Blogs@BJUI

“Now you know. And knowing is half the battle.” As a child growing up in the 80’s, I heard this line at the end of every G.I. Joe cartoon show. But what if knowing doesn’t really help? As a urologic oncologist, I (try) to know as much as possible about urology and urologic cancers. I counsel patients about their diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis. I give them facts and statistics, quote predictive nomograms, describe operations, draw pictures, and give them my expert opinion. I would…

Christina Sakellariou (BJUI Lindau Scholar), 64th Lindau Nobel Laureates Meeting, 2014. Every year, Lindau, a south-eastern town and island of Germany, concentrates the greatest minds of science, representing the past, the present and the future. Nobel Laureates and young scientists from different disciplines, countries and backgrounds meet to ‘Educate, Inspire and Connect’ during talks and discussions given by the Laureates, social gatherings and an unforgettable boat trip to the…

A head-shaking story of operating room unprofessionalism has been making the rounds on news services and social media, as an unsuspecting patient inadvertently recorded audio during his colonoscopy, only to hear his person and personality belittled by the operating room staff while he was anaesthetized. The heat has fallen mostly on one anesthesiologist, but none has escaped rightful scrutiny. The anesthesiologist of the day quipped to the newly asleep patient “after five minutes of talking…

#BAUS15 started to gain momentum from as early as the 26th June 2014 and by the time we entered the Manchester Central Convention Complex well over 100 tweets had been made. Of course it wasn’t just Twitter that started early with a group of keen urologists cycling 210 miles to conference in order to raise money for The Urology Foundation. Monday 15th June 2015 By the time the cyclists arrived conference was well under way with the andrology, FNUU and academic section meetings taking…

It is well known that Twitter, Facebook and YouTube, the most popular social media platforms available in the West, are not easily accessible in China. It is also clear that urologists in the West have embraced these social media platforms (Twitter in particular), not just for personal interaction, but also for professional engagement, and journals such as BJUI have enthusiastically encouraged the use of social media for urologists through their use of Twitter, blogging, YouTube etc. So what then…

June 2015 #UROJC Summary News of a landmark paper on medical expulsive therapy (MET) for ureteric colic swirled through the convention halls on the last day of the American Urological Association’s Annual Meeting in New Orleans, Louisiana. I watched the Twitter feeds evolve from my desk at home: the first tweets just mentioned the title, then the conclusion, followed by snippets about the abstract. As time passed and people had time to read the manuscript, discussion escalated. Without data to…

“As we all know, prostate/kidney/bladder cancer is a common disease…” aaargh!!! Of course it is, that’s why you are writing about it and trying to get this piece of work into this journal and why everyone who reads it might be interested; because it is so important and common! If we all know it anyway why are you bothering to tell us this whilst wasting time and your word count and not getting on with presenting the actual research? Anyone who doesn’t know that prostate cancer is pretty…

The Lancet, established in 1823, is one of the most respected medical journals in the world. It has an impact factor of 39, and therefore attracts and publishes only the very best papers. Like most journals that have evolved with modern times, it has an active web and social media presence, particularly based around Twitter. On a Monday morning, last autumn, the Editor of the BJUI had a meeting with the Web Editor of The Lancet at Guy's Hospital. There was a mutual interest in surgical…

  Gentlemen, Start Your Engines Over the past couple of years, we have seen a growing number of fun and exciting ways to help raise awareness for prostate cancer and men’s health. Movember, for example, has become increasingly popular across the globe. This summer, a couple of high-octane, awareness and fund-raising events are taking place on both sides of the Atlantic. I encourage you to check out both of these events and consider participating – jump in and fasten your seat belts, we’re…