The year 2012 is coming to a conclusion today. I am sure that we all faced plenty of challenges, but I am also convinced that there were plenty of successes along the way. Thus is the ebb and flow of life.
As we count down the minutes to 2013, there is no better way to put the year in perspective than to compile a Top 20 list. One of my primary goals this year was to write more consistently. Mission accomplished – with 172 posts over 365 days. They have generated many thought-provoking comments. Thank you to everyone that has contributed to the discussions.
Pulling together a “Best of 2012” list isn’t easy. I don’t necessarily believe that the posts with the most traffic are my best posts, but it provides a good starting point. So without further ado, here are my Top 20 posts of 2012. Count them down, and enjoy!
Health care reform appears to be stumbling and bumbling its way along these days. Many of the solutions proposed are much like putting a band-aid on a gaping flesh wound. It might provide a short term fix, but the long-term solution is lacking.
We have a lot of smart people in this country who could provide us with many solutions for health care reform. What is perhaps more important is that most of them are not directly a part of the monolithic medical machine and all of its raging tentacles. There are a lot of great ideas out there that could serve as the foundation for truly epic and effective health care reform.
Here are five books for those who are looking for solutions to the health care dilemma.
It was with great excitement that I watched the clock strike midnight last Saturday. December 22. Whew. Apparently, we had survived the end of the world successfully. And I felt fine (with all due respect to R.E.M. of course). Time just kept on moving along – or as the Rolling Stones once noted, “time waits for no one, and it won’t wait for me”.
But that left us with Christmas just a scant 4 days later. Would we be able to get our last-minute shopping done?
They tell me that it was all just the beginning of the age of Aquarius. Little did I know. One thing that an impending and successfully averted apocalypse will do – it will cause you to reflect on life as you know it. And if the aforementioned apocalypse doesn’t put you in a reflective frame of mind, maybe Christmas and the holiday season will.
Happy Holidays! It is that special time of year again, a time that we run around frantically from store to store, curse the traffic, and agonize over getting just the right gift for Uncle Fred. Ah the special enjoyment that the holidays bring us [insert sarcasm here].
Oh, wait, there’s more, or maybe not. With this year’s holiday season comes something a little different, courtesy of the Mayan calendar. The world might just end on December 21. That sure would take the edge off of last-minute Christmas shopping. I am sure that our friends in New Zealand can give us some lead time to let us know if December 22 makes an appearance. It will still be 5:00 am here in Austin, so 19 hours of lead time might be a good thing.
Meanwhile, plans move forward for the holiday season. So sit back, grab a glass of egg nog, and enjoy the latest episode of the Rhubarb Report.
Humans have always found ways to communicate. It may have started with etched drawings on the wall of a cave, but it has evolved into language, penmanship, and now, the digital world we live in. All forms of expression, be they images, music, and both the spoken and written word, can all be represented digitally now.
The ability to communicate effectively has a direct effect on our capacity to solve problems. That could be at the clinical level – or the personal level. The digital era presents us with countless ways to connect and communicate. But there are times when I think that it has done us more harm than good.
Has the digital era made us more effective in communication? Or did Led Zeppelin have it right when Robert Plant sang the immortal words to “Communication Breakdown”?
I think it is fair to say that in just about every trade or profession, there is a desire to be reasonably reimbursed for one’s level of expertise and the ability to provide a good product to the consumer. It’s not any different if you are a mechanic, a plumber, a physician, or a physical therapist. I think that most consumers want to be able to pay someone appropriately for the work they’ve done – at least in principle.
One of the differences is the presence or absence of a third party payer.
It can become highly frustrating and economically challenging as a clinician to receive dwindling reimbursement from third party payers. So many clinicians will opt for a cash-based approach where they feel there is a direct relationship between the customer and the service provided.
Sounds good, right? Not exactly. The incentives are still not conducive to systemic success. The solution lies in the paradigm used, not how the reimbursement occurs.
Some people will find that when the cold, blustery weather hits, triathlon training may be the last thing on their minds. For others, it will be just the ticket to get them through another long winter.
The holiday season is upon us, religious beliefs notwithstanding. So to all those triathletes out there, I ask you: what gifts would your coach have for you this holiday season? But first, if you don’t have a coach, check your Christmas stocking – he/she might be in there!
On a day like 12-12-12, it seems only fitting to use the Twelve Days of Christmas as a starting point. So with a little fanfare, here is my rendition of a Christmas favorite – The Twelve Days Of A Triathlon Christmas – with coach’s comments included.
Up to 60% of runners will sustain an injury within any given year. Poor running mechanics, in conjunction with poor, ineffective and outdated training methods, can pose a significant injury risk. "RunSmart" was written to address these issues in the running community.
"Running Injuries: Etiology And Recovery- Based Treatment" (co-author Bridget Clark, PT) appears in the third edition and fourth editions of "Clinical Orthopaedic Rehabilitation: A Team Approach" by Charles Giangarra, MD and Robert C. Manske, PT.
Allan Besselink, PT, DPT, Ph.D., Dip.MDT has a unique voice in the world of sports, education, and health care. Read more about Allan here.
Top 5 finalist in three categories: "Best Overall Blog", "Best PT Blog" and "Best Advocacy Blog".
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