By Alon Mass
Faculty Peer Reviewed
The overlap between religion and medicine is ancient. On a recent medical volunteer trip to India I met a medical student who proudly wore a school sweatshirt with the saying: In God we trust. The rest …
Category: Class Act
Clinical Correlations
Advance Directives: A Move in the Right Direction
September 16, 2011
By Sara-Megumi Naylor
Faculty Peer Reviewed
“Tell me…If you were ever unable to make your own decisions about your medical care, is there someone you would trust to make those decisions for you?”
There is silence.
But then a response. We discuss. I record.
Then …
What is Sister Mary Joseph’s Nodule And Why Is It Significant?
September 15, 2011
By Keri Herzog, MD
Faculty Peer Reviewed
The patient is a 62-year-old male who presented to an outpatient medical clinic complaining of a growing, slightly painful, periumbilical mass, and mild lower gastrointestinal discomfort over the last 4 months. On examination, the patient …
Should My Patient with a Solid Tumor be Anticoagulated in the Absence of Venous Thromboembolism?
September 8, 2011
By David Altszuler, Class of 2012
Faculty Peer Reviewed
An empiric association between occult malignancy and thrombophlebitis has been recognized since Trousseau first reported the syndrome in 1865.[1] The mechanism by which cancer predisposes to thrombophilia has not been fully elucidated; however, it …
Should you Treat a COPD Exacerbation with Antibiotics?
September 3, 2011
By: Aviva Regev
Mr. S is a 68-year old man with longstanding COPD and a 40-pack-year smoking history. He presents to clinic with three days of increasing shortness of breath, and complains that he has been coughing up …
Does Medical School Erode Student Empathy?
August 10, 2011
By Nandini Govil
Faculty Peer Reviewed
Empathy is an elusive concept, espoused by many as an integral component of effective doctoring. In the medical literature, empathy is defined as a physician’s ability to recognize and validate a patient’s experiences and perspectives, and …
More Pills, More Problems: The Polypill Revisited
August 3, 2011
By Jonathan Leventhal
Faculty Peer Reviewed
Polypharmacy has become an integral part of daily life for millions of chronically ill patients worldwide, and rightfully so. Evidence-based studies have repeatedly demonstrated that multiple drugs are required for optimal therapeutic management in chronic diseases including …
Mental Health Considerations for Gay and Lesbian Patients
July 27, 2011
By Benjamin Cox
Faculty Peer Reviewed
Gay men and lesbian women are members of a stigmatized minority group and evidence suggests that they may disproportionately utilize mental health services.[1] This increased use of mental health services may be related to the concept …