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NIH, ‘Discovery’ Prove Perfect Combination
National Cable Channel Brings Kids’ Science Battle Here |
| By Carla Garnett |
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Dr. Milton English (r) of NHGRI discusses zebrafish with Discovery Challenge “disease detectives.” |
A small team garbed in protective gear huddled over several pages and screens of data in an NIH lab one late-October morning. The facts didn’t look good: A patient,
call him Joe, was showing symptoms of infection with a virus that had been top news for months. What exactly did he have and how widely had he spread it? The team had just 90 minutes to work: Identify the illness. Prevent a pandemic with limited
antiviral supply and no vaccine. Develop public health policy. Communicate with the media. No one seemed worried, though. On the contrary. Teammates looked eager, confident
and excited. A couple even…giggled.
Fortunately, the facts were pure fiction. Joe was made-up. The team, dubbed “disease
detectives,” was 5 middle-schoolers among 40 competing as finalists in this year’s Discovery Channel Young Scientist Challenge.
Little did they realize, though, their 3-day adventure in science here took months of detailed planning and signaled the start of what planners hope will be a beautiful new friendship between NIH and Discovery.
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To Improve Care, Talk About Mistakes
Medical Error Both Systemic and Individual, Says Weingart |
| By Belle Waring |
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In March 1984, Libby Zion, an 18-year-old with a history of depression, was admitted to New York Hospital. Eight hours later, she died.
Zion’s case resulted in a lawsuit in which a jury found that three medical residents had contributed
to her death. In a series of errors, the residents had ordered Demerol even though, prior to admission, Zion had taken Nardil, a powerful anti-depressant that cross-reacts with it. The jury also found that the first-year resident should have heeded a nurse’s call to the patient’s bedside and should have requested
back-up.
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