Pete's Bogus Journey
Pharma chameleon
One morning in September ’95, about a month into my first house job on the South Coast of England, I emerged from the ridiculously early ward round on the coronary care unit feeling a bit dazed and therefore headed off...
Pete’s day off
“You’re not dying. You just can’t think of anything good to do” The above is the explanation given by high school student Ferris to his friend Cameron, who is lying in bed feeling sorry for himself when he should be...
The happiness coefficient: Pete’s hidden curriculum Part 5
Jeremy: Come on, man, shake your booty! Tonight even Paxman’s out, hoovering up lines of crank off Krishnan Guru-Murthy. Tonight’s the big one.Mark: Jeremy, all rational people agree it’s a truth self-evident that it’s impossible to have a good time...
A Nightmare on Doctor Street: Two
Just when you thought it was safe to go back into the clinic room… The quote below comes from Rudy Baylor, a graduate fresh out of law school and recruited by a ruthless ambulance chaser in the legal drama movie,...
House of cards
When I was a junior doctor in the late 1990s writing my first scientific papers, once each article was finished, I had to fill out an application form, print out multiple copies and then walk to the post office at...
An Inconvenient Truth: Pete’s hidden curriculum Part 4
“What gets us into trouble is not what we don’t know. It’s what we know for sure that just ain’t so.” The above is a quote attributed to Mark Twain from the 2006 documentary, An Inconvenient Truth, which follows Al...
Game show freak
As a child of the 70s and 80s, there were limited television viewing opportunities. For the duration of the 70s there were only three channels, only moving to four with the launch of Channel 4 in 1982. Not only that,...
It’s Friday, I’m In Love: Pete’s Hidden Curriculum Part 3
“When you’re in love, it’s the most glorious two-and-a-half days of your life.” - Richard Lewis [1]. The good news is that we are over the hump now and past the most depressing day of the year, which is known...
The ghost of Christmas present
“Ah, youth is wasted on the wrong people.” Some will recognise this as one of the many brilliant quotes from what is considered to be the best Christmas movie ever – Frank Capra’s tear-jerker It’s a Wonderful Life (1946), although...
A Nightmare on Doctor Street
“Number one: you can never have sex. Big no no! Big no no! Sex equals death, okay?Number two: you can never drink or do drugs. The sin factor! It’s a sin. It’s an extension of number one.And number three: never,...
What’s Eating Gilbert Pete
“Please phone Mr C Lyon ASAP on 0131 334 9171” This was a message from my secretary waiting for me on my computer one morning shortly after I was appointed a consultant. The name did not ring any bells but...
Rainspotting. Choose your future. Choose Pete’s Hidden Curriculum Part 2.
See Pete's Hidden Curriculum Part 1 here Interviewer: “Mr Murphy, what attracts you to the leisure industry?”Spud: “In a word: pleasure. It’s like pleasure in other people’s leisure.”Interviewer: “Do you see yourself as having any weaknesses?”Spud: Shakes head, then: “Oh,...
