Hektoen International

A Journal of Medical Humanities

Tag: VA

  • Article 99: Saving money versus saving lives

    Howard Fischer Uppsala, Sweden   A U.S. Marine Corps helicopter transporting wounded during “Operation Urgent Fury”, the U.S. invasion of Grenada in October 1983. photographer: TSgt. M. J. Creen, USMC. Via Wikimedia. Public domain. “There are some patients we cannot help; there are none who we cannot harm.” —Arthur Bloomfield, M.D.   Article 99 is…

  • My first (do no harm) patient

    Paul KaragiannisChicago, Illinois, United States The door to room 7403 was opened slightly, and a TV inside hummed the midday news—nervous but resolute, we knocked and crossed the threshold. Inside, sitting knees-up in bed, his height accentuating the awkward angularity of his position, sat Mr. C., Bed No. 2, United States Veteran, my first patient…