BERLIN- ERS President Leonardo Fabbri, MD, spoke with me today about his experience at the conference this year and his thoughts on Mayor Michael Bloomberg challenging doctors worldwide to stop smoking. ''His speech was an excellent amplifier of lung health prevention,'' he explained. ''His program is the most impressive available ...

BERLIN - Yesterday evening, after Mayor Michael Bloomberg departed the ERS amid a standing ovation, I was able to catch up with an ERS attendee for his reaction to the address. ''I liked his speech very much. Smoking is a real problem in the world and now we are finally taking action,'' said Macelino DeVega, a pulmonologist from Argentina. ''It ...

BERLIN -- New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg completed his tour of Berlin by addressing the ERS Congress attendees and receiving the European Lung Foundation Award tonight. He is the first non-European to receive the award. ''Tobacco is the only product I know where if you follow the instructions on how to use it and do it correctly, it'll kill ...

BERLIN -- Last night the largest respiratory conference ever kicked off with an opening ceremony that featured a look back and ahead. Just as more than 20 years ago the Berlin Wall fell and became the Eastside Gallery, one day the European Respiratory Society hopes the different national societies will become branches of the ERS. ''I'm ...

Greetings from Berlin! I have just settled into my hotel before the opening ceremony of the 2008 ERS and wanted to let you know that I will be blogging each day of the Congress.  As this is our first time covering the event, we hope to bring some of the flavor home to you, our readers. Tonight the congress kicks off with the opening ...

Sure, this has been in the works for years and reported in the print magazine's pages.  But now that Medicare set the legislative wheels in motion other insurers will surely do the same. Are you worried about this? And should Medicare consider VAP a ''never event?'' ''Starting today, Medicare will slash hospital payments for ...

What are the odds?  If you've come back to the blog with some experiences in mind, put aside the 50/50 rule and ask yourself what your odds are of saying ''yes.'' For every ten times you're asked to cover for someone, how many times do you agree, and why? You may have such a good track record for accepting shifts that you get a lot of ...

Trees are slowly starting to show their fall colors, my yard hasn’t been mowed in weeks, and football has thankfully returned to prime time TV. It must be fall! With fall, comes that preparation period for managers to figure out how they will staff their departments through the winter. Running scenarios of illnesses effecting staffing, the ...

It really takes a special person to work in pediatrics. We get to see the best of the best and the worst of the worst. It's one of those things that you either love or you hate.  I never thought I would love it, but I do. No other specialty allows me to work with cystic fibrosis, former preemies and asthmatics all in the same day. I see the ...

Didn't we just celebrate this a year ago?  All joking aside, respiratory care week is our opportunity to: Educate the public on our great profession. Recognize our dedicated staff for their hard work and commitment! One of the most memorable respiratory care week on-going activities that has left a wonderful influence on me was when I ...