medicine
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Skepticism
“Where Will You Spend Eternity?”: My Experience with Religion at the Doctor’s Office
Evangelical Christians have a phenomenon known as the Conversion Story, and these stories are used to illustrate how one used to live an empty life of sin before they prayed a bunch and “found” Jesus. The more gruesome the story, the better the conversion. Similarly, I have a Skeptic Conversion Story about my experiences with religion and how I managed…
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Science
Ask Surly Amy: HPV Vaccine For Adults
Dear Surly Amy, I’m (very nearly) a 30 year old woman who has only had a handful of sexual partners in my life; only one of them entailing vaginal penetration. The HPV vaccine came out in my early 20s and when my doctor found out I was already sexually active he shrugged off the idea of even giving it to…
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Activism
Ask Surly Amy and Dr. Gorski: In the Workplace Skeptical Activism
Greetings Amy! I am an underling at a large, academic hospital, in an oncology unit. Recently, our hospital added a department of “Integrative Medicine.” Space, already at a premium, is being taken up in our department by a pair of acupuncturists. I have been forced to help handle their patients, including asking them for payment for services rendered. I know…
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Science
Ask Surly Amy: Human Papillomavirus (HPV) Vaccine
Dear Surly Amy, My sister wonders if she should get her daughters the Gardasil vaccine. My instinct is that she should, though I am also hesitant to recommend or take drugs that have not been around for very long. Would you know of any reputable sources that would allow my sister to make an informed choice about risk of new…
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Skepticism
Talk About Gluten
There has been a lot of media hype recently surrounding gluten. Practically every packaged food product that can list “gluten free” now does. What we need is a medical doctor who specializes in weight loss and nutrition to help us understand what is really going on. So I hopped in the Skepchick-super-jet to find the perfect person to answer some…
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OMG WTF
I just went to my doctor that I have been seeing at the medical clinic down the road. I went because I thought I might need antibiotics because I’m sick. We started talking about skepticism and long story short, he is a trained chiropractor, goes to a chiropractor, believes acupuncture works and cited a study saying prayer helps patients get…
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