Tag: Doctors Patients and Diseases
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Gifts of gratitude
Henry BairPalo Alto, California, United States “It’s for you,” the old man said when his niece tried to hand Dr. Alba the large wrapped package. It was a gesture I was familiar with, though Dr. Alba looked puzzled. “These scratchy hospital blankets made me think of this,” the patient, Clark, continued. “It’s a good blanket;…
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Un-impostering
Brianna RossiterPittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA We stood surrounding her tiny body in the hospital bed. Her shallow breaths were splinted by pain as we watched, myself and four second-year, male medical students. Her breath would catch and I wondered if she would disappear into the oblivion of the hospital matrix, her diseased bones and metastasized lungs…
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The doctor becomes the patient: an internist’s journey from skepticism to gratitude
William Shimp Plantation, Florida, United States Nothing grabs our attention more than being flattened by a diagnosis of significant illness. Mine arrived just a few weeks ago. For decades I had harbored a large hiatal hernia. I had no symptoms, even though my upper stomach had pushed through the diaphragm to occupy much of my left…
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Physician, heal thyself
Moustapha AbousamraVentura, California, United States “Physician, heal thyself” is a biblical reminder (Luke 4:23) that while physicians are eager and able to heal illness in others, they are often unable to heal themselves. A similar saying, “The cobbler’s children have no shoes,” was mentioned in the Oxford Dictionary as early as 1546, demonstrating that this…
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Flyfishing and medicine
James StollerCleveland, Ohio, United States I am one of the many doctors who relish the zen of flyfishing. Standing in a stream, reading the clues for what type of fly to cast and where to cast it, and focusing incessantly on a dry fly drifting lithely to entice a hungry trout, flyfishing invites self-reflection through…
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The treasure trove of memory
Anthony PapagiannisThessaloniki, Greece Memory, the ability to recall at will previous events and various facts, is a precious mental faculty, an asset that underpins learning, knowledge, and experience in any field of human endeavor. In medicine its value is undeniable, though for legal as well as practical purposes, it must be supplemented with written records:…
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Signs
Jack RiggsMorgantown, West Virginia, United States “This is no way to treat soldiers!” The lieutenant colonel was furious as he screamed at me over the phone. After sufficient venting had occurred, I ventured a nonthreatening interjection. “Colonel, I was not there. Tell me what happened with your soldier.” The lieutenant colonel’s battalion has just completed…
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The impact of technology on healthcare
Singh YadavTamil Nadu, India Double doors swing open as paramedics rush a burn victim into the hospital’s Emergency Department. A nurse checks the patient’s pulse and vitals, while another takes a blood sample and deposits it to a nearby machine. A scanning device determines the wound size and depth and guides an attached 3D printer…