Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.

A medical specialty society with over 35,000 US and international member physicians who “work together to ensure humane care and effective treatment for all persons with mental disorder, including mental retardation and substance-related disorders. It is the voice and conscience of modern psychiatry. Its vision is a society that has available, accessible quality psychiatric diagnosis…

King’s College Medical School founded in New York in 1767. Its mission was fairly lofty — to “enlarge the Mind, improve the Understanding, polish the whole Man, and qualify them to support the brightest Character in all the elevated stations in life.” King’s College was the first institution in the North American Colonies to confer…

The AMA. The AMA’s mission statement proclaims: “We are the Voice of the American Medical Profession. “We are the partnership of physicians and their professional associations dedicated to promoting the art and science of medicine and the betterment of public health. “We serve the physicians and their patients by establishing and promoting ethical, educational, and…

A monthly journal that publishes original research articles that are peer-reviewed in both “general and specialized areas of the science, art, and practice of public health. These areas include: environment, maternal and child health, health promotion, epidemiology, administration, occupational health, education, international health, statistics, etc.” Founded in 1911, the Journal is published by the American Public…

The tick most commonly responsible for transmitting R. rickettsii, the agent of Rocky Mountain spotted fever. This tick is widely distributed east of the Rocky Mountains and also occurs in limited areas on the Pacific Coast. Dogs and medium-sized mammals are the preferred hosts of this tick, although it feeds readily on other large mammals, including humans. The…

The American Diabetes Association (ADA) provides the following introduction: “The American Diabetes Association is the nation’s leading nonprofit health organization providing diabetes research, information and advocacy. Founded in 1940, it was reorganized in 1969 to increase its ability to serve the public. Today, offices in more than 800 communities conduct programs in all 50 states and the District of…

The mission statement of the ADA reads as follows: “The ADA is the professional association of dentists dedicated to serving both the public and the profession of dentistry. The ADA promotes the public’s health through commitment of member dentists to provide quality oral health care, accessible to everyone. The ADA promotes the profession of dentistry by enhancing…

The American College of Surgeons (ACS) was formed in 1913 under the aegis of Dr. John Miller Turpin Finney “to elevate the standard of surgery, to establish a standard of competency and of character for practitioners of surgery, and to educate the public and the profession to understand that the practice of surgery calls for…

A medical society for internal medicine. The ACP motto is “Doctors for Adults.” Its mission is “to enhance the quality and effectiveness of health care by fostering excellence and professionalism in the practice of medicine.” ACP members include over 100,000 physicians in general internal medicine and related subspecialties, including cardiology, gastroenterology, nephrology, endocrinology, hematology, rheumatology, neurology,…

A person who is trained in both nursing and midwifery and, in the US, is certified by the American College of Nurse-Midwives (ACNM). In order to practice, a nurse-midwife must pass an examination for certification by a national board. Nurse-midwife training focuses on the management of women’s health care, particularly pregnancy, childbirth, the postpartum period, care of the…