Tag: Ethics
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Pushing back into chaos
Kyra McComasSalt Lake City, Utah, United States Pain is perhaps the most useful yet most feared human experience. It has been crucial to our evolutionary development, but the modern era has sought to expunge it. The New York Times has reported that scientists may be able to use the genes from a woman who feels…
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The beauty of gender diversity
Lisa ShugollAsheville, North Carolina, USA The arts have always provided a rich source of material for the type of introspection and contemplation that can deepen our ability to respond empathetically to those whose concerns and life experiences are vastly different from our own. This capacity for empathy is especially important for clinicians hoping to provide…
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The language game of medicine
Gunjan SharmaDevon, United Kingdom “The arrow points only in the application that a living being makes of it.”– Ludwig Wittgenstein1 The language game Language is a fascinating concept when viewed through a philosophical lens. Imagine if we no longer had a word for jealousy. Would that mean such a thing could no longer exist? Jealousy…
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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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Clara Maass, yellow fever, and the early days of ethical medical testing
Mariel TishmaChicago, Illinois, United States Clara Maass was born on June 28, 1876, in the quiet New Jersey township of East Orange. The oldest daughter of Hedwig and Robert E. Maass, she grew up helping to raise and provide for her eight younger siblings. She learned quickly to put others’ needs before her own, finding…
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Seeing things differently: A reflection on clinical photography
Michaela ClarkCape Town, South Africa Looking into the face of a patient is a necessary part of the clinical experience. Yet despite the physical proximity achieved in the doctor’s office, on the operating table, or in the petri dish, it is only when patients are perceived as legible objects that their bodies can be impartially…
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The other pain crisis
Adil MenonCleveland, Ohio, USA A guiding principle of medical care is that humans regardless of their superficial differences are fundamentally the same in their physiology. One of the oldest and most persistent refutations of this premise is the centuries old myth of a uniquely “African body,” characterized by diminished pain response and elevated stoicism, a…
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Corruption and organ trafficking in Egyptian medicine
Hossam Reda GhalabTanta, Egypt Healthcare for the indigent in developing countries often leaves much to be desired. Organ trafficking is rampant, its prevalence rising alarmingly and for some constituting a thriving business. In Egypt, each year hundreds of poor Egyptians sell their kidneys and livers in order to feed their families or pay off debts.…
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Religio Medici
Stefan GrebeRochester, Minnesota, United States Mama, take this badge off of me / I can’t use it anymore. / It’s gettin’ dark, too dark to see / I feel I’m knockin’ on heaven’s door“Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door,” Bob Dylan If the injured deputy in Bob Dylan’s lyrics had been living in today’s United States, he would have…