Sweating is a good way to begin 2012. Exercise, like dark chocolate and office meetings that suddenly get canceled, is a proven pathway to nirvana. But if you’re going to join a gym—or returning to the gym after a long hibernation—consider the following:

1. A gym is not designed to make you feel instantly better about yourself. If a gym wanted to make you feel instantly better about yourself, it would be a bar.

2. Give yourself a goal. Maybe you want to lose 10 pounds. Maybe you want to quarterback the New York Jets into the playoffs. But be warned: Losing 10 pounds is hard.

3. Develop a gym routine. Try to go at least three times a week. Do a mix of strength training and cardiovascular conditioning. After the third week, stop carrying around that satchel of fresh-baked chocolate chip cookies.

4. No one in the history of gyms has ever lost a pound while reading “The New Yorker” and slowly pedaling a recumbent bicycle. No one.

5. Bring your iPod. Don’t borrow the disgusting gym headphones, or use the sad plastic radio attachment on the treadmill, which always sounds like it’s playing Kenny Loggins from a sewer.

6. Don’t fall for gimmicks. The only tried-and-true method to lose 10 pounds in 48 hours is food poisoning.

7. Yes, every gym has an overenthusiastic spinning instructor who hasn’t bought a record since “Walking on Sunshine.”

8. There’s also the Strange Guy Who is Always at the Gym. Just when you think he isn’t here today…there he is, lurking by the barbells.

9. “Great job!” is trainer-speak for “It’s not polite for me to laugh at you.”

10. Beware a hip gym with a Wilco step class.

11. Gyms have two types of members: Members who wipe down the machines after using them, and the worst people in the universe.

12. Nope, that’s not a “recovery energy bar with antioxidant dark chocolate.” That’s a chocolate bar.

13. Avoid Unsolicited Advice Guy, who, for the small fee of boring you to death, will explain the proper method for any exercise in 45 minutes or longer.

14. You can take 10 Minute Abs, 20 Minute Abs, and 30 Minute Abs. There is also Stop Eating Pizza and Eating Sheet Cake Abs—but that’s super tough!

15. If you’re motivated to buy an expensive home exercise machine, consider a “wooden coat rack.” It costs $40, uses no electricity and does the exact same thing.

16. There’s the yoga instructor everyone loves, and the yoga instructor everyone hates. Memorize who they are.

17. If you see an indoor rock climbing wall, you’re either in a really cool gym or a romantic comedy starring Kate Hudson.

18. Be cautious about any class with the words “sunrise,” “hell,” or “Moby.”

19. If a gym class is going to be effective, it’s hard. If you’re relaxed and enjoying yourself, you’re at brunch.

20. If you need to bring your children, just let them loose in the silent meditation class. Nobody minds, and kids love candles.

21. Don’t buy $150 sneakers, $100 yoga pants, and $4 water. Muscle shirts are for people with muscles, and rhythm guitarists.

22. Fancy gyms can be seductive, but once you get past the modern couches and fresh flowers and the water with lemon slices, you’re basically paying for a boutique hotel with B.O.

23. Everyone sees you secretly racing the old people in the pool.

24. If you’re at the point where you’ve bought biking shoes for the spinning class, you may as well go ahead and buy an actual bike. It’s way more fun and it doesn’t make you listen to C+C Music Factory.

25. Fact: Thinking about going to the gym burns between 0 and 0 calories.

26. A successful gym membership is like a marriage: If it’s good, you show up committed and ready for hard work. If it’s not good, you show up in sweatpants and watch a lot of bad TV.

27. There is no secret. Exercise and lay off the fries. The end.

Source: wsj

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As Ranks of Insured Expand, Nation Faces Shortage of 150,000 Doctors in 15 Years

The new federal health-care law has raised the stakes for hospitals and schools already scrambling to train more doctors.

Experts warn there won’t be enough doctors to treat the millions of people newly insured under the law. At current graduation and training rates, the nation could face a shortage of as many as 150,000 doctors in the next 15 years, according to the Association of American Medical Colleges.

That shortfall is predicted despite a push by teaching hospitals and medical schools to boost the number of U.S. doctors, which now totals about 954,000.

The greatest demand will be for primary-care physicians. These general practitioners, internists, family physicians and pediatricians will have a larger role under the new law, coordinating care for each patient.

The U.S. has 352,908 primary-care doctors now, and the college association estimates that 45,000 more will be needed by 2020. But the number of medical-school students entering family medicine fell more than a quarter between 2002 and 2007.

A shortage of primary-care and other physicians could mean more-limited access to health care and longer wait times for patients.

Proponents of the new health-care law say it does attempt to address the physician shortage. The law offers sweeteners to encourage more people to enter medical professions, and a 10% Medicare pay boost for primary-care doctors.

Meanwhile, a number of new medical schools have opened around the country recently. As of last October, four new medical schools enrolled a total of about 190 students, and 12 medical schools raised the enrollment of first-year students by a total of 150 slots, according to the AAMC. Some 18,000 students entered U.S. medical schools in the fall of 2009, the AAMC says.

But medical colleges and hospitals warn that these efforts will hit a big bottleneck: There is a shortage of medical resident positions. The residency is the minimum three-year period when medical-school graduates train in hospitals and clinics.

There are about 110,000 resident positions in the U.S., according to the AAMC. Teaching hospitals rely heavily on Medicare funding to pay for these slots. In 1997, Congress imposed a cap on funding for medical residencies, which hospitals say has increasingly hurt their ability to expand the number of positions.

Medicare pays $9.1 billion a year to teaching hospitals, which goes toward resident salaries and direct teaching costs, as well as the higher operating costs associated with teaching hospitals, which tend to see the sickest and most costly patients.

Doctors’ groups and medical schools had hoped that the new health-care law, passed in March, would increase the number of funded residency slots, but such a provision didn’t make it into the final bill.

“It will probably take 10 years to even make a dent into the number of doctors that we need out there,” said Atul Grover, the AAMC’s chief advocacy officer.

While doctors trained in other countries could theoretically help the primary-care shortage, they hit the same bottleneck with resident slots, because they must still complete a U.S. residency in order to get a license to practice medicine independently in the U.S. In the 2010 class of residents, some 13% of slots are filled by non-U.S. citizens who completed medical school outside the U.S.

One provision in the law attempts to address residencies. Since some residency slots go unfilled each year, the law will pool the funding for unused slots and redistribute it to other institutions, with the majority of these slots going to primary-care or general-surgery residencies. The slot redistribution, in effect, will create additional residencies, because previously unfilled positions will now be used, according to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

Some efforts by educators are focused on boosting the number of primary-care doctors. The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences anticipates the state will need 350 more primary-care doctors in the next five years. So it raised its class size by 24 students last year, beyond the 150 previous annual admissions.

In addition, the university opened a satellite medical campus in Fayetteville to give six third-year students additional clinical-training opportunities, said Richard Wheeler, executive associate dean for academic affairs. The school asks students to commit to entering rural medicine, and the school has 73 people in the program.

“We’ve tried to make sure the attitude of students going into primary care has changed,” said Dr. Wheeler. “To make sure primary care is a respected specialty to go into.”

Montefiore Medical Center, the university hospital for Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York, has 1,220 residency slots. Since the 1970s, Montefiore has encouraged residents to work a few days a week in community clinics in New York’s Bronx borough, where about 64 Montefiore residents a year care for pregnant women, deliver children and provide vaccines. There has been a slight increase in the number of residents who ask to join the program, said Peter Selwyn, chairman of Montefiore’s department of family and social medicine.

One is Justin Sanders, a 2007 graduate of the University of Vermont College of Medicine who is a second-year resident at Montefiore. In recent weeks, he has been caring for children he helped deliver. He said more doctors are needed in his area, but acknowledged that “primary-care residencies are not in the sexier end. A lot of these [specialty] fields are a lot sexier to students with high debt burdens.”

Source: wsj

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Mr Stephen Corquaye, Executive Member of PSGH said the prevalent rate of Hepatitis B, is between seven and 10 per cent in the country.  He stressed the need for Ghana: “To shout aloud to treat people with the disease and prevent others from contracting it.” Giving a presentation on the prevention and management of Hepatitis B, he said vaccination offered protection against the disease.

Mrs Helen Sam also with PSGH said the association had emphasised on public health during the past five years to create awareness about the disease.

Dr Kofi Nkrumah, President of HEPSOG said countries in Sub-Saharan Africa are vulnerable to the disease, which is causing a drain on the economy and affecting productivity.  He said People Living with HIV/AIDS and suffering from Hepatitis B were worse off.

Dr Ahmed Zakaria, Director of GNAS said screening for Hepatitis was very vital to prevent some of the irreversible damage the disease could cause to the liver.

Dr Timothy Acheampong, a lecturer at the Ghana Medical School of the University of Ghana, who gave a presentation on “What is Hepatitis B?” said 95 per cent of infection is among adults.  He said the risk factors for the disease progression include excessive use of alcohol and unprotected sex.

Dr Acheampong said symptoms of Hepatitis B include yellow coloration of the eyes or jaundice, passing of pale stools and dark urine.  He said the main mode of transmission include the coming into contact with blood, drug abuse, use of razors , body piercing and tattoos.

Mrs Irene Duncan –Adanusa, General Secretary of Ghana National Association of Teachers asked HEPSOG and PSGH to include the cluster of schools in their awareness creation on the disease to ensure wider coverage.

GNA

Dr Sory, said this at the national launch of the International Day of the Midwife, in Hohoe in the Volta Region, on the theme: “The World Needs Midwives Now More Than Ever.”  He noted that failure of policy direction was responsible for the mishap in the training regimes of the sector.

Dr Sory said the policies and focus of MOH was being reviewed and called on stakeholders to assist in overcoming the challenges.  He said the GHS would press for the supply of state-of-the art midwifery kits to graduating midwives, explaining that the practice had received thumb-ups from development partners.

Dr Sory entreated the Nurses and Midwives Council and the Ghana Registered Midwives Association to be proactive in charting a new regime for midwifery practice. He said a well-trained midwife was enough for the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals Four and Five.

Dr Benjamin Kumbour, Minister of Health said developing countries continued to bear a disproportionate share of the burden of maternal deaths, which was responsible for the 99 per cent of the 500,000 annual deaths globally.  He said one million more women suffered from debilitating injuries during pregnancy and childbirth with consequences such as uterine prolapse, obstetric fistula and infertility.

Dr Kumbour said according to World Health Organisation estimates, four million children are stillborn while an additional four million fail to attain their fifth birthday.

GNA

He said there was the need for the Health Ministry and the GHS to educate assembly members and other stakeholders to mount a rigorous education campaign on the pandemic to ensure that it did not spread to other areas to halt education and other economic activities.  He said the pandemic, which was fast spreading in some parts of the country resulting in the closure of some schools, should not be allowed to engulf the nation.

Mr. Kandoh, who made the appeal during the first Ordinary Meeting of the Assembly, also touched on the Cerebra-Spinal Meningitis (CSM) and advised members, especially those in the north, to embark on a campaign to educate the people to sleep in well ventilated rooms to prevent its spread. He said CSM related deaths have occurred in the district and there was the need for the assembly to support the fight against the disease to prevent more deaths.

Alhaji Mohammed Issah Abah, District Chief Executive, decried the poor internally generated revenue of the assembly and called on members to intensify their revenue collection to enhance development. He said the assembly as at the end of February this year, collected GH¢12,275.00 out of the estimated of GH¢36,380.00, which was abysmally low and could not execute any project.  The DCE also expressed disappointment at the performance of pupils and students at the 2009 BECE and WASSCE which were so poor that concrete steps had to be taken to improve on subsequent ones.

 Alhaji Abah said in spite of the myriad of problems facing education in the district, efforts were still made to provide the needed support to improve teaching and learning saying; “The assembly would continue to provide classroom blocks, teachers’ quarters and libraries.”  He said the assembly had also received support from the Community Based Rural Development Programme (CBRDP) to rehabilitate 13 educational facilities in the district that were affected by rainstorm last year.
     Alhaji Abah said the GETFund had supported the construction of a six unit classroom block at the Chereponi Senior High Technical School to cater for the infrastructure needs.
     He mentioned a lot of development projects both completed and ongoing in the district, including roads, teachers’ quarters, bungalow for assembly staff and school blocks for some communities.
     Earlier, the assembly presented a total of 112, 484 free exercise books and a quantity of school uniforms to the District Education Directorate for distribution to school children.
     Kpan-Na M. Baba Bawa, a Member of the Council of State, who presented the books, said the government was committed to improving education in the country especially in the rural areas.
GNA

Dr. Placide Tapsoda, Senior Associates and Director of the Population Council, handing-over the facility, said it was financed by an anonymous US-donor to the NGO and four other institutions to help reduce maternal mortality and morbidity.  He said the other institutions undertake research and training of health professional while the NGO rehabilitated and constructed family planning units in some health institutions in the country. to ensure provision of quality family planning and comprehensive abortion care services.

Dr Tapsoda said the beneficiary countries, Ghana, Kenya and Nigeria were chosen for the facility to serve as referral and training centre of excellence for reproductive health professionals in the West African sub-region.  Dr. Ben Annan, Director of Medical Affairs Korle Bu Hospital, expressed appreciation to the NGO and was hopeful that the necessary logistics would be provided to make the facility operational soon.
  

Professor Samuel Obed, Head of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Korle Bu Hospital, said the existing facility was not conducive for the unit and appealed to the management to ensure facilities were improved for women who patronised the unit.

GNA

Mr Rojo Mettle-Nunoo, the Deputy Minister of Health, said service providers had over the years, abused the claim regime and colluded with unscrupulous scheme officials to claim huge sums of money, which nearly paralyzed the scheme.  They prepared fictitious claims while others inflated figures. Besides, accredited pharmaceutical companies also failed to stock about 80 per cent of the drugs that are required under the scheme.

He told an NHIS-Providers forum in Kumasi on Thursday, that the human factor was to blame for the problems that bedevilled the NHIS operation, adding that, delays in claims refund are due to proper scrutiny by internal auditors.  The forum brought together key stakeholders, including Medical Superintendents, regulatory bodies, public and private service providers, to brainstorm and understand each other’s challenges, share their difficulties and fashion out common values, approaches and standards to inject efficiency into the scheme.

Mr Mettle-Nunoo said the NHIA was determined to bring about sanity and efficiency and called on the service providers to endeavour to do the right things. “What should concern all stakeholders is to ensure that the scheme works for the benefit of all. Service providers should set tradition and leave legacy for future generations.”

Mr Mettle-Nunoo appealed to the NHIA to ensure that part of the tariffs, was channelled into the maintenance of equipment and infrastructure of health facilities to give practitioners satisfaction.
Mr Sylvester Mensah, Chief Executive Officer of NHIA, said the scheme had made progress in tackling some of the challenges the scheme was faced with. Thorough clinical auditing throughout the country had uncovered and removed abuses, he said, pointing out that, three scheme managers and officers are currently in prison custody, with 33 others on interdiction for cheating on the system.

Dr Elias Sory, Director General of the Ghana Health Service, said it was in the interest of service providers to collaborate effectively and contribute to the sustainability of the scheme.  They should also have a better understanding of the laws establishing the scheme to ensure its smooth implementation, he said.

GNA

He said this when he gave health tit-bits to members of the Cape Coast branch of the Victory Bible Church International (VBCI) after they had undertaken a health walk through the principal streets of cape Coast.   The health walk formed part of the activities of the church’s 25th anniversary celebration.

 ”Personally, I have a problem with pastors who ask their congregation to wave their handkerchiefs because some people sneeze, spit and blow mucus into their handkerchiefs and would wave the same handkerchief at church,” he said.  He suggested that people should keep more than one handkerchief and use the clean one for such purposes or avoid the practice altogether.

Dr Nuertey said the incubation period of the H1N1 was seven days and that when one is infected, with proper management by health personnel it could be cured within 10 days.  He urged the public to be on the look out for any flu-like symptoms and report promptly to health facilities near them for treatment.

GNA

Dr. John Eleeza, Deputy Director in charge of Public Health who disclosed this at a media briefing on the update of the outbreak of the disease in the region at Mfantsipim School on Monday, said 10 of the cases are from Mfantsipim and the rest from Ayipey.

He said so far 40 who have been into contact with infected people and are suspected to have contracted the virus have been put on medication at Ayipey, while as at Sunday 193 students from Mfantsipim had been screened with 20 suspected cases receiving treatment.  In all a total of 83 students were given treatment at the Mfantsipim School over the weekend.

Dr Eleeza explained that all the cases in the AOB district are from the Ayipey Primary and Junior High school, which has been closed down to check further spread.  He gave the assurance that the whole region was on high alert and that the response team was working around the clock to stem further outbreak of the disease both in Mfantsipim School and at Ayipey.

Dr Eleeza urged the public not to panic, but report any flu-like symptoms to a health facility near them for urgent treatment, explaining that the flu is a viral disease that could be effectively managed by his outfit.  Dr Joseph Nuertey, the Cape Coast Metro Health Director said even though the situation is under control, an ambulance is on standby to transfer serious cases and that health personnel were working to ensure that it was controlled further.

Meanwhile authorities at the Mfantsipim School had insisted that it was not advisable to close down the school because the consequences could be disastrous.  The Headmaster, Mr Mieza Edjah noted that it was not advisable to send the students home because it will give the problem an “uncontrolled dimension” as those who have contracted the virus maybe in the incubation stage and could go home and infect their relatives.

He said a medical team has been dispatched to the school and screening was on-going to ensure treatment for all infected students, and appealed to parents to cooperate with the authorities and assured them that they will soon go home.
GNA

She said those affected were being treated at the Central Regional Hospital in Cape Coast, and appealed to parents not to panic and take their children away from school because efforts were being made to prevent the disease from spreading.  Mrs. Benyiwa-Doe who was briefing journalists on the outbreak of the disease in the region, in Cape Coast, said that so far a total of 12 Influenza HINI cases had been recorded in the area.

 The Minister said that the first two cases were detected at Ayipey L/A Primary and a Junior High School in Asikuma-Odoben-Brakwa, adding that she has directed the closure of Ayipey L/A Primary.  Mrs. Benyiwa-Doe said that so far 12 of the 16 blood specimens of victims of swine flu sent to the Noguchi Memorial Institute by a regional medical team, tested positive. 

She said that the team had intensified its surveillance in schools in Asikuma-Odoben-Brakwa area and the Cape Coast Metropolis.  Mrs. Benyiwa-Doe said that the Regional Health Directorate, Regional Security Council and heads of government institutions were jointly taking steps to deal with the problem.

She asked school authorities to ensure that any student suspected of contracting the disease reported to the hospital, adding that treatment was free of charge.  Mrs. Benyiwa-Doe called on the media to educate the public on the symptoms of the disease.  The National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) and the Ghana Health Service, on Thursday alerted the public on the threat of possible outbreak of influenza HINI (Swine Flu) in Ghana. 

A statement signed by Mr. Kofi Portuphy, National Co-ordinator of NADMO, said that minors and children were the most vulnerable group and asked the public to minimize crowding at social events especially those meant for children during the Easter holidays.  It said that “the transmission of the disease was from human to human, through droplets, released during coughing, sneezing and touching surfaces contaminated with body fluids, secreted by infected persons, and touching the eyes, nose and mouth without washing hands.”
   The statement said the signs and symptoms of the disease included coughing, sneezing, fever, chills, runny nose, head ache, vomiting, sore throat and body aches.
   It said that “the complications of the disease may lead to pneumonia and difficulty in breathing and that prevention of infection is through observance of good personal hygiene by washing hands with soaps and water as often as possible especially after touching surfaces and shaking hands.”
   The statement advised the public to report to the nearest health facility after observing any one or more of the signs and symptoms and avoid crowded environments to prevent spreading the disease to others.

GNA