Failed publications: the medical model

Next time you see a newsletter or an annual report from a distinguished medical body, look for the anodyne bureaucratic phrases and the pseudoscientific gobbledygook, the pompous initial capitals, and the photo booth “repertory company” photographs. Then reflect that in all probability a lot of highly paid academics put in a lot of expensive hours making the publication that bad. Earlier this year I gave up that part of my business which produced newsletters for medical and academic organisations. While most of my clients were charming, stimulating, and able, they were working within a culture that encouraged a type of behaviour that has serious implications for the relation between medicine and the media. The story invariably goes something like this. …