   Reading list; Nurse and doctor turnover and patient outcomes in NHS acute trusts in England The BMJ Appeal 2024-25: David Miliband on hospital attacks, Trump, and the International Rescue Committee in a “flammable world”

This week we’re at the World Innovation Summit for Health, where we’re a media partner - the meeting is focussing on conflict, equity and resilience.  In that vein, we’re joined by Christos Christou, international president of Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) to talk about attacks on healthcare staff, and the difficulty and importance of maintaining neutrality in conflict zones. Ara Darzi, surgeon, executive chair of the conference, and author of the recent NHS review, joins us to talk about  antimicrobial resistance, and how diagnostics and a small funding commitment could head off the problem. And finally, we change our focus to the US, and hear about new research into adverse events during surgery with authors Antoine Duclos and David Bates from Harvard Medical School.   Reading list.   We need to do more to keep antibiotics working WISH report - Tackling Antimicrobial Resistance: How to Keep Antibiotics Working for the Next Century Safety of inpatient care in surgical settings: cohort study

In this episode, we speak to the doctor overseeing the WHO’s emergency response for the eastern mediterranean region - including Gaza, Lebanon, Sudan and Yemen. Richard Brennan joins us to talk about protecting health services, and workers, in the escalating armed conflicts that are affecting the region. Menaka Paranathala and Emma Rourke, from The BMJ, are on to talk about improving research into women’s health. A new UK project, MESSAGE, aims to give consideration to sex and gender in life science research. Palliative care is not just for end-of-life, and rethinking how it’s integrated into every speciality is the key to improving care for patients, argue Richard Harding, Anna Peeler, and Oladayo Afolabi from the Cicely Saunders Institute. Links WISH report - Protecting Health in Armed Conflict MESSAGE (Medical Science Sex and Gender Equity) project BMJ Opinion - Palliative care is an overlooked global health priority WISH report - Palliative Care

It’s an often cited statistic that if healthcare was a country, it would be the fifth largest carbon emitter. At The BMJ we want to change that, and move healthcare towards a more sustainable future.  In this week’s episode, we’ll hear about our annual climate edition from two of The BMJ’s editors, Sophie Cook and Juliet Dobson.  We’ll be diving into Cli-Fi and asking how climate fiction can galvanise our collective response to climate change. Our panel includes Howard Frumkin, professor emeritus at University of Washington. Lakshmi Krishnan, internist and Director of Medical Humanities at Georgetown university, and Sarah Grossman, journalist and author of Fire So Wild. And Finally, Tereza Kasaeva, director of the WHO’s Global Tuberculosis Programme, explains how migration and food insecurity, exacerbated by climate change, are affecting TB - and why, despite effective treatment, there are still over a million deaths from the disease annually.    Our panel's cli-fi book recommendations A Fire So Wild - Sarah Grossman The Last Man - Mary W. Shelly The Broken Earth  - NK Jemisin Oryx and Crake - Margaret Attwood The Ministry for the Future - Kim Stanley Robinson Olga Dies Dreaming - Xóchitl González Land of Milk and Honey - C Pam Zhang Day of the Triffids - John Wyndham   Links The BMJ’s annual climate issue Cli-Fi—helping us manage a crisis Writing towards a healthier future amid climate disaster WISH report - Tuberculosis   Lakshmi’s references Fundamental Role of Arts and Humanities in Medical Education  Capable of being in uncertainties’: applied medical humanities in undergraduate medical education The introduction of medical humanities in the undergraduate curriculum of Greek medical schools: challenge and necessity The medical humanities at United States medical schools