February 27, 2025 | 2 min read

Behind the mirror: teen eating disorders 

By Jasmine Reese, MD, MPH, Johns Hopkins Medicine

You don't have to be an eating disorder specialist to make a difference; every healthcare professional can play a vital role in early intervention. Knowing local resources and showing compassion can guide patients toward recovery. 

July 14, 2022 | 2 min read

How to Talk to Children About Gun Violence

By Carol Vidal, MD, PhD, Johns Hopkins Medicine

Give children time and space to talk about their worries and listen closely. Remember, it’s always best for children to first hear the news from a trusted adult.

March 13, 2019 | <1 min read

Dr. Elliot Fishman, A CLOSLER Look

By Gretchen Miller, Managing Editor

Artificial intelligence (AI) will drastically alter all of medicine, with the potential to enhance patient care through improved diagnoses.

February 19, 2024 | 2 min read

Mitigating colon cancer in young patients

By Ekta Gupta, MBBS, Johns Hopkins Medicine

There's and increasing risk of colon cancer in younger patients. Clinicians need to be diligent in considering the possibility of colon cancer.

November 9, 2021 | 3 min read

Giving Exceptional Care Without Exception

A one-liner works in comedy but leads to biases in medicine. Listening, getting to know, and learning from each patient will allow you to serve them best.

November 21, 2025 | 2 min read

The promise and pitfalls of GLP-1s 

This new class of weight loss drugs is not a magic fix. Work with patients to set realistic goals, start low and titrate slowly, and counsel on GI risks. 

December 22, 2022 | 2 min read

Bittersweet holidays

By Taryn Schuelke, MS, CT, CCLS, Texas Childrens Hospital

Many experience grief during the holidays. Make sure to acknowledge your patients’ feelings and consider encouraging them to heal through ritual. 

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 4, 2024 | 2 min read

Knowing when to step back 

Patients may need time to process their thoughts and reflect when making major decisions about their care. Having conversations in stages may help them arrive in the best place.  

November 19, 2018 | 2 min read

Learning from Learners

By Margaret Chisolm, MD, Johns Hopkins Medicine

Teaching is the best way to learn. In the end, I am not only a teacher and my residents are not only learners, but we are both a little of each.

August 15, 2023 | 2 min read

The Importance of Humanities in Medicine

By Mike McCarthy, MD, Johns Hopkins Medicine

Engaging with and studying the humanities can help us give better patient care. Literature, art, and history remind us that patients are whole persons with lives that exist beyond medical problems. 

May 26, 2020 | 1 min read

Accelerating Adaptation in Healthcare

By Lia Logio, MD, Drexel University College of Medicine

Efficiency erodes our ability to respond to the uncertainty of life. The messy world of clinical care requires time, patience, and creative experimentation.

August 17, 2020 | 1 min read

Top Tips For Starting a New Phase in Your Career

By Christle Nwora, MD, Johns Hopkins Medicine

Making time to care for yourself, asking questions, and letting go of perfection can help you successfully navigate a new chapter in your life.

June 15, 2021 | 4 min read

How Art History Can Improve Your Care of Patients

By Siobhan Conaty, Art History Professor, La Salle University

Focusing on visual cues from our patients can help us to better understand them. Closely looking at art is one way that a clinician can improve their observation skills.

February 12, 2025 | 1 min read

Insights from the book “Decoding Greatness”

By Scott Wright, MD, Johns Hopkins Medicine

Achieving greatness in any field is not only about talent or practice; it’s also about studying the successes of those who are exemplary. In medicine, observing and analyzing the approaches of admirable colleagues can allow us to grow and evolve toward being more clinically excellent. 

July 7, 2022 | 1 min read

Filial Affection

By Corliss Wong, MS4, The University of Hong Kong

We must listen closely to patients with dementia’s thoughts and feelings, even though their sense of reality may be different than our own.

March 28, 2019 | 6 min read

Integrating Psychology and Primary Care

By Benjamin Bensadon, PhD, University of Florida College of Medicine

Person-centeredness holds great potential to maximize healing in the way Osler envisioned more than a century ago. But to translate this concept clinically, psychology and medicine must come closer together. The closer we can come together, the closer we can come to Osler.  

July 25, 2018 | 2 min read

The Joy of Realizing You Were Wrong and the Importance of Believing in Recovery for All

By Angela Guarda, MD, Johns Hopkins Medicine

Helping patients change unhealthy behaviors can feel challenging, but what feels like today’s failure can be tomorrow’s story of recovery.

October 27, 2021 | 4 min read

Digital Media Addiction: It’s Complicated

By Natalie Gukasyan, MD, Johns Hopkins Medicine

It’s tempting to resort to simple explanations for complex behaviors like digital media use. Deep relationships with patients can help you understand what’s behind the behavior. 

November 13, 2025 | 2 min read

Cognitive shuffle 

For patients with insomnia, coach them to visualize vivid, unrelated images to disrupt rumination and promote sleep onset. You can try it yourself, too! 

December 19, 2022 | 2 min read

Dismantling ableism in medicine

By Kerry Devlin, MMT, LPMT, MT-BC (she/her), Johns Hopkins Medicine

What does it mean to co-construct a plan of care with disabled patients? Their desires may not be what you expect.

October 10, 2019 | 2 min read

Our Greatest Teachers

By Vivek Murthy, MD, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine

To find meaning in your clinical work, search for the words and moments that affirm your shared humanity with patients.

September 4, 2024 | 1 min read

Validating a patient’s experience of pain

To effectively treat opioid use disorder, clinicians must consider a patient's both physical and psychological experiences.  

March 30, 2022 | 3 min read

Mitigating maternal mortality (archived piece, 2022)

By Kimberly Turner, MD, Johns Hopkins Community Physicians

A more diverse clinical workforce brings greater variety of perspectives in patient care which may improve clinical outcomes. 

November 1, 2018 | 2 min read

Lessons From ‘The Giving Body’

By Adam P. Stern, MD, Harvard Medical School

Little by little, chronic disease can eat away at a patient’s sense of self. The best antidote can be a doctor who empathizes with the patient’s subjective experience.

August 7, 2023 | 3 min read

Insights from the book “Unreasonable Hospitality”  

By Scott Wright, MD, Johns Hopkins Medicine

Healthcare delivery is complex, and hospitality may not be prioritized. As individuals and teams, small changes in behavior may improve patient experience. 

May 12, 2020 | 1 min read

Jump-start End of Life Discussions With “Death Over Dinner”

By Katie Nelson, PhD(c), MSN, RN, Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing

The pandemic has created a sense of urgency around advance care planning and end of life preparations. Resources like "Death Over Dinner" can help broach conversations about death, dying, and the end of life in a non-threatening (and even entertaining) manner.

August 10, 2020 | 2 min read

Debriefing after death (archives, 2020)

By Christopher Bennett, MD, Stanford University

Reflecting on a patient's death as a team provides an opportunity to process emotions and strengthen team dynamics.

June 7, 2021 | 2 min read

It’s Not About Weight

By Nicole Cifra, MD, MPH, University of Rochester

Approaches employed by eating disorder specialists can be applied to support all patients. This includes emphasizing healthy behaviors and acknowledging your own assumptions about weight.

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.

July 6, 2022 | 1 min read

Any Side Effects?

By Jeffrey Millstein, MD, Penn Medicine

Teaching my patients to ask questions helps address their worries about medications. 

March 7, 2019 | 5 min read

On Looking: February Museum Visit

By Flora Smyth Zahra, MA Clin Ed, DRestDent RCS, FHEA, Kings College London, Margaret Chisolm, MD, Johns Hopkins Medicine

The more lessons on clinical excellence we look for in art, the more we find.

November 2, 2021 | 2 min read

What All Clinicians Must Know About End-of-Life Care

By Pringl Miller, MD, San Francisco, California

Initiating and withdrawing life-sustaining medical treatment is the patient’s or their surrogate's decision, not ours. We must always honor their wishes.

November 10, 2025 | 1 min read

Takeaways from the book “Bankroll your mind”  

Attention invested in small moments—like a few screen‑free minutes at the start of a patient encounter—can compound into a trusting patient-clinician relationship. 

December 19, 2022 | 2 min read

Female Leaders in Surgery

By Ming-Hsien Wang, MD, Johns Hopkins Medicine

More women surgeons will increase the diversity of ideas and perspectives needed for excellent patient care. 

October 31, 2019 | 1 min read

A Physician, a Zombie, and a Patient Walk into a Bar

By Michelle Gyenes, MS, Columbia Mailman School of Public Health

We are more like zombies than you might think. This fact reminds us that we should be able to find commonalities with all of our patients and colleagues. Happy Halloween!

September 3, 2024 | 1 min read

More than hot flashes

By Wen Shen, MD, Johns Hopkins Medicine

When thinking about menopause, hot flashes are frequently the first thing that come to mind. But clinically excellent care requires recognizing the full spectrum of symptoms.  

November 19, 2020 | <1 min read

Quitting Smoking During The Pandemic

Remind patients that quitting smoking is hard and takes time. This will help them take a first step toward better health.

October 23, 2018 | 2 min read

Master Clinicians – The Early Years

By Vivek Murthy, MD, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine

It’s no surprise that it takes hard work to become a great clinician. This is a glimpse of what the first steps on that road might look like.

August 1, 2023 | 2 min read

Psychological First Aid

By Albert Wu, MD, MPH, Johns Hopkins Medicine, Matt Norvell, DMin, Johns Hopkins Medicine

Healthcare professionals experience traumatic events that may exceed their ability to cope. Timely emotional support can help maintain their well-being. 

June 29, 2020 | 2 min read

Lessons From the AIDS Epidemic

By Melinda Kantsiper, MD, Johns Hopkins Medicine

In times of crisis, it can be helpful to listen and learn from the stories of those who have come before us.

August 3, 2020 | 1 min read

Book Review of “Elderhood”

By Michelle Gyenes, MS, Columbia Mailman School of Public Health

Ageism is a form of discrimination that contributes to poor health outcomes. To mitigate its effects, we must enact policies that address biases in ourselves, our workplaces, and our communities.

May 27, 2021 | 2 min read

How to Support Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Patients

By James Wu, MD, Medical College of Wisconsin, Neurofourier, MD, New York, New York, Yuemei Zhang, MD, University of Washington

Currently, AAPI people are facing a wave of discrimination. Clinicians need to be sensitive to patients’ experience of racism and educate themselves on how to best offer support.

January 27, 2025 | 2 min read

The green hospital 

By Nick Dalesio, MD, MPH, Johns Hopkins Medicine

Recognize the significant environmental impact of your healthcare practices. Advocate for and implement sustainable solutions, such as optimizing workflow to reduce waste and improve resource utilization. 

June 14, 2018 | 1 min read

AI and the Art of Medicine

By Souvik Chatterjee, MD, Johns Hopkins Medicine

Exploring the new challenge of combining the art of healing with the new science of machine learning.

March 5, 2019 | 3 min read

From Film School to Medical School (Part 3 of 3)

By Margaret Chisolm, MD, Johns Hopkins Medicine

Using both words and images, John Berger and Jean Mohr's photo-essay, "A Fortunate Man," provides an intimate glimpse into the role of the doctor: "To cure sometimes, to relieve often, and to comfort always."

February 5, 2024 | 1 min read

When patients emphatically question the diagnosis

By Will Frye, PhD, Johns Hopkins All Childrens, St. Petersburg, Florida

Sometimes patients and families struggle when processing a new diagnosis. Embracing open communication, education, and collaboration may transform disagreements into understanding. 

October 14, 2021 | 1 min read

Caring During Death

By Vivian Altiery De Jesus, MD, MBE, Johns Hopkins Medicine

It’s a privilege to care for patients and their loved ones, especially at the end of life. Even when we can’t cure, we can always comfort.

December 1, 2022 | 1 min read

World Cup Fever

By Scott Wright, MD, Johns Hopkins Medicine

As you watch lots of “The Beautiful Game” this month, there are lessons for healthcare professionals. All members of our teams are important and diversity drives success.