Departments
In the News
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Week of 27 March 1998 |
Vol. I, No. 25 |
In the News
Dr. Richard Shemin, BUSM professor of surgery, discusses in a March 15 Boston Herald article the exposure some medical companies have received on shows such as Chicago Hope. A recent episode featured a minimally invasive heart surgery procedure marketed by Heartport, Inc. The company's name was mentioned on the show, and an accompanying advertisement ran giving a toll-free number for people to call for more information. This direct-to-consumer selling of medical procedures has drawn criticism from some medical experts, but Shemin, who is an expert in the use of the minimally invasive technology, says in the article that he does not have a problem with it. "When it comes to heart surgery, people have usually done their homework," he says. "The heart gets so much publicity, they come in with fixed ideas." Shemin says the important thing for doctors to do is to explain all options to the patient clearly and to make suggestions. "I tell them I'm an experienced heart surgeon and I can do the procedure the conventional way or the minimally invasive way . . . If I think there is a reason why it should be done conventionally, I tell them," he says.
"It's all about accomplishing the impossible and then bragging about it to other students," says Jim Stone, director of consulting services in the Office of Information Technology, in a March 15 Boston Globe story about computer hackers and security on campus. Stone says the reason many students try to break through computer security systems is "the same reason people attempt to climb Mount Everest. It represents a challenge and thus all the more reason for conquering it." In the article, Stone says the biggest problem he has found on campus is students' using e-mail as a tool of harassment.
In a March 18 Boston Globe article, Joseph Fewsmith, CAS associate professor of international relations, comments on Hu Jintao, who became vice president of China on March 15. "He hasn't come into clear focus yet," says Fewsmith. "But he has good ties to [reform and conservative] camps . . . He seems to be being groomed for bigger and better things."
"In the News" is compiled by Laura Raichle, Office of Public Relations.