Tuesday, December 19, 2006

Requiem For A Medblog



Another medical blogger has fallen.

I hoped that it was a technical problem, but HospitalPhoenix has been pronounced dead by no less than Dr Crippen.

He was my friend. His blog was only just taking off. In Dr Crippen's words,
An articulate, witty experienced middle-grade hospital doctor. An articulate, witty experienced middle-grade hospital doctor who was abruptly sacked a couple of weeks age. An articulate, witty experienced middle-grade hospital doctor who wrote about his experiences.
This has happened before. We have seen it with Angry NHS Doctor. With Nurse Ratchet.

I have recently given up my anonymity. I like to believe that Cambridge University is a protectorate for free speech, and that I will not have to worry about University officials banging down my door with a request to "cease online activities that may endanger the issuing of your degree". I like to believe that with our student-run newspapers, our college newsletters, and our student politics, free speech is safe in Cambridge.

But what do I know. I am only a medical student. Dr Crippen seems to be far less optimistic.

R.I.P. HospitalPhoenix.

12 comments:

Dr. A said...

Bummer. Enjoyed the whole quacktitioner thing. RIP.

DundeeMedStudent said...

RIP HospitalPhoenix. He was great.

I wonder what's happened to nurse quack...

Nathan said...

Yeah, I've often wondered about that. My annonymity is almost complete, since I state at the top of my blog that all the names have been changed, but I know that for any of us, that annonymous nature is only preserved by the fact that others don't care enough about our identities to find out. And in America anyway, we've got some pretty strict laws about revealing patient information in a way that allows the patient to be identified. That's why it's not even possible for me to say where I am.

I can't say I disagree with the concept though, because patient information should be private, no matter how funny the story.

The Screamer said...

I choose to believe that dear HP is out there........ reading his obituaries and wondering when he'd died? ;)
I hope he's out there trying to get his life in order and making the decisions that he'll obviously need to make right now. Let's face it..... the HosptialPhoenix that was is no more..... and whether this is a conspiracy to silence him or not, i have a feeling that he'll return under a different guise....... His work with Royal Colleges and research will no doubt bring about new tales and gripes.......
But then again.......maybe it's just the tramadol and diazepam that i'm on right now that's giving me a positively rosey spin on things.......

Either way..... i've said this before..... but i miss HP..... and the adorable Nurse Quack, even if i did ruin her reputation in my remixes......

Funnily enough........ i have my own Nurse Quacktitioner...... but it's not the same......

Perhaps it's time to get one of those petition Tony Bliar things going advertised elsewhere to get HospitalPhoenix back!

Mmmmmmmmmmm......... will see ;)

The Little Medic said...

How sad that I'd just discovered HospitalPhoenix for him to just vanish.

I do wonder about the whole blogging culture and freedom of speech malarky. I hope to remain as anonymous as I can for as long as I can but I don't intend to ever find myself in a sticky [blogging] situation... Only time will tell.

Anonymous said...

Perhaps Hospital Phoenix WILL arise, newly minted, from the flames of his old blog, and under a different name.
I sincerely hope so. Too good and honest a blogger to lose! Bless him, whatever he's doing.

howling said...

I also feel really sad that one of the most opinionated and also funniest medical blogger died. I consider him one of my dearest blog friends just like you angry... I hope we will stay long. I don't care about anonymity anymore... Free speech should be truly free. Rage, rage against the dying of the light!

Maybe a post-mortem exam is needed to find out the real cause of his passing.

Just a thought.

The Angry Medic said...

Nathan: Agreed. I think laws everywhere are basically the same; I know laws in the UK prevent patient identification too. All of my patient stories are confounded and many are embellished. Disclaimers are wonderful things sometimes (as any spyware company will tell you).

The Screamer: Yep, I know how you liked NurseQuack, and all the things you made her do through the wonders of technology (and YouTube). We'll all miss her, I think. What say you make a sort of tribute by continuing her adventures on your blog, since you've got one too?

And yes, I do hope HP is reading everything we're saying. And that he'll come back someday. Phoenixes often do, I'm told. Besides, it's not the first time he's been through crap.

Cath: I hope so too. Thanks for your kind comments as usual. I'm sure he's out there somewhere, he seemed far too wily a doctor to have let them gag him for good. It feels like a long wait, though. Yep, bless him, wherever he is.

Howling: Yes, free speech is one of our rights most worth fighting for. Especially here in Britain, whose ideals stand for so many noble things, free speech included. I hope we'll remain friends for long too. At least, if I disappear suddenly, you'll know which university's proctor to go after :)

And a post-mortem? How exactly? HP's not even answering his email anymore.

Anonymous said...

I'm sorry about your friend Angry Medic. Maybe he'll contact you.

The Screamer said...

"What say you make a sort of tribute by continuing her [Nurse Quack] adventures on your blog, since you've got one too?"......

Oh i couldn't do that...... as it was, i used to let HP know i was doing an edit and gave him veto over its existence..... wouldn't seem right without him. The advertures are 'his' and will remain that way, out of respect if nothing else.......however..... i DO have a "Koalagist" with it's own steth...... for some reason Mattel got rid of the doctor doll as well as the nurse one...... just in case the AMA got their knickers in a twist too i suppose.

Perhaps it's time for a doctor's tale...... He'll need a name though....... Mmmmmmmmmm

Anonymous said...

Boy, if I had you as one of my students, I would hang you by your door knobs and spank you with a trout. Students these days, not like they used to be.

Yours angrily,
Prof Scrub

http://www.scrubbingup.com/blogs/profscrub/blog.asp

Gregory House, PA-C said...

When I was just in London I had this strange feeling like a was being watched all time... I guess it wasn't just me being a paranoid foreigner!

I don't even know how seriously I should take what you and Dr. Crippen say. I can't really imagine being told that my degree would be in danger because of a blog. Maybe some social wrist slapping, but nothing to devastating.