February 1, 2021 | 2 min read

The Emperor’s New Curtains

By Charlotte Squires, MBChB, Borders General Hospital, Scotland

Clinically excellent physicians consider the setting of private conversations with patients and families. Quiet rooms with a door that closes are ideal for sensitive discussions.

July 26, 2023 | 3 min read

Small Change = Big Impact

By Jennifer Katzenstein, PhD, Johns Hopkins Medicine

Ideally, healthcare professionals model healthy habits. In doing so, they can inspire others and influence the health of communities.

June 3, 2019 | 1 min read

Every Piece of Data Matters

By Rabih Geha, MD, University of California San Francisco

Bolded, flagged, or typed in a different color, an abnormal result demands the mind’s eye in many modern EMRs, but it is equally important to direct our gaze to the quietly normal labs; not uncommonly, they may be screaming a powerful clue.

July 23, 2020 | 3 min read

Stepping Back Before Moving Forward

By Moises Auron, MD, Cleveland Clinic

Considering multiple diagnostic possibilities and not anchoring on the incoming diagnosis may increase the chance of getting it right.

April 25, 2019 | 3 min read

Diagnostic Humility

By Nathan Douthit, MD, Brookwood Baptist Health, Birmingham, Alabama

Self-awareness is critical in making accurate diagnoses.

June 13, 2018 | 1 min read

Behavioral Change Bolstered By Human Touch

By Souvik Chatterjee, MD, Johns Hopkins Medicine

A human doctor is a critical component of creating change in patient behavior and health.

November 22, 2021 | 4 min read

Noticing What We’ve Seen Without Seeing

By Ekene Ojukwu, MD, Johns Hopkins Medicine

Carefully observing our patients can lead to clinically relevant insights. Sometimes what seems inconsequential at first glance may be surprisingly significant.

March 16, 2020 | 4 min read

Capacity Evaluations: A Clinical Tale in Two Parts

By Elizabeth Ryznar, MD, MSc, Johns Hopkins Medicine

Patients face medical decisions constantly. Assessing capacity for decision-making protects their autonomy.

November 8, 2018 | 2 min read

How Maintaining Fitness Can Enhance Your Clinical Practice

By Mike Rucker, PhD, Active Wellness

Maintaining your fitness may prevent burnout, and can be viewed as a gift to yourself, your patients, and your clinical practice.

August 7, 2024 | 1 min read

The rat

Soliciting diverse perspectives and considering unexpected etiologies can improve diagnostic accuracy. Answers to clinical puzzles may be rooted in cultural and geographic specificities. 

February 20, 2025 | 2 min read

Insights from the book “Be water, my friend”  

By Scott Wright, MD, Johns Hopkins Medicine

Marvel at the adaptability of water—perhaps you may be able to embrace, rather than resist change. Accepting that healthcare is continuously changing might allow for less frustration.

June 29, 2022 | 3 min read

Being PerfecT in Healthcare 

By Mike Fingerhood, MD, Johns Hopkins Medicine, Scott Wright, MD, Johns Hopkins Medicine

Moral questions often arise in healthcare. Contemplating how our efforts might translate into the most good deserves our thoughtful consideration. 

December 5, 2023 | 3 min read

Museums make me a better clinician 

By Johannes Thorman, MD, Scania University Hospital, Malmo, Sweden

Museum-based health professions education is an emerging field. Studying visual art can help healthcare professionals become more patient, collaborative, rigorous, and appreciative of their colleagues.  

August 18, 2020 | 2 min read

Zebras Are Out There

By Eric Last, DO, Northwell Health, Wantagh, New York

Looking at the big picture and verifying details will help you consider diagnoses that may be unlikely, but still possible.

February 5, 2025 | 1 min read

Pathological hiccups

Sometimes benign symptoms can herald more serious problems. Being ready and willing to reconsider initial impressions is crucial for accurately discovering the underlying etiology.

August 7, 2024 | 2 min read

Wait! Is that a zebra?

Common things are common, but occasionally unusual conditions are seen. To improve diagnostic accuracy, clinicians should consider alternative explanations and challenge their own assumptions.

July 17, 2023 | 3 min read

Choreographing Clinical Care

By Hanghang Wang, MD, PhD, Johns Hopkins Medicine

Exceptional patient care is akin to a ballet performance. Synergistic team interactions, thoughtful decisions, and deliberate actions are all critical steps in the dance of patient care. 

May 1, 2018 | 2 min read

How Sweet It Is

By Wilma Ferthler, MD, Rural Country Doctor, Northeast Kingdom, Vermont

We have the responsibility to pay attention to the family members who accompany patients to their visits.

May 17, 2018 | 2 min read

How To Avoid Complacency in Diagnosis

By Michael Crocetti, MD, MPH, Johns Hopkins Community Physicians

Top tips to avoid complacency when faced with a common clinical presentation that may have an uncommon medical diagnosis.

February 23, 2018 | 2 min read

Mindfulness and Diagnostic Acumen: Inversely Related?

By Sharon Solomon, MD, Johns Hopkins Medicine

Far from being inversely related, physician mindfulness provides the foundation upon which diagnostic acumen is built.

April 12, 2018 | 3 min read

Creating a Safe Space For Teen Well Visits

By Barry Solomon, MD, MPH, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine

Providing excellent care for adolescents includes creating a safe space for confidential discussions. The clinically excellent pediatrician is able to help support the teen to share sensitive concerns with parents and caregivers.

January 4, 2024 | 1 min read

Searching for the solution

By Scott Wright, MD, Johns Hopkins Medicine

Improving clinical reasoning skills is a career-long journey where we feel like an expert one day and a novice the next. Commitment to growth and learning from mistakes are absolutely required.  

June 2, 2020 | 3 min read

“Flattening the Curve”

By Madeline Rodriguez, MD, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine

The pandemic is breaking down the traditional hierarchy of medical education. Opportunities are emerging for faculty to learn even more from residents.

March 14, 2019 | 4 min read

How to Help Your Patient Understand Genetic Testing Results

By Leslie Ordal, MSc, CGC

To help your patient with their direct-to-consumer genetic testing results, use skills that apply for any sensitive clinical encounter: listen, acknowledge, and reassure of your presence in the process. Then connect your patient with a genetic counsellor for follow-up as needed.

July 1, 2021 | 3 min read

Micro-judgements Hurt

By Tyler Mains, MD, University of California, San Francisco

Critical comments about colleagues contribute to burnout. To mitigate this, strive to be as empathetic and compassionate with coworkers as you are with patients.

November 16, 2022 | 2 min read

Supporting Patients During Medication Shortages

By Bradley Grant, DO, Johns Hopkins Medicine

When drugs are scarce, reassure patients that you’ll help them navigate this challenge. If you can’t find the medicine after searching, consider rationing when clinically appropriate. 

July 1, 2019 | 1 min read

Looking Under the Hood

By Daniel Minter, MD, University of California, San Francisco

Promoting a culture of thinking out loud can demystify the process of clinical reasoning and make it accessible to all learners.

October 28, 2021 | 2 min read

Dropping my Pen

By Howard Chang, Medical Student, Johns Hopkins Medicine

Excellent clinicians implement colleagues’ feedback to improve their care of patients and offer guidance to support the growth of others. 

March 20, 2025 | 3 min read

Falling up 

By Emily Ma, medical student, Johns Hopkins Medicine

The transition from pediatric to adult care poses significant challenges for patients with disabilities. Healthcare professionals can help by seeking to improve access and continuity of care. 

November 2, 2022 | 2 min read

Psychedelics to Quit Smoking?

By Matthew Johnson, PhD, Johns Hopkins Medicine

Patients may ask about using psilocybin to stop smoking. While being actively studied, please remind them that it’s still illegal and not necessarily risk-free. 

March 12, 2020 | 4 min read

What I learned from my primary care mentors

By Colleen Farrell, MD, New York University

All of us can learn from primary care clinicians, who know that listening, compassion, and connection are the foundations of clinical excellence.

November 29, 2018 | 2 min read

Management Reasoning: Diagnostic Reasoning’s Underappreciated Sibling

By David Cook, MD, MHPE

Management reasoning is primarily a task of shared decision-making and monitoring, and is inherently more complex than diagnostic reasoning. A better understanding of management reasoning will offer insights into the causes and avoidance of medical error, clinical practice quality improvement, and training and assessment of health professionals.

November 12, 2019 | 2 min read

The Early Bird Special

By Rebecca Hamburger, Medical Student, Central Michgan University College of Medicine

Timing is everything. Doing our best to optimize access to healthcare is a first step to serving our patients.

September 12, 2019 | 3 min read

Connecting climate change to patient care (archives, 2019)

Healthcare professionals must confront the health threats posed by climate change. To safeguard the health of all humanity, we should take a leadership role in addressing this critical issue.

October 8, 2020 | 2 min read

The Do’s and Don’ts of Discussing Monetary Donations With Patients

By Joseph Carrese, MD, MPH, Johns Hopkins Medicine

Unless patients initiate the discussion about philanthropy, it’s wise to be cautious on this topic. Such practices will preserve a trusting patient-clinician relationship.

October 7, 2020 | 1 min read

CLOSLER Together

By Scott Wright, MD, Johns Hopkins Medicine

Discussing CLOSLER pieces in groups may yield more insights than simply reading on your own. Consider adding a discussion of a piece to your next staff, practice, or division meeting.

April 18, 2018 | 6 min read

How To Reclaim Boredom From Your Smartphone

By Timothy Plante, MD, MHS, The University of Vermont Larner College of Medicine

Boredom brings mind wandering; mind wandering brings creativity. Here’s how I reclaimed boredom in my life.

June 25, 2018 | 2 min read

On The Professional Formation of Doctors

By Margaret Chisolm, MD, Johns Hopkins Medicine

By getting out of the business of knowledge and skills and returning to the work of professional formation, not only will medical schools and their patients win, but doctors—and the profession of medicine as a whole—will too.

December 10, 2020 | 3 min read

Coping With Patients’ Heartbreak

By Jared Rubenstein, MD, Baylor College of Medicine

When supporting patients and their loved ones during times of great sadness and loss, cultivating a daily habit of self-care may protect against burnout.

October 14, 2019 | 4 min read

The Struggle Between Occam’s Razor and Hickam’s Dictum

By Kittane "Vishnu" Vishnupriya, MBBS, Johns Hopkins Medicine

Occam's razor and Hickam's dictum are both helpful tools when engaging in diagnostic reasoning.

December 13, 2018 | 2 min read

Interprofessional Collaboration Improves Care

By Vineet Arora, MD, University of Chicago Medicine

Improving teamwork in hospitals is key to giving clinically excellent care to our patients.

November 21, 2018 | 1 min read

Asking Difficult Questions

By Julia Ross, MD, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine

Asking probing questions is difficult, but can make a difference in understanding your patient.

December 17, 2019 | 4 min read

Stop, Look, and Listen

By Chase Webber, DO, Vanderbilt University Medical Center

From a young age, children learn to “Stop, Look, and Listen” when crossing the street. Clinicians would do well to live by these words in the realm of clinical reasoning.

March 1, 2018 | 2 min read

Most Physicians Sit Down at the Bedside When Entering a Patient’s Room

By Scott Wright, MD, Johns Hopkins Medicine

Choice architecture, framing, herd behavior, and feedback—how to nudge your patient towards healthier choices.

June 27, 2019 | 5 min read

Lessons From “Empathic: An Underappreciated Way of Being”

By Leslie Ordal, MSc, CGC

Reading Carl Rogers' 1975 essay can help you cultivate the skill of listening without judgement.

May 3, 2018 | 5 min read

Challenges, Choices, and Changes

By Catherine Parrish, MD, Johns Hopkins Community Physicians

CHALLENGE yourself to be a lifelong learner—make CHOICES in your career that make you HAPPY, and use the CHANGES in your personal life to inform and enrich your work.

March 15, 2018 | 3 min read

Imperturbability, Aequanimitas, and “In Shock”

By Tom Hutchinson, MB, McGill University

Moving towards a deeper understanding of Osler's dicta of imperturbability and aequanimitas.

February 14, 2019 | 3 min read

Defamiliarization

By Sarah Walser, , Penn State College of Medicine

Incorporating defamiliarization into practice builds empathy and broadens our worldview. It challenges us to expand and find confluence between different frameworks through which an experience, such as a disease, can be interpreted.