March 14, 2023 | 2 min read Laughter is The Best Medicine By Marion McCrary, MD, Duke Health A smile, a touch, eye contact, and a jovial laugh can be a lifeline for patients in a stressful situation.
August 27, 2019 | 3 min read Letting the Laughter In By Michelle Gyenes, MS, Columbia Mailman School of Public Health Excellent clinicians know that laughter can be a powerful tool in enhancing communication and building trust, particularly when working with older patients.
October 29, 2018 | 2 min read The Power of Laughter By Carol Ann Huff, MD, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine Laughter is wonderful medicine and can almost always be heard emanating from my clinic!
Plato, Greek philosopher. A disciple of Socrates and the teacher of Aristotle, he founded the Academy in Athens. This is his statue, located before the Academy of Athens, Greece. 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.
March 20, 2018 | 2 min read 7 Things Clinicians Can Learn From Therapy Dogs By Stephanie Cooper Greenberg, Johns Hopkins Pet Therapy Program Dogs see the person in front of them only as people and not as patients.
May 7, 2024 | 2 min read Kids in tow By Martina Anto-Ocrah, PhD, MPH, University of Pittsburgh I once had to bring my four children with me to an OB-GYN appointment. It reminded me that it’s important to recognize that patients may have challenges getting to clinic, and to work with them to find solutions.
November 27, 2023 | 2 min read Immunity illusions By Abraham Nussbaum, MD, Denver Health When my classmate in medical school died of chronic illness, I was finally able to imagine myself as a patient. I now treat patients with the compassion that I would want to receive in the hospital.
April 11, 2022 | 6 min read Effective Partnering With Medical Interpreters By Cecilia Murach, Medical Interpreter, Johns Hopkins Medicine A medical interpreter can support successful communication between limited English proficiency patients and the other clinical team members. This collaboration helps build cross-cultural connections with patients and improve care.
October 18, 2021 | 2 min read Self-Care Isn’t Selfish By Carolyn Cumpsty-Fowler, PhD, MPH, Johns Hopkins Medicine Clinician well-being is essential to excellent patient care. We endanger our patients when we are burned out and disengaged.
July 20, 2021 | 2 min read 3 lessons on clinical excellence from the oncology clinic By Sajya Singh, Medical Student, Johns Hopkins Medicine While shadowing clinicians in cancer care, I learned the importance of spending time to gather the family history, building trusting relationships, and balancing treatment plans with quality-of-life considerations.
February 11, 2021 | 6 min read Checklists and Connections By Neda Frayha, MD, University of Maryland Take five minutes to connect with a patient with no medical agenda. You may be surprised by how much joy it brings both you and them.
November 25, 2020 | 2 min read Naming Chickens By Claire Crawford, MSW, PhD, Texas Childrens Incorporate laughter and joy where you can, giving yourself, your patients, and their families, moments of respite.
January 14, 2019 | 2 min read We’re Getting CLOSLER to the Super Bowl! By Wilma Ferthler, MD, Rural Country Doctor, Northeast Kingdom, Vermont Football-inspired clinical pearls from Vermont family physician Dr. Wilma Ferthler teach us how to be better clinicians.
December 28, 2018 | 3 min read How do you measure a year? By Dawn Harris Sherling, MD, Florida Atlantic University How do we measure a year in medicine? I’d like to measure mine in patient laughter, hugs, and lives that were made just a little bit better.
November 12, 2018 | 3 min read Insights From “A Whole New Mind” By Sam Kant, MD, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine Daniel Pink's "A Whole New Mind" highlights the importance of cultivating empathy, humor, and the ability to create meaning.
