Articles & Media
Danielle Ofri on NPR’s “Fresh Air”
Danielle Ofri interviewed on NPR’s Fresh Air More
Book Excerpt: Florence Nightingale Turns 200
Florence Nightingale’s medical contributions weren’t just revolutionary, they were prescient, almost to an unsettling degree. It could be argued that Florence Nightingale created the concept of patient safety, More
Book Excerpt: EMR–Boon or Bane?
One of the selling points for the electronic medical record (EMR) was that it would be a boon for patient safety. But EMRs can also worsen medical care and introduce errors. More
AJN review of “When We Do Harm”
Nurses will like this book because Ofri approaches medical error as an issue that physicians and nurses own together. Furthermore, she champions nurse advocacy as essential to preventing errors. More
Booklist review of “When We Do Harm”
An essential read for anyone involved or interested in the care of patients. More
Kirkus review of “When We do Harm”
Thorough analysis of a challenging problem executed with a personal touch that makes it highly readable. More
In Conversation with Dr. Damon Tweedy
Danielle Ofri in conversation with Damon Tweedy–a wide-ranging discussion about medical error, patient safety, Covid-19, EMR, and inequalities in the medical system More
Medical Errors during the Covid Crisis
There’s no doubt that what went right during the Covid pandemic was far greater than what went wrong. But things did go wrong, and part of the professional commitment that has been so justly lauded entails an honest reckoning of our shortcomings. More
Trial and Error
When I look back at the trial-and-error method of my medical training, I’m frankly horrified at what was considered a routine approach to training—placing sharp objects and critical conversations in the hands of medical fetuses and letting them loose on living, breathing patients. The practice of medicine needn’t entail actual practicing on our patients More
Book Launch: “When We Do Harm”
Although Covid19 kept us from meeting up amidst the Strand’s 18 incredible miles of books, Strand Bookstore graciously opened its virtual doors for our book launch. You can see it here. More
Coronavirus: Why Doctors and Nurses Are Anxious and Angry
The story of the coronavirus is still being written. The stories of polio, Ebola, H.I.V. and measles — all, alas, still in progress — remind us that public health is an ongoing, never-let-’em-up-from-the-mat effort. Narrow vision, data ignorance, image-conscious decision-making and truncated memory are the very elements of contagion. No amount of Purell can sanitize that. More
The Impressive Profits of Nonprofit Hospitals
Seven of the ten most profitable hospitals in America are nonprofit hospitals. Is this an oxymoron? The real question surrounding nonprofit hospitals is whether the benefits to the community equal what taxpayers donate to these hospitals in the form of tax-exempt status. More
Coronavirus and Fear
Fear is a primal emotion, and to pretend that the medical staff are any less susceptible than the general public is folly. I sometimes feel as though we need to negotiate an armistice of sorts with our fears. There is a certain amount of salutary fear we need to accept, the kind that keeps us respectful of the high stakes in caring for patients. But we also have to recognize that there are irrational fears, the kinds that are not necessarily allayed by data. More
Visiting—and Revisiting—Anne Frank
I had read the diary in junior high school and didn’t remember much beyond the vague outlines. But reading it aloud now, with the more dramatic voicing and pace required to keep a restless kid’s attention, I found the book absolutely mesmerizing. It was impossible to put down. More
Flying Solo
What happens when you are the only doctor in the auditorium? Or the only doctor on the plane? What do you do when the only stethoscope available rivals the toy one made by Fisher-Price for kids? More
