February 17, 2020 | 1 min read Insights From “Dying in the Neurological ICU” By Ambereen Mehta, MD, Johns Hopkins Medicine Excellent clinicians are aware of the level of uncertainty in which we practice and empathize with the challenge that patients and families face in the face of that uncertainty.
January 23, 2020 | <1 min read Close Listening By Scott Newsome, DO, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine An excellent clinician always listens closely to their patients. This enhances their perspective on the patient's point of view.
Author Rachel Salas spends a lot of time thinking, researching, and educating about a basic human need - sleep! June 19, 2018 | 2 min read How To Help Your Patients Get Better Sleep By Rachel Salas, MD, Johns Hopkins Medicine Our society is 24/7. People see sleep as a luxury, but it's a basic human need. As clinicians, we should ask patients about their sleep. Here's what I recommend to my patients when they ask what they can do to sleep better.
September 8, 2022 | 2 min read The Forgotten One By Howard Chang, Medical Student, Johns Hopkins Medicine A caregiver’s compassion-fatigue affects the patient. Caregiver support should be considered in the treatment plan.
The author's pediatrician was an early role model in her development as a neurologist. October 15, 2018 | 1 min read Respect, Empathy, and Communciation By Andrea Corse, MD, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine My approach to care is to provide the kind of care you would want for yourself and your family.
June 23, 2021 | 6 min read Aducanumab: The Clinical Wisdom of Being Conservative, Careful, And Transparent By Constantine Lyketsos, MD, Johns Hopkins Medicine Clinicians frequently face thorny ethical dilemmas when caring for patients. Take time to reflect on all components of these issues before discussions with patients.
February 25, 2020 | 2 min read 5 Things Clinicians can do to Reduce Drug Prices By Justin McArthur, MBBS, MPH, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine Excellent clinicians prescribe thoughtfully—pruning medication lists, advising patients on how to save money, and advocating for change.
June 4, 2019 | 3 min read Haiku on Phone By Crystal Jing Jing Yeo, MD, PhD, MassGeneral, Brigham and Women Hospital, Harvard Medical School To be a true healer is to heal not just in life, but also through dying and death.
November 27, 2018 | 3 min read Sleep on it! By Logan Schneider, MD, Stanford Medicine Give yourself enough sleep to retain new learning, give better patient care, and help prevent burnout!
September 19, 2018 | <1 min read Dr. Raf Llinas: A CLOSLER Look By Gretchen Miller, Managing Editor I try to teach using humor. I start by sharing with residents funny mistakes I made during my own training, so that they remember and learn from these poignant stories.
September 12, 2018 | <1 min read Dr. Judy Huang: A CLOSLER Look By Gretchen Miller, Managing Editor To be clinically excellent, you have to be able to put yourself in the shoes of your patient and their family.
May 20, 2021 | 2 min read Alleviating Your Patients’ Worries By April Sharp, MD, Johns Hopkins Medicine During hospitalizations, patients and families have lots of time to worry. Asking about the concerns and empathizing may be especially helpful.
November 4, 2020 | 3 min read It’s All Relative By Elisabeth Marsh, MD, Johns Hopkins Medicine It's essential that we approach each patient with a fresh outlook. Bringing emotions, positive or negative, from a previous clinical interaction can adversely affect the next patient.
October 19, 2020 | 2 min read Book Review of “One by One by One” By Michelle Gyenes, MS, Columbia Mailman School of Public Health Never underestimate the power of teamwork in caring for patients. What can feel impossible for one person may be accomplished with the collaboration and support of others.
May 21, 2018 | 3 min read Listening and Communicating By Justin McArthur, MBBS, MPH, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine The clinical mission and values statement of a neurologist, sharing thoughtful tips on listening and communicating with patients and their families.
January 15, 2020 | 1 min read Extra Minutes By Scott Newsome, DO, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine Every extra minute a clinician spends with a patient is worth it.
Portrait of Dr. Abhay Moghekar, by Crystal Favorito. September 15, 2022 | 1 min read The Gift of a Great Mentor By Crystal Favorito, pre-med, Johns Hopkins Medicine My undergraduate neurology mentor showed me how to view patients as teachers. I know I’ll take this valuable lesson with me throughout my medical education and training.
April 26, 2018 | 1 min read Forming True Partnerships In Care: Listen To Your Patient By Michael Crocetti, MD, MPH, Johns Hopkins Community Physicians Reflecting on caring for a 12-year-old with a complex neurological condition, I was humbled by the parents’ definition of clinically excellent patient care.
March 14, 2018 | 2 min read The Power of Acknowledging Feelings By Michael Crocetti, MD, MPH, Johns Hopkins Community Physicians Recognizing and acknowledging feelings can diffuse a patient’s anxiety.
September 19, 2019 | 2 min read The Importance of Partnering With Patients By Michael Crocetti, MD, MPH, Johns Hopkins Community Physicians What patients and families need is a clinician advocate who is available to listen, translate complex medical language, and support both the physical and mental health of the patient.
August 23, 2018 | 4 min read How To Incorporate Students Effectively Into Clinic By Rachel Salas, MD, Johns Hopkins Medicine Making the time and effort to integrate students into clinic cohesively can be associated with both improved clinical productivity and educational value.
August 22, 2019 | 3 min read Leveraging Your Patient’s Strength By Keri Bischoff, MA, WellBeing Coach partnering with Johns Hopkins, Rachel Salas, MD, Johns Hopkins Medicine Excellent clinicians discover their patients talents to best deliver both recommendations and personalized care.
September 8, 2020 | 1 min read 10 Ways to Cultivate Well-being During The Pandemic By Rachel Salas, MD, Johns Hopkins Medicine It's important to make an effort to improve your sense of well-being to help prevent burnout, especially during the strain of the pandemic.
January 21, 2020 | 2 min read A Daily Dose of Shakespeare By Rachel Salas, MD, Johns Hopkins Medicine Making time to read even just a few lines of timeless words can remind us of the complexity of being human, and facilitate clinicians' reflection upon connecting more genuinely with their patients.
January 7, 2019 | 2 min read Helping Your Patient Get Better Sleep During Hospital Stays By Rachel Salas, MD, Johns Hopkins Medicine Sleep is important during hospitalization, and we need to maximize quality and quantity the best we can for our patients. Asking about your patient’s sleep and identifying ways to improve it when possible is one way to start.
November 26, 2018 | 1 min read You are special – but not when it comes to sleep! By Rachel Salas, MD, Johns Hopkins Medicine Healthcare providers are no different than anyone else - if you shortchange your sleep, there will be consequences!
June 21, 2022 | 2 min read “Can’t you put him down?” By Ivor Berkowitz, MBBCh, MBA, Johns Hopkins Medicine Medical decision making for critically ill patients is complicated and difficult for everyone involved. It is our responsibility to ensure that patients and families are adequately informed to make choices that align with their values.
September 16, 2021 | 1 min read Recognize, Synthesize, Execute By Harisa Spahic, Medical Student, Johns Hopkins University Reflecting about the inspiring clinicians that I’ve shadowed, I noticed that they have a gift for synthesizing information in a way that’s clear and appropriate for the patient.
November 5, 2020 | 3 min read Cultivating Compassion By Aidan Crowley, Medical Student, University of Pennsylvania Compassion—acting on the desire to relieve suffering—is central to giving clinically excellent care to those in need.
January 16, 2019 | 8 min read An Ode to the Herculean Heart By Sam Kant, MD, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine "Heart: A History," elevates our appreciation of how our predecessors worked to better patient lives, as well as the psychosocial aspects of heart disease.
January 10, 2019 | 3 min read How to Improve Your Physical Diagnostic Skills With a Digital Database By Samuel Durso, MD, Johns Hopkins Medicine To sharpen diagnostic skill, take a minute to cross check the physical exam against images and lab results in the electronic record - if not congruent, then why?
August 27, 2018 | 1 min read Practicing the Golden Rule By Scott Newsome, DO, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine A key element in treating people with chronic illness is partnering with their family to develop an individualized management plan.
Mattan Schuchman and colleague caring for a patient in her home. June 21, 2018 | 6 min read How Home Ventilator Care Helped My Patients By Mattan Schuchman, MD, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine Learning how to work with patients on ventilators at home has been a gratifying challenge.
The author discusses patient sleep with a colleague. June 18, 2018 | 2 min read How To Help Your Patients Get Better Sleep, Part I A sleep specialist reminds us of the importance of asking patients about their sleep.
August 9, 2021 | 4 min read Hiding in Plain Sight: Just Ask, or You’ll Miss Most Eating Disorders By Angela Guarda, MD, Johns Hopkins Medicine Although five percent of the population has a clinically significant eating disorder, most aren't detected because clinicians don’t ask. Simply asking,“What is the MOST you would be comfortable weighing?” can help identify a restrictive eating disorder.
July 14, 2021 | 1 min read How to Respond to Off-putting Comments from Patients By Elizabeth Steuber, MD, Johns Hopkins Medicine Sometimes comments from patients are rooted in their own unmet fears or needs. Instead of reacting to your own discomfort in the face of such comments, remaining curious and asking open-ended questions may help you understand what’s behind such unpleasant remarks.
June 8, 2021 | 1 min read Loved Ones: Seize The Opportunity By Jeffrey Millstein, MD, Penn Medicine Ask for loved ones’ input during clinic visits. Different perspectives may shed new light on patient concerns.
October 21, 2020 | 3 min read Show Me By Jared Rubenstein, MD, Baylor College of Medicine Asking patients to share photos and videos can give clinicians a deeper understanding of their lives. This may allow us to give better person-centered care.
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.
October 30, 2019 | 13 min read Partnering With Parents—An Appraisal of Familial Feelings By Monique Webber The clinically excellent clinician understands that each family responds to and copes with chronic illness or disability differently. Being open-minded when partnering with families, and especially parents, is critical for ensuring a trusting relationship and providing support.
July 2, 2019 | 5 min read Shock, Grief, and Arrival By Paulo Selber, MD, Columbia University In the process of decisions regarding children’s welfare, listening to the parent’s feelings will always be the right thing to do.
MERIT Health Leadership Academy students, Baltimore, Maryland, author's photo. February 27, 2019 | 2 min read The Need for Diversity By Tyler Mains, MD, University of California, San Francisco Our future healthcare workforce must be as diverse as the communities it serves.
