DJP Update 4-7-2013 Silent retreat; PPACA Updates on Twitter; Leadership videos; NPSF Safety Congress in NOLA; Home Repairs and a green house; and 50-Years as a doctor!
1- Retreat: On March 7-10 I attended the famous Manresa House House of Retreats in Convent, Louisiana. My surgical partner, Dr. Jim Brown, has been going for years and this was my first retreat there. The attendees do not speak during the visit. There are talks by a visiting Jesuit in the mornings and evenings (30 minutes each talk) and church services daily but one does not have to attend anything. You have a small private room for sleeping. The meals are simple but excellent. The grounds are full of oak trees and cypress trees. A beautiful setting to mediate. Regardless of one’s religious beliefs or even if one has no beliefs, being silent for 3 days and having no other responsibilities to interrupt meditation is worthwhile. Some photos of the grounds at: http://www.manresala.org/Facilities/Manresa-Grounds.aspx
More info at http://www.manresala.org/
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2- The 15th Annual NPSF Patient Safety Congress NPSF is in New Orleans this year May 8-10. Check it out and consider attending. Details at: http://www.npsf.org/calendar/event-details-3/?event=45
As many of you know the AMA was a founding member of the National Patient Safety Foundation.
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3- As I have mentioned, I do lots of tweets and less of the DJP Updates. For PPACA or ACA or …, updates, be sure to follow @Sonodoc99 on Twitter for comprehensive links to articles on PPACA.
A reminder, Dr. Art Fougner, @sonodoc99, will be in the AMA House of Delegates starting in June representing the Medical Society of the State of New York. PPAC is in trouble. This is no surprise to me and others who warned of the complex bill prior to passage. Too bad the Congress did not read the bill and understand it. The worse is yet to come.
As for tweets, don’t miss Dr. March Zwelling’s tweets: @zdoc
Remember, even if you don’t join Twitter (free), you can look up someone’s tweets by the person or group’s Twitter ID.
For example, my tweets @DJPNEWS are found at: www.twitter.com/DJPNEWS
A tweet I did today is about the fascinating study done by the Cleveland Clinic on the etiology of heart disease.
Donald Palmisano @DJPNEWS 2h
“Study points to a new culprit in #heart disease” @nytimeshealth Cleveland Clinic study: carnitine metabolized by gut bacteria into TMAO
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4- Leadership videos are being posted on YouTube by The Doctors Company. You can find all of the videos at the TDC YouTube site: http://www.youtube.com/doctorscompany
I was invited to do 6 leadership videos and you can find 5 posted already at The Doctors Company site. The 6th one will be up shortly. Each video is about 2 minutes in duration.
I also posted the leadership videos involving me at: http://www.youtube.com/intrepidresources
If you want a 2 minute summary of the definition of leadership from my research plus my 6 Commandments of Medicine, watch this one: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BhiLWt0tkPg
This is the Cliff’s Notes version if you did not have time to read my leadership books yet!
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5- I have blocked out 2 weeks in my schedule to remain at home and watch daily the outside repairs at our home. No interviews, no speeches. The patio, walkway to front door, sidewalks, and driveway had to be replaced because of sinkage. We also added a chain wall on the South and North boundaries and on the West boundary at the end of the driveway. A big job. This time we found a real professional cement contractor and he is putting mini-pilings (sonotube with rebar) plus rebar steel and highway mesh at all sites. In addition we are adding a gate for the driveway. The gate posts are 8 inch square steel. Gate design in progress for our West Indies style home. Robin in charge of gate design after much research. Amazing how a Bobcat picks those 500 pound posts up and puts them 4 feet into the ground. That is an an impressive machine in the hands of a skilled operator! Nothing like being present daily at job site when a myriad of questions arise. Better to be there and state what you want rather than having them guess when a challenge occurs. We are lining the driveway edges with brick and we did the patio in a 45 degree herringbone pattern of brick. It is best to get involved in research before having anyone place bricks. New brick? Old brick? Mortar is different and important not to use modern mortar with old brick.
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6- My restored greenhouse that suffered from Hurricane Katrina is now in great shape. It is 17 feet long and 5 feet wide and can be entered from the back yard or from the house through French doors in our master dressing room by the master bedroom.
All is well in greenhouse. I have a “Blueberry” grape plant from Napa that now has leaves on it. I have a tomato plant and a rose bush with leaves and growing daily. In addition, I have lots of different bromeliads plus an assortment of other plants such as strawberries, a Myer’s Asparagus fern, a poinsettia, an amaryllis, Tradescantia zebrina, 2 cacti, 2 blooming orchids, Swiss Chard, Kentucky Mint, Greek Oregano, Onion Chives, Rosemary, and Italian Parsley.
My secret to success: the green house protects against freezing so plants such as the bromeliads do not die. I have a homemade watering device that gives 20 minutes of drip water every 12 hours. It is controlled by a battery powered timer and I use a hose that is filled with small holes for garden watering. A most important technique is: If a plant type dies in my greenhouse, I do not get that species again. Sort of survival of the fittest for the environment I have in my green house. This green house is a great source of peaceful meditation time and a wonderful opportunity to do macro photography. It also serves as an intensive care unit for Robin’s indoor plants when they are near death.
Here is a photo I posted on Twitter today. Click on link in tweet.
DJPNEWS
My greenhouse is doing well! 17 ft long and 5 ft wide with homemade twice daily watering system. http://t.co/tgfOyFoBhw
4/7/13 8:02 PM
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7- Finally, our 50-year medical school graduation celebrations are in progress. Orleans Parish Medical Society had a wonderful brunch for us. My Tulane Medical School Class will meet in May. I plan to interview my classmates regarding 50 years of practice.
Stay well.
Donald
Some past selected DJP Updates can be found at: www.DJPupdate.com
Donald J. Palmisano, MD, JD
Intrepid Resources® / The Medical Risk Manager Company
5000 West Esplanade Ave., #432
Metairie, LA 70006
USA
504-455-5895 office
504-455-9392 fax
DJP@donaldpalmisano.com
www.donaldpalmisano.com
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