tskhan84

that's exactly what I was thinking!!

As a (Muslim) medical student I find it absurd to read such things. Those in question should be expelled from medical school and should not be allowed to qualify. The GMC explicitly states that as a doctor, you need to put the needs of the patient first. Your beliefs and views are irrelevant. So far, *ALL* of the other Muslims medics I've talked to equally condemn this preposterous situation. It simply cannot be justified.

Taking God out of the equation, and viewing Ramadhan from a purely humanistic perspective is a positive experience (and perhaps more palatable for fervent atheists). A significant core of Ramadhan is empathy with the poor. Being without food for 13 hours or so is difficult, but hardly comparable to those in poverty stricken countries such as Sudan or Ethiopia. It certainly makes me reflect on how fortunate I am. During this month, special alms are collected for the poor and last year, my local mosque collected over £30,000. As for symptoms, lack of fluids is the main issue, but if it affects you enough to make you hypotensive and/or pass out, you can end your fast. The purpose is to reflect and empathise, not die!

Facebook all the way. EdnaKrabappe, as of last week, you can now upload music onto Facebook too.

Touché; the link did refer to basic salaries, but it’s important to remember that some hospital (such as Chesterfield) only allow doctors work a maximum of 40 hours and so those quoted figures are what they would get paid. You talk about £30k as if it is excessive for working 58 hours a week. If you work it out, it equates to around £10 an hour. Now I’m not saying that’s insufficient, but I don’t think we’re greedy for it. Dentists earn more and work less hours than doctors (but we still love them ) Getting back to the original post, a large proportion of consultants work for the private sector as well as the NHS. This tops up their salary, but as long as their NHS duties are not affected (which they aren’t for the most part) there is nothing wrong with this. I have not heard of ANY doctor complaining about his or her salary working in the NHS. Most, if not all agree that they are paid well. Obviously that's based on my experiences, and I'm fascinated to see what you read Lickszz. It would disappoint me if there were complaints of poor pay.

http://www.bmjcareers.com/cgi-bin/section.pl?sn=salary It depends on how intense the speciality is, but £30k for an F1 is certainly not common at all.

Sorry, I meant that being a doctor doesn’t automatically mean you earn big bucks. As a junior doctor post graduation, you earn around £22,000 on average. You do 58 hours a week (going down to 48 hours after 2009). The pay goes up slowly as you become more experienced, from senior house officer (3-5 years) to specialist registrar (5-7 years), and finally consultant/ GP level.

The higher positions- (consultant and GP grades) do earn around a minimum of £60,000. This is after a decade in the system. I do however think that other healthcare professionals should get a higher income, more in line with doctors. It is important to consider that the loop holes were created by the government, when the GP contracts were negotiated in the 90s. Basically, the health secretary didn’t think that GPs would hit the targets set upon them. However, GP practises more than hit the targets, and so accordingly got a lot more money. Even the health secretary has admitted this disastrous mistake. In light of the increases in wages (which was due to the mistake, NOT GPs demanding more, doctors have accepted no increase in their income this year. This will continue happening for a few years I reckon, until the salaries balance out). Ultimately you hit the nail on the head, everyone wants more money (admit it or not, we’re all greedy). Medicine is an altruistic career in a sense, but it is also a job. Also bear in mind that doctors come from academically strong backgrounds, and so are privileged enough to choose practically any career they want to. There are many ways of being richer MUCH quicker than going into medicine, so there has to be some passion to become a doctor and help people in need.

I completely disagree. Granted being a doctor is still a respectable job, but I don't know any of my fellow doctors in training to be attracted by the 'status' as a sole factor. We're motivated, hard working individuals who are striving through 5-6 long years to get through a very demanding course, working long hours without an income. When we qualify, we have to deal with lot of pointless and limiting bureaucracy and red tape-so much so, that the majority of our time is spent dealing with non-clinical duties. Oh and junior/middle grade doctors are not overpaid if you look at the hours they actually work.

I got a crazy one: 'why do bananas not have legs?'

One cannot argue against or for ones personal beliefs. I as a Muslims am entitled to believe whatever tripe I see fit, however illogical it is to anyone. However, atheists also equally entitled to believe in whatever they see fit- if they choose to believe in nothing, so be it. I can’t use logic or proof to explain why I believe, so there’s no point in trying. Can’t we just agree to disagree, for the sake of loving one another as human beings? As for the original question, Muslims can pray in a variety of manners- standing, sitting, lying, or indeed silently without moving at all.

1)Yup it is indeed a very personally war and little to do with religion. ‘Average muslims’ have not been flocking to men like bin Laden, only a tiny number have. 2) Why should all muslims have to defend themselves constantly? The vast majority find the views abhorrent and alien. 3) The leader ideal won't happen in the foreseeable future. Believe it or not artisan, Muslims are a very heterogeneous group, and will not be brought under any one banner. If a preacher is known to have infected views, then he will draw those ‘muslims’ sympathetic to his evil call and consequently it will be unlikely that anyone will speak up. The absolute and honest truth is that I have *never* heard hatred being preached in any mosque that I’ve visited (nearly all the ones in Sheffield and some in various other cities). If there was any hatred being spewed, I would stand up and challenge it (though to be fair, I have to say that, right? ).

It's about time he was arrested. So what is an 'average muslim'? Someone who aspires to Trevor Brookes? If you're delusional enough to think that, then you're profoundly mistaken. On what basis do you make the assertion that muslims are looking for a leader?

I did a psychiatry placement in October 2006. Schizophrenics formed the bulk of the inpatients as my consultant had a special interest in the disease. I have to admit that this was the most fascinating placement in the 3 years I’d been at med school . Taking a history from a patient who thought that he was a spy for the RAF, and that they had implanted a chip inside his brain, was disturbing, albeit fascinating. Like others have mentioned, the signs and symptoms of schizophrenia fall under 4 main areas: Psychotic symptoms: hallucinations, delusion and passivity. Disorganisation: abnormalities of speech, thought and mood. Negative symptoms: apathy, self neglect, low mood. Cognitive impairment. You asked how it manifests itself. The typical history is as follows: A young man feels that his wife is trying to poison him (delusion of persecution). He is hearing voices in his head, or his thoughts echo (hallucinations). He feels he has a special mission in life, such as being a spy for the RAF (grandiose delusion). He is convinced that the RAF is controlling his thoughts and actions (passivity, thought insertion). I disagree with SimpyTimpy, being diagnosed as schizophrenic does not mean you will be sectioned. Granted that if your behaviour threatens yourself or other people (which it rarely does, despite what the media lead us to believe), then a section will be used. Also, Phanerothyme states that drugs have parkinsonian side effects, but this refers to the so called ‘typical antipsychotics’ such as Haloperidol. Newer agents (the ‘atypical antipsychotic’, such as Olanzapine) have a much lower side effect profile. Additionally, the risks and reduction in the quality of life as a result of schizophrenia far outweighs the risks in my opinion. I saw outpatients who had been on antipsychotics for 40 years and had lived remarkably ‘normal’ lives. It certainly is a fascinating disease, and may even tempt me to specialise into psychiatry. One interesting point to note is that psychiatry itself is pretty poor at explaining why someone develops schizophrenia. Studies have been done to investigate, but overall, I didn’t find the explanations satisfactory. No doubt we will keep exploring, but as my consultant said “psychiatry has no responsibility to explain schizophrenia, only to classify and treat it”. I personally think that’s not good enough, but we surely have a long way to go.

Islam preaches equality for all, and class is not an Islamic problem. Are you sure you have the right religion matey? A minimum of 2.5% of the wealth of a Muslim must be paid in charity, and education is held next to belief in God- indeed, getting an education is considered an act of worship. One day bigots may realise that they’ve not opened their mind enough to this religion.