Hektoen International

A Journal of Medical Humanities

Tag: retirement

  • Enlightenment from Sherlock Holmes on COVID-19 associated perilous boredom

    Daniel Gelfman Indianapolis, Indiana, United States   Evening silhouette of Sherlock Holmes’s statue at Baker street, the real place where he never lived. Photo by dynamosquito. Taken January 11, 2010. Via Wikimedia Boredom can useful. It can motivate people to do great things. It can also be dangerous by increasing the risk of depression and…

  • Karl Landsteiner and the discovery of blood groups

    Safia BenaissaMostganem, Algeria Karl Landsteiner was the Austrian scientist who recognized that humans had different blood groups and made it possible for physicians to transfuse blood safely. He entered medical school at the University of Vienna, where he developed an interest in chemistry. After taking off a year to complete his military service he returned…

  • The last picture show

    Katherine White Rockville, Maryland, United States   Highway 567, junction, near Taos, Taos, New Mexico. Photo by John Margolies. 2003. Public domain through Library of Congress. It was a cold December morning, the second day of the 2018 Hot Topics in Neonatology Conference in Washington, DC. Around 800 people trickled into the vast hotel ballroom,…

  • Retired Hurt

    J.M.S. Pearce United Kingdom Poet’s statement: Lines on retirement written years ago in a transient mood of reflection, not depression.   Retired hurt1 What is this life with time to spare, There’s too much time to stand and stare. No breakfast rushed, no traffic race No bureaucrat’s unsmiling face. No prim grey suit worn everyday,…