Articles & Media
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
“What Doctors Feel” in Korean
안녕하세용 Ann-yeong ha-seyo! Beacon Press is excited to announce that “What Doctors Feel” is now available in Korean! More
The Yemenite Giant and the Death of Stalin
I only knew my father, Zacharia Ofri, as an unassuming high-school math teacher. As a young man, though, he was basketball star in his native Israel. But the 1950s was a turbulent time. His story weaves in Cold War intrigue, Russian Embassy bombs, the death of Stalin, Ben Gurion’s hairdo, Iron Curtain railroad trips, Nasser’s miscalculations, the 1952 Helsinki Olympics, and of course a New York City cab driver. (Plus lots of great photos!) More
A Brush
I had seen death up close, felt its hostile breath pucker my skin, winced at its corroding presence in my lap, recoiled from its imperious barreling into my private space …and it scared the pants off of me. More
The Covenant
Burnout among doctors appears to be at epidemic proportions these days, with concomitant gushing prescriptions for wellness and resilience. But in reality, most doctors are not burned out: most love taking care of patients and want nothing more than to be able to do just that. The source of the agony is the profession—or rather the corporatization of the profession… More
