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January 5, 2022 | 1 min read

Bringing my Nursing Pearls to my Doctoring

By Nina Wagner-Johnston, MD, Johns Hopkins Medicine

From my experience as a nurse, I always remember the importance of engaging the whole team. Each team member provides unique insights that can optimize the care of the patient.

WWI Battle of Verdun Cemetery, Verdun, France.

March 23, 2020 | 4 min read

Finding the Right Words—Lessons From Nurse Mary Borden

By Iro Filippaki, PhD, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine

WWI Nurse Mary Borden's autobiography provides inspiration to search for the right words to describe our experience, and perhaps, find solace as we face the challenges of medicine.

March 30, 2023 | 2 min read

Cultivating a Beginner’s Mind

By Clara Watkins, student, Emory University School of Nursing, Colleen Christmas, MD, Johns Hopkins Medicine

Remember when you were a new learner? Approach situations with that open, creative, and nonjudgmental mind that you may have had when you started training.

How can we make hospital care even more patient-centered?

March 2, 2021 | 2 min read

Patient-Centeredness in The Hospital

By Patrick McMurray, RN, North Carolina

One way to demonstrate patient-centered care is creating spaces in which patients feel less vulnerable. A space that is safe, calm, and private is ideal for healing.

March 22, 2018 | 7 min read

Fundamentals for Caring for Transgender Patients

By Paula Neira, JD, MSN, RN, CEN, FAAN, Johns Hopkins Medicine

Improve your skills as you work to support your transgender patients and interact with your transgender colleagues.

February 24, 2022 | 3 min read

New Dad And Healthcare Professional

By Ben Roberts, NP, Johns Hopkins Medicine

Placing my child’s and my patients’ needs before my own gives me purpose. These responsibilities help mitigate burnout and allow me to give excellent 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.

February 6, 2023 | 1 min read

Finding Peace

By Sandra Burke, PhD, Pacifica Graduate Institute

Nurturing ourselves allows us to better heal our patients. Practicing mindful habits, like deep breathing, is one way we can engage in self-care.

July 6, 2021 | 2 min read

CARE: Connect, Assess, Respond, Evaluate

By Cheryl Barnes-Neff, PhD, MDiv, RN, President, Laurel Oak Group, Online Education & Training

To understand and better care for your patients, be curious about their life stories. Reflect on what you hear and consider the extent to which you are truly connecting.

"While we are both subspecialist pediatricians, we are also the parents of an amazing three-year-old boy."

June 14, 2021 | 3 min read

How Trainees Improve The Care of Patients

By Jared Rubenstein, MD, Baylor College of Medicine, Leyat Tal, MD, Texas Children\'s Hospital

While the experience of being a trainee doesn’t always feel impactful, from our perspective as attending physicians and parents of a sick child, know that what you do matters.

April 21, 2021 | 2 min read

Opioid Monitoring in Primary Care

By Jeffrey Millstein, MD, Penn Medicine

Discussions about opioid use with patients must be approached with curiosity and concern, rather than suspicion. Implemented with sensitivity, opioid monitoring programs can strengthen the clinician-patient relationship.

October 20, 2021 | 3 min read

Rethinking the Routine in the Pursuit of Inclusion

Interprofessional team members bring a rich variety of perspectives about patients that can lead to better whole person care. Using first names among our team helps minimize power differentials.

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.

February 14, 2023 | 3 min read

Caring For Patients by Listening

By Shari Lawson, MD, Johns Hopkins Medicine

Treat every patient with respect and address all their concerns.

June 5, 2018 | 2 min read

Clinical Excellence: It Takes A Village

By William Greenough, MD, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine

The key to clinical excellence in long term care rests not solely on the physician, but also with hands-on bedside caregivers—the unsung heroes of healthcare—nurses, and in this patient story, a recreational therapist.

March 27, 2023 | 9 min read

Ever Forward: Caring For Patients Who Are Transgender And Gender-Expansive

By Paula Neira, JD, MSN, RN, CEN, FAAN, Johns Hopkins Medicine

Treat all patients with dignity and respect and ask how they’d like to be addressed.

August 30, 2019 | 1 min read

The Gatekeepers of “Fairness”

By Panagis Galiatsatos, MD, Johns Hopkins Medicine

Excellent clinicians spend time listening to patients, acknowledging concerns, and empathizing with feelings that life is not fair.

July 17, 2018 | 4 min read

Being a True Patient Advocate

By Deborah Freeland, MD, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine

Sometimes being an advocate for your patient means fighting for a decision that you don’t fully agree with and respecting their decision; in so doing, you are fulfilling your duty to protect and honor patient autonomy.

August 12, 2021 | 1 min read

Beyond Language—Closing the Gaps

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

Caring for a patient who didn’t speak English showed me that all patients can benefit from a compassionate facial expression, eye contact, and a soothing tone.

"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.

August 11, 2022 | 2 min read

A Mother’s Death

By Avani Prabhakar, MBBS, MPH, Johns Hopkins Medicine

Including a patient’s words in your empathic response is affirming and creates connection.

"If I die, tell my mother I love her. If I get better, I'm going to visit her in Tennessee. She has ten acres and a farmhouse."

May 11, 2021 | 1 min read

Empathy at The End of Life

By Avani Prabhakar, MBBS, MPH, Johns Hopkins Medicine

At the end of life, clinicians who are present and listen compassionately may be entrusted with patients’ final wishes. Attempting to honor these requests is one way to serve.

July 20, 2022 | 2 min read

“I’ll do your abortion.”

By Jill Edwardson, MD, MPH, Johns Hopkins Medicine

We enter every patient encounter with our own unique experiences, judgements, and values, as do our patients. Only when we acknowledge this can we truly connect with compassion.

July 17, 2020 | 1 min read

Person-Centered LGBTQ Care in the Pandemic Era

By Justin Fontenot, MSN, RN

Patient-centered care requires considering your patients’ wants and needs in their management. ALL patients deserve person-centered care.

June 5, 2019 | <1 min read

Dr. David Hellmann, A CLOSLER Look

By Gretchen Miller, Managing Editor

The greatest joy is to know your patients as people.

June 6, 2023 | 3 min read

Plant Straight Rows

By Kyle Glienke, MD, Buena Vista Regional Medical Center, Iowa

In farming, as in medicine, focusing only on daily tasks may keep us from seeing the impact we have.

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.

January 20, 2021 | 3 min read

How to Repair Patient-Clinician Relationships

By Shara Nauth, MD, Western University, Ontario, Canada

To rebuild a patient-clinician relationship, apologize and acknowledge your patient’s feelings.

April 10, 2019 | <1 min read

Dr. Steven Frank, A CLOSLER Look

By Gretchen Miller, Managing Editor

Enjoy a three-minute video interview with anesthesiologist Steven Frank, MD, on what he learned from being a patient himself, and his gratitude for his entire team.

March 2, 2023 | 2 min read

Meaningful Chords

By Ben Roberts, NP, Johns Hopkins Medicine

When my patient’s wife brought his guitar to the hospital, I realized it’s impossible to overestimate the impact of reuniting patients with what matters most to them. Do what you can to make this happen.

April 11, 2019 | 2 min read

A Band of Sisters and Brothers

By Ivor Berkowitz, MBBCh, MBA, Johns Hopkins Medicine

It is difficult for new members to join an established tightly-knit team that has shared intense, life-altering, emotionally charged experiences with each other for many years.

December 16, 2020 | 2 min read

The Danger of Stereotyping Specialties

By Sarah Temkin, MD, Greater Baltimore Medical Center

Clinicians must critically evaluate the stereotypes that they assign to one another. A diversity of training and backgrounds is beneficial to patient care.

April 13, 2020 | 3 min read

Social Distancing, Not Emotional Distancing

By Loveleena Virk, MD, Kaiser Permanente, Oakland Medical Center, California.

Creating space to recognize and manage feelings of helplessness is critical to prevent burnout and maintain wellness during the pandemic. We share strategies in this piece to help you cope during these challenging times.

January 18, 2023 | 2 min read

Finding a PCP

By Laura Hanyok, MD, Johns Hopkins Medicine

Finding a primary care physician can take time, but it’s worth it to find a personal physician for longitudinal care. Suggest patients ask their family and friends for PCP recommendations.

March 10, 2020 | 1 min read

Observing and Acknowledging Family Dynamics

By Kimberly Zeren, NP, Johns Hopkins Community Physicians

During your next patient encounter, take the time to observe the family dynamics. Don't be afraid to ask the difficult questions.

January 5, 2023 | 1 min read

Quiet Quitting in Healthcare

By Scott Wright, MD, Johns Hopkins Medicine

The past three years have been difficult in healthcare and some are now doing less than we used to. Because this may be a temporary strategy, patience and understanding may be the most considerate approach.

August 30, 2021 | 3 min read

TIPPS For Reducing Patients’ Anxiety

By Elizabeth Steuber, MD, Johns Hopkins Medicine

Helping patients engage in paced breathing and progressive muscle relaxation can be calming when they are feeling stressed.

“Imagine your baby’s lungs are a tree,” she said. “A pleural effusion would be a puddle around the tree while pulmonary edema is water on the leaves.” The mother seemed to follow along, nodding her head. I was grateful to hear this metaphor that inspired me to utilize pictorial representations more.

August 19, 2021 | 2 min read

The Power of Pictures

By Rebekah Fenton, MD, Northwestern University

When educating patients about their illness, it’s often helpful to include pictures and visual descriptions to improve understanding.

Georgia O'Keeffe, Series 1, Number 8.

November 20, 2018 | 2 min read

The Healing Power of Words

By Helen Bradshaw, MD, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine

What we say to patients has the power to promote healing.

Evening Star, Number III, Georgia O'Keefe, 1917, Museum of Modern Art

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 23, 2020 | 5 min read

Holiday Rounds

By Samuel Durso, MD, Johns Hopkins Medicine

If you're called on to work through Christmas and New Year’s, there's a bright side. This is typically a quieter period and may allow more time to learn from clinically excellent role models.

July 30, 2019 | 3 min read

Searching for Bicarb in July

By Camille Petri, MD, Mass General

To succeed in clinical practice, be humble and open to learning from all members of your team.

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.”

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.

March 3, 2018 | 2 min read

Six Steps to Make Wellness Work

By Laura Hanyok, MD, Johns Hopkins Medicine

Our well-being as physicians is an essential part of professionalism. If we aren't well, we can't provide the best care to our patients, who deserve our best.

November 4, 2019 | 3 min read

Top Tips to Make the Best of Night Call

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

Working nights in healthcare is tough. Five tips highlighted in this piece are related to self-care, and the last one reminds us all to support our colleagues who are covering the night shift.

October 23, 2019 | 4 min read

A Tale of Two Stents

By Frank Cacace, MD, North Shore University Hospital

We are all vulnerable to cognitive biases. The clinically excellent clinician takes time to slow down and steps back when working toward the definitive diagnosis.

April 28, 2021 | 4 min read

The Social Determinants of Clinician Health

By David Kopacz, MD, University of Washington

When half of clinicians are burned out, we clearly need to fix our workplaces. In the meantime, we also need to care for ourselves, our patients, and each other.

April 19, 2018 | 3 min read

Becoming a Mindful Clinician

By Patricia Dobkin, PhD, McGill University Department of Medicine

Most healthcare professionals maintain high standards, perfectionistic tendencies, and critical minds. This appears to be an advantage in a high stakes-high risk work environment. However, these habits of mind may backfire when held too tightly and lead to emotional exhaustion. Being mindful can offset this problem.

May 8, 2018 | 3 min read

Compassion is Contagious

By Colleen Christmas, MD, Johns Hopkins Medicine

Patients are observing us while we interact with others in the hospital, and this can have a tremendous impact on the trust they put in our care.