Every year on the weekend after after Thanksgiving, much to the disappointment of my family, I fly to Chicago to attend one of the largest medical conferences in the world: the RSNA (Radiological Society of North America) annual meeting. The conference is huge, with tens of thousands of attendees, hundreds of educational talks and posters, … Continue reading RSNA 2020: Attending a virtual medical conference
Author: Jonathan Mates
Impact vs intent
He was hurt by someone, and he's mad about it. How could this have happened? They must have done it on purpose, they deserve to be punished. She was just trying to be funny. Yes, someone's feelings got hurt, and she's sorry about that. But why can't they just accept her apology? It was a … Continue reading Impact vs intent
Start designing telehealth now
One lesson from COVID has been that some things we thought were impossible are not only possible, but also necessary. Working from home is one of those and another is telehealth. Why have we been making patients come in to see us when many of them would rather stay home because of comfort, transportation issues, … Continue reading Start designing telehealth now
Getting into a good college is nothing to be proud of
As school is starting, incoming high school seniors (my son among them) are ramping up their college application process. The parental hope is that our kids will make it into their desired school. If only they can do that, all will be right with the world! We will have achieved the ultimate in parenting, and … Continue reading Getting into a good college is nothing to be proud of
The default
Companies know that there is power in default choices. When you sign up, they default your choice to agree to receive advertising emails from them. They also default to the option that your contract will renew at the end of your subscription period. Whenever possible, they make the choices for you (repeat last order? same … Continue reading The default
Watching with the sound off
My family is the main priority in my life and I always thought that my behavior reflected that truth. And then, several years ago, I was presented with a question: "What have you done today to show the people in your life that you love them?" In examining myself from the perspective of a third … Continue reading Watching with the sound off
The importance of a hill of beans
I brought out a DVD of Casablanca (purchased in 1995) and watched it with my kids. Surprisingly they enjoyed a movie made nearly 80 years ago. If I had watched an 80-year-old movie when I was in high school, it would have been silent. Probably not as enjoyable. What is Casablanca about? Very few people … Continue reading The importance of a hill of beans