Coming Home to Bellevue
There’s no place like home. That’s not a phrase people typically utter about their hospitals, but those were the words on everyone’s lips when we returned to Bellevue last week, after the hurricane-induced evacuation. More
When the Patient is “Noncompliant”
As soon as a patient is described as noncompliant, doctor shorthand for patients who don’t take their medication or follow medical recommendations, it’s as though a black mark is branded on the chart. More
Women Still Missing from Medicine’s Top Ranks
While women make up about half of all medical students and a third of academic faculty members, they are are still vastly underrepresented in leadership roles. Is it that the medical world remains biased against women? Or is it that the culture of the workplace—built around the needs of men for generations—simply remains that way? More
Imagine a World Without AIDS
The beginning of the end of AIDS? Could it really be?For those of us who did our medical training in the 1990s, AIDS saturated our lives. The whole era had a medieval feel, with visceral suffering and human decimation all around. More
Falling into the Diagnostic Trap
It’s as though our brains close ranks around our first impression, then refuse to consider anything else. With this patient, we almost missed a life-threatening diagnosis. More
Assuming the Doctor’s a “He”
A classic study of preschoolers in 1979 showed that even young children “knew” that doctors were men and nurses were women. But surely we’ve moved beyond these stereotypes, no? More
Ins and Outs of Inpatient and Outpatient Medicine
The inpatient wards and the outpatient clinic are part of the same hospital, but they are like different planets. On the inpatient side, the patients are acutely ill —malignant brain tumor, acute renal failure, heart valve infections, intestinal bleeding, and so on. Not so in the outpatient clinic, where patients get their regular medical care to manage everyday chronic illnesses like diabetes, hypertension, obesity and heart disease. More
Lemons for Weight Loss
The field of “diet pills” is strewn with lemons. Why do both doctors and patients pretend that it’s lemonade, when it’s been anything but! More
Doctors Have Feelings Too
Doctors should be aware of emotions that may lead them to be less than honest with patients or reluctant to admit errors. More
Who Deserves a Heart Transplant?
One of the most agonizing spots in medicine is the “transplant list.” In the United States, as in many countries, we rely on a simple system of altruism for organ donation. But other countries are trying different approaches. More
Music Teachers for Doctors?
What if every doctor learned from a music teacher? Could a “coach” bring back the intellectual vibrancy from medical-school days for one doctor, the way a music teacher inspires constant growth? More
Filling the Ritalin Rx
Most physicians think little about prescriptions after they hand them off to their patients. But patients can face shame and humiliation when filling a prescription. More
The Provider Will See You Now
When did doctors become “providers?” The term has a deliberate sterility to it that wrings out any sense of humanity, and connotes a widgetlike framework for that which is being “provided.” More
Recertifying Doctors
Seeking to keep pace with the rapid advances in medicine, the American Board of Internal Medicine initiated the “recertification process.” Now, doctors must take an exam every 10 years. More
Doc, How Much Time I Got?
There are few situations more horrible than having to tell another human being that he or she is going to die. And it doesn’t get any easier with experience… More
