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"Austin Powers," photo by by Dennis Jarvis, WikiCommons, public domain,

March 4, 2020 | 3 min read

“I’m with it. I’m hip . . .”

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

Sometimes, swimming along with your younger learners can help you learn and grow.

Cardiologist Dr. Hugh Calkins.

August 6, 2018 | <1 min read

Treat All Patients Like A Family Member

By Hugh Calkins, MD, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine

I care for all patients as if they were a family member.

June 6, 2024 | 2 min read

Attention please

By Carol Vidal, MD, PhD, Johns Hopkins Medicine

To connect more meaningfully, clinicians need to be more interesting than a young person’s phone. Finding creative ways to engage these patients will improve the relationship.

September 1, 2022 | 2 min read

“Ticking Time Bomb”

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

If you use a metaphor when speaking with patients, make sure to choose ones that don’t cause unnecessary alarm.

August 2, 2021 | 1 min read

How to Support Patients Facing an Upsetting Diagnosis

By Steve Kravet, MD, MBA, Johns Hopkins Community Physicians

In medicine, we often inform patients of new diagnoses that are life-altering—sometimes overwhelmingly so. At these times, we must show empathy and check-in frequently with them.

July 12, 2018 | 1 min read

Storytelling in Medicine

By Susan Lehmann, MD, Johns Hopkins Medicine

The ability to learn your patient’s story from their words is the essential skill for developing a comprehensive understanding. This is crucial for accurate diagnosis and for establishing a therapeutic bond with each patient.

"Critical care unit," drawing by the author.

October 29, 2024 | 1 min read

“Critical care unit”—a visual reflection

By Sujal Manohar, medical student, Baylor College of Medicine

In the face of devastating diagnoses and uncertain prognoses, pediatric patients and their loved ones need to feel heard and understood.

October 29, 2019 | 4 min read

Curiosity, Connection, and Comfort

By Margaret "Molly" Hayes, MD, Harvard Medical School

Curiosity is an essential part of our humanity and a foundation of the doctor-patient relationship. By remaining curious, we remain faithful to the words of Hippocrates: “Cure sometimes, treat often, comfort always.”

November 28, 2022 | 2 min read

What to Know About RSV

By Shannon Scott-Vernaglia, MD, Mass General

Let caregivers know that if symptoms are mild, they can watch children at home and encourage fluid intake. If having trouble breathing, the child should be seen right away.

August 29, 2019 | 2 min read

Mindful Doctoring in the EHR Era

By Irene Estores, MD, University of Florida College of Medicine

Mindfulness is essential in clinical excellence. Consider these five tips while working with the EHR.

September 15, 2021 | 5 min read

Being Grateful for a Difficult Physician-Patient Experience

By Margaret Chisolm, MD, Johns Hopkins Medicine

A frustrating experience as a patient taught me how to be a better doctor. Lesson #1: Always take an interest in your patient as a person.

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."

Ruth and Carl J. Shapiro Gallery (Gallery 232), Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, featuring "Daughters of Edward Darley Boit," by John Singer Sargent (American, 1856–1925). Photograph by Flora Smyth Zahra.

June 6, 2019 | 7 min read

May Art Museum Challenge

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

The art museum is a space that has lessons to teach about clinical excellence, and fosters both the personal development and professional identity formation of clinicians.

"The Persistence of Memory," Salvador Dali, 1931, The Museum of Modern Art.

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.

"L'Atelier au mimosa," Pierre Bonnard.

May 13, 2019 | 7 min read

April Art Museum Challenge

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

Slow looking can enable clinicians to see more deeply, think more critically, and engage more meaningfully in patient care. Time spent in a museum supports clinician wellness and nurtures student professional identity formation.

Dr. Margaret Chisolm captures a photograph of the painting, "John, 1st Baron Byron," 2013, Kehinde Wiley (American, born in 1977), at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.

April 8, 2019 | 5 min read

On Looking: March Museum Visit

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

Visual Thinking Strategies and the Personal Response Tour are two examples of museum-based pedagogical practice that build critical thinking skills, foster empathy, and allow for reflective space away from the clinic.

February 22, 2018 | 3 min read

Family History and Addiction Risk

By Margaret Chisolm, MD, Johns Hopkins Medicine

For some patients the risk of becoming addicted to prescription opioids is extraordinarily high and may outweigh any pain control benefit.

Dr. Margaret Chisolm enjoying an outdoor art installation at the Glenstone. "FOREST (for a thousand years), 2012." Janet Cardiff and George Bures Miller.

February 6, 2019 | 5 min read

On Looking

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

The arts and humanities show us how to live as human beings. Our encounters with art help us to be better healthcare professionals, and give us insights that will help our learners and patients lead meaningful and purposeful lives.

A Reversed Retrogress: Scene 1 (The Purple Shall Govern) (2013), Mary Sibande. Courtesy of the artist and Somerset House London. Photograph by Flora Smyth Zahra.

October 28, 2019 | 5 min read

September Art Museum Challenge

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

By providing a creative space in which healthcare professionals can build skills integral to clinical practice, while also expressing their vulnerabilities and humanity, art museum-based education can humanize healthcare and provide an antidote to burnout.

"Ángel M. Felicísimo from Mérida, España," Pablo Picasso, 1923. Creative Commons via Wikimedia. Public domain.

June 27, 2023 | 3 min read

Book Review of “Wanting: The Power of Mimetic Desire in Everyday Life”

By Margaret Chisolm, MD, Johns Hopkins Medicine

Wanting what others desire contributes to dissatisfaction and rivalry. Learning how to separate your wants from those of the crowd will bring you greater happiness and life satisfaction.

April 6, 2018 | 1 min read

The Human Tragedy of the Opioid Crisis

By Margaret Chisolm, MD, Johns Hopkins Medicine

Addiction impacts more than just my patient, but their entire family. And our job as doctors is—in some way—to care for all of them, to bring them in close, and to try to relieve their suffering in some way.

June 15, 2020 | 1 min read

Getting CLOSLER: A Note to Our Readers

By Margaret Chisolm, MD, Johns Hopkins Medicine, Scott Wright, MD, Johns Hopkins Medicine

For two years, CLOSLER has been stimulating healthcare professionals and trainees to reflect on giving exceptional care to every patient.

Photograph by Dr. Margaret Chisolm.

January 30, 2020 | 6 min read

December Art Museum Challenge

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

The art museum is an emerging informal educational space for the health professions. Here, transformative learning theory provides educators with a model to understand how, through systematically challenging learners’ preconceived beliefs, assumptions, and values, students can grow in their developing professional role.

"An Infinity Room Installation," Yayoi Kusama. Wikivisually.com. Public Domain.

December 19, 2019 | 5 min read

November Art Museum Challenge

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

The reality of clinical practice can be complex and uncertain and these sessions away from the clinics in and around the art museum space allow students through haptic exploration to become more comfortable with ambiguity.

The courtyard within the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston, Massachusetts. Photograph by Flora Smyth Zahra.

November 26, 2019 | 7 min read

October Art Museum Challenge

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

Students appreciate the opportunity to engage with one another in the sanctuary of an art museum; the setting itself fosters well-being.

Window at St. Leopold’s Church, depicting the seven corporal works of mercy. Photograph by Margaret S. Chisolm

September 18, 2019 | 7 min read

August Art Museum Challenge

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

Clinical learning and practice are not removed from cultural and political realities. As clinical educators, it is our responsibility to create both humanistic learning environments that inculcate respect for the ultimate purpose of healthcare: the well-working of the human being as a whole.

Édouard Manet: "A Bar at the Folies-Bergère," 1881-1882. This is a faithful photographic reproduction of a two-dimensional, public domain work of art. The work of art itself is in the public domain for the following reason: Public domain This work is in the public domain in its country of origin and other countries and areas where the copyright term is the author's life plus 100 years or less.

August 6, 2019 | 7 min read

July Art Museum Challenge

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

The skills required in the clinic are the same as those in the art gallery: to examine, investigate, embrace ambiguity, consider multiple interpretations, reflect, collaborate, and learn.

"Tjulpu wiltja: bird nest basket," 2017, Ilawanti Ungkutjuru Ken, as part of "The Art of Healing: Australian Indigenous Bush Medicine," King’s College London.

July 11, 2019 | 7 min read

June Art Museum Challenge

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

Art captures both the ordinary and extraordinary moments of human lives throughout history, and offers insights into how to heal ourselves and one another.

Guanyin, Bodhisattva of Compassion, Honolulu Museum of Art. Photo by Margaret Chisolm, MD.

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.

Wye Valley, Wales, by Taylor Purvis, October 2018.

February 28, 2019 | 2 min read

From Film School to Medical School, (Part 2 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 20, 2019 | 2 min read

From Film School to Medical School (Part 1 of 3)

By Margaret Chisolm, MD, Johns Hopkins Medicine

The arts and humanities might be the perfect preparation for medical school.

"Corridor in the Asylum," Vincent van Gogh, 1889. The Met Museum.

March 5, 2018 | 3 min read

Demystifying Psychiatry

By Margaret Chisolm, MD, Johns Hopkins Medicine

Demystifying psychiatry for patients is the heart of my work. In its existential aspects, psychotherapy calls for the imagination of alternative possibilities.

September 19, 2023 | 3 min read

After Hours

By Margaret Chisolm, MD, Johns Hopkins Medicine

To take care of themselves, their mentees, and their patients, academic clinicians should stop working routinely nights, weekends, and during vacations.

September 7, 2023 | 2 min read

“Wild Problems” Book Review

By Margaret Chisolm, MD, Johns Hopkins Medicine

When it comes to the big decisions in life, abandoning a rational, algorithmic approach—and going back to guiding principles—may be the secret to happiness.

June 26, 2018 | 1 min read

Harnessing Digital Technology for Clinical Excellence

By Margaret Chisolm, MD, Johns Hopkins Medicine

Digital technology can be leveraged for the greater good of clinically excellent patient care. Social media tools like Twitter enable you to connect with healthcare stakeholders from around the world.

November 22, 2022 | 3 min read

Living Your Best Life

By Margaret Chisolm, MD, Johns Hopkins Medicine

By understanding what a good life looks like for each patient, clinicians can move beyond merely treating diseases to helping people flourish.

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.

The Osler Club of London's Osler Coat of Arms.

June 15, 2018 | 2 min read

Osleriana

By Margaret Chisolm, MD, Johns Hopkins Medicine

Enjoy our regular contributor Margaret Chisolm's fun exploration of all things Olser.

13 Norham Gardens, the Osler's home in Oxford from 1907 until their deaths.

June 6, 2018 | 1 min read

Open Arms: The Welcoming Spirit of the Osler Residence

By Margaret Chisolm, MD, Johns Hopkins Medicine

Although we might not all live in a “substantial Victorian house” like William Osler’s, we can all embrace the welcoming spirit of “The Open Arms,” and invite more of our learners into our homes for informal meetings, mentorship, and maybe even tea.

May 29, 2018 | 2 min read

Love At First Sight

By Margaret Chisolm, MD, Johns Hopkins Medicine

A clinically excellent physician always takes the time to ask his/her patient about the history of substance use in their parents and siblings, as well as aunts, uncles, grandparents, and cousins; and always asks about adoption.

October 26, 2021 | 3 min read

What is The Scope of a Clinician’s Work?

By Margaret Chisolm, MD, Johns Hopkins Medicine

We must help our patients achieve a state where body, mind, and spirit are working as a whole. We can help them do more than survive. Let’s help them thrive!

"Chrysantheme und Biene." Hokusai, K. (ca. 1832). Public domain, Wikimedia.

September 22, 2021 | 8 min read

The Role of Visual Thinking Strategies Coaching in Clinical Excellence

By Margaret Chisolm, MD, Johns Hopkins Medicine

Take an appreciative approach when giving feedback to learners. It will not only build clinical skills, but will also foster a healthy community of learning and practice.

May 24, 2018 | 2 min read

My Professional Totem

By Margaret Chisolm, MD, Johns Hopkins Medicine

A psychiatrist shares her story of how a painting by Raphael has reminded her of of why she wanted to become a doctor and what the profession of medicine is all about.

May 16, 2018 | 2 min read

The Stigma of Opioid Use Disorder

By Margaret Chisolm, MD, Johns Hopkins Medicine

Building a strong therapeutic alliance between patient and clinician—via open communication, mutual respect, and trust—is a lifeline for the individual patient with an Opioid Use Disorder.

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.

August 7, 2020 | 3 min read

How to Talk About Diversity With Minority Physicians

By Chase Anderson, MD, University of California San Francisco

Before asking minority colleagues about discrimination, gain their consent first.

August 20, 2020 | 2 min read

2 Minutes of Presence

By Zara Latif, MD, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center

When talking with your patient, dedicate at least two minutes to pure listening. During that time, try to not think about the next question you want to ask and just hear your patient’s perspective.

"You Let Your Magic Tortoise Go," David Kopacz. Copyright with the artist.

August 27, 2020 | 3 min read

Finding Balance During Unbalanced Times

By David Kopacz, MD, University of Washington

Spending time “going into and opening our hearts” is healing and restorative. We can do this for ourselves as healers and guide patients through the practice. It’s as simple as slowing down, putting your hand on your heart, and taking three deep breaths.

Sketch of Carl Rogers, Wikimedia Commons, public domain.

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.

February 7, 2019 | 3 min read

8 Tips From a Psychiatric Emergency Nurse

By Andrea Strawther, RN, Johns Hopkins Medicine

We are all patients. The golden rule of treating others as you would like to be treated can help patients and healthcare providers build more trusting relationships.