Hektoen International

A Journal of Medical Humanities

Tag: Professionalism

  • Professionalism in crisis: Dr. Winkel and The Third Man

    Paul DakinLondon, United Kingdom Times of crisis may highlight the best and worst characteristics of people. Many of us yearn to be heroes and yet what is revealed under pressure may fall short of our ideal. Doctors share this human frailty. Is medical training and professionalism enough to overcome personal weakness, allowing our behavior to…

  • Political obfuscation and medical speculation

    Charles G. KelsSan Antonio, Texas, United States Politicians have long endeavored to keep their health concerns secret. In US presidential politics, the efforts of both incumbents and candidates to project vitality and minimize frailty have at times bordered on the surreal. In 1893, President Grover Cleveland underwent surgery for oral cancer on a private yacht…

  • Imagine

    Daniel Becker Charlottesville, Virginia, United States Up in the intensive care unit an elderly man with a subdural hematoma is dying. His wife has been at his side all night. They are from out of town and were on vacation when he slipped and fell on the sidewalk. The intern has also been up all night.…

  • From the grotesque to the sublime: innovations in nursing education

    Judith Frei The American Association of Colleges of Nursing 2008 document Essentials of Baccalaureate Education for Professional Nursing Practice describes the curricular elements for Baccalaureate Nursing Education.1 The very first essential asserts that a liberal education in the sciences and arts is foundational to professional nursing practice and directs faculty to include in the curriculum…