Interview about doctors, patients, books, and life
Listen to Joe Elia interview Danielle Ofri on Clinical Conversations (NEJM Journal Watch). They talk about the state of medicine, doctor-patient relationships, work-life balance, and the re-issue of her book “Singular Intimacies.” More
Music and Medicine
The moment has finally arrived. After 3 years of sweating through etudes, scales, and Suzuki practice books, my teacher utters the words that every cello student yearns to hear: “It’s time to start the first Bach suite.” Studying cello as an adult hasn’t been the easiest task. But neither is medicine. More
July 1st–excerpt from “Singular Intimacies”
“It suddenly dawned on me that I’d never had a lecture in medical school on how to tell if someone is dead.” More
Alistair Cooke; Childhood Malapropism
(Just for fun, here’s my first ever ‘publication’ in the New York Times: a letter I wrote while as a medical student, after the death of a PBS icon of my childhood.) More
Part-Time Medicine
At times, being a part-time doctor feels like I’m somehow shirking the Hippocratic Oath: I’m not there for my patients all the time like a doctor should. During my “on†days, I work furiously like all of my colleagues. But on my “off†days, I am officially off. More
Resistance–Review of Abba Kovner’s poetry
Abba Kovner–leader of the Vilna ghetto uprising–was also a remarkable poet. His book of poems entitled “Sloan Kettering” is well worth the read for its lessons in history, mortality, medicine, and beauty. More
Medicine: An Uncertain Art
As surely as the first bill for malpractice insurance lands on the desk, so too does the awkward lesson of clinical medicine — that the scientific certainty dished out by the medical establishment represents only a small portion of what clinical practice actually is. More
Solving the Health Care Crisis
Status quo is a powerful determinant of both belief and behavior. This is why incumbents win elections, why we always choose the same flavor of yogurt, why we prescribe the same antihypertensive medications, and why we have our health care system in America. More
Poetry Ward
Toxic sock syndrome. That’s the first thing we noticed when we entered the hospital room. For those gentle readers who are not familiar with such sensory assault, toxic sock syndrome is the clinical term for the rank odor that accompanies damp, fetid feet that have seen more street time than shower time. More
Talking With Doctors
Imagine falling mysteriously ill in a foreign country, in which the language, culture, and customs have no bearing on your own. Imagine trying to find medical help and evaluating your potential healers without understanding the territory, while the shadow of imminent death lingers over your shoulder. This is roughly the experience that David Newman underwent when he discovered that he had a rare tumor that was hovering precariously near his brain stem. The foreign capital was a certain well-known medical city on the Hudson River. More
New York Times review of “Incidental Findings”
Ofri’s thoughtful and honest second book…is equal parts “The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat” and “Kitchen Confidential.” The title is inspired by her realization, during her own amniocentesis, that conditions that seem minor to doctors are monumental when they happen to you. More
NEJM review of “Incidental Findings”
Ofri reminds us that medicine is really about the bond between a patient and a physician. “Incidental Findings” is a beautiful book. Ofri has enough faith in her patients, her profession, and herself to tell it all. More
They Sent Me Here
“They told me to give you this,†she said, as she pushed an envelope across the desk toward me. I’ve always been intrigued by who “they†are — those mystery people referred to with such assumed authority and universality. Particularly in a large city hospital, in which the staff is mammoth and constantly changing, “they†constitute a particularly encompassing force. More
Evidence-Based Medicine
Evidence-based medicine often induces more confusion than clarity. It also means different things to different people. More
Residency Regulations—Resisting Our Reflexes
Our instinctive resistance to change reflects not just nostalgia, but the fact that our years of medical training define us in an iconic fashion unique to this profession. Medical training sets social, clinical, and moral barometers by which decades of professional and personal life are gauged. These brief years imprint a personal definition in a manner not seen in other fields: one rarely hears MBAs clucking about crumbling standards and the days of the giants—most view the younger generation with unabashed envy. More
