Fall 2016 - Hektoen International

Consumption and vampires: metaphor and myth before science

March 4, 2017

Gregory Rutecki Cleveland, Ohio, United States Illustrations of vampires. Provided by author. “In New England . . . It is believed that consumption is not a physical but a spiritual disease . . . as long as the body of a dead consumptive relative has blood in its heart it is proof […]

The boy with the fedora

February 24, 2017

Christopher J. Schayer New Haven, Connecticut (Fall 2016) Radio City Music Hall in New York City. Photo submitted. One of the many wonderful things about going to school in New Haven, Connecticut is its proximity to New York City. From the Metro North ride into the opulent Grand Central Station, to window shopping on 5th […]

St. Patrick’s Hospital: a legacy of Jonathan Swift

February 23, 2017

Linda Slusser Wellington, Ohio, United States Jonathan Swift by Charles Jervas, 1718 Today, St. Patrick’s Hospital in Dublin, known for the innovative care of its patients provides “Ireland’s largest, independent, not-for-profit mental health services.”1 When founded in 1745 by the bequest of Jonathan Swift, it was the first psychiatric hospital to be built in […]

Disclosure

February 1, 2017

Tafadzwa Kasambira Silver Spring, Maryland, United States Not long before she discovered her diagnosis, Rachel felt a flutter in her chest and a sense that the air seeping through her lungs was more agitated, as if moving through a maze. She had that feeling of foreboding you get as you slip into poor health―a […]

Meeting of minds: when scientists and artists meet

January 30, 2017

James Mathew Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States Away from the glitter and noise of the Toronto International Film Festival, two men met for dinner on the thirty-eighth floor of the Westin Harbor Palace. They dined on vegetables and seafood while enjoying a spectacular view of Lake Ontario, its gentle ripples sparkling with the colors of […]

Muslim women healers of the medieval and early modern Ottoman Empire

January 30, 2017

Nada Darwish Alan S. Weber Doha, Qatar Although known only through court documents, legal proceedings, and references in the writings of male practitioners, the tabiba—a female practitioner of folk medicine, midwifery, and gynecology—was an important member of the medical community in the Ottoman Empire (1299-1923). The existing historical record unfortunately obscures the important role that […]

Interviewing, Gibran, calligraphy

January 29, 2017

Saleh Aldasouqi East Lansing, Michigan, United States One of the most enjoyable parts of my academic job is teaching. Interacting with medical students, residents, and fellows is a wonderful environment to practice medicine; and one particular fun part in teaching is interviewing for new training positions, residency, and fellowship. Interviewing gives one a unique […]

Saying thank you

January 29, 2017

Robert Folberg Rochester, Michigan, USA From the commencement address to graduates of the University of Illinois-Chicago College of Medicine on May 6, 2016 It seems to me that members of the medical profession should practice expressing gratitude as often as possible. After all, gratitude may be an effective antidote to arrogance: it is […]

Dress makes the doctor

January 29, 2017

Mary V. Seeman Ontario, Canada What doctors wear influences their image.1-3 Vestments act as powerful symbols; they are especially important, it has been argued, when the occupant of the symbolized role is new to it. The less sure a new physician is about his or her professional role, the more critical it is to be […]

Clinical teaching

January 29, 2017

The early part of the student’s clinical career is always the most important. Every doctor knows that the initiation into clinical work is one of the most difficult intellectual and personal trials of the student’s career. The best help that the clinical teacher can give to his students during the early part of their career […]