The Vanishing Art of Presence
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When historians look back at this era of medicine, I hope they will be able to say that physicians had the wisdom to preserve the one innovation that never needed... Read more.
The Reflex to Prescribe
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Perhaps the greatest measure of clinical maturity is not the confidence to prescribe, but the confidence to refrain. The highest expression of medical judgment is... Read more.
The Day the Hospital Disappeared
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Forty years ago I watched a hospital disappear. What emerged from its ruins was not simply the physician I would become. It was the understanding that fear is inevitable... Read more.
From Healing to Harm
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Arguably, the most critical question for medicine is, “How certain are we that our actions are justified?” The response to this question may determine whether... Read more.
The Courage to Remain Uncertain
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Every important discovery starts with uncertainty. Uncertainty is not always comfortable, but it is often where truth begins. Maybe the best gift we can give future... Read more.
Reflections on Brain Death, Hope, and the Limits of Certainty
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Physicians can define brain death. Legislatures can codify brain death. Courts can adjudicate brain death. None of them can fully explain life. The greatest physicians... Read more.
Charles Augustus Leale, Abraham Lincoln, and the Physician We Are Slowly Losing
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Maybe the biggest lesson from Leale’s story is that medicine was never just about technical skill. It was meant to include responsibility, sacrifice, judgment,... Read more.
Medicine by Captivity: The Rise of the Hostage Physician
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When doctors spend more time serving systems than serving patients, medicine changes. When physicians are afraid to speak honestly, medicine changes. When throughput... Read more.
The Hantavirus Panic Machine: When Rare Diseases Become Media Theater
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If there is a lesson from the current hantavirus hype, it is not simply that the media exaggerates risk. It is that societies must relearn proportional thinking.... Read more.
When War Teaches Medicine
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War is likely to persist. Medicine, however, must remain steadfast, anchored in principles that transcend conflict, ideology, and time. It should not become a weapon... Read more.
The Lost Art of Medicine: What Maimonides Knew That We Forgot
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Contemporary medicine is not failing for lack of knowledge. It is failing under the weight of complexity. Nearly every aspect of patient care can now be measured.... Read more.
The Last Lesson My Mother Taught Me
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In the end, we cannot stop the circle of life. But we can decide how we meet its final turn. With fear or with clarity. With chaos or with dignity. With denial or... Read more.