Bharatanatyam in Creative Aging

Blog by Sloka S. Iyengar PhD, PMP In the relatively new field of “creative aging,” older adults participate in pursuits such as painting, drawing, knitting, writing, music, and dance. Creative aging programs aim to engage seniors in activities that promote resilience and plasticity. Some programs cater to specific populations, e.g., those with Parkinson’s Disease,1 whereas […]

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Shame in Medicine: The Lost Forest

Podcast with Luna Dolezal and Emily Silverman   In today’s podcast, we look at the lasting consequences of shame in Medicine with Nocturnist creator Emily Silverman and Professor Luna Dolezal. Emily Silverman, MD is an internal medicine physician in San Francisco, Assistant Volunteer Professor of Medicine at the University of California San Francisco (UCSF), and […]

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An Ancient Malady

Book Review by Samuel Freeman Carl Erik Fisher, The Urge: Our History of Addiction (New York: Penguin Press, 2022). ISBN 978-0525561446. Carl Erik Fisher’s use of alcohol and drugs nearly ended his burgeoning career when he was a psychiatrist in training. In The Urge: Our History of Addiction, Fisher, a psychiatrist, bioethicist, and addiction specialist […]

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A Commentary on Traumatic Events – Medical Training in the Wake of 2020

Blog by Lisa P. Michelson, M.A., M.Phys., and Sara J. King, B.S. Acknowledgements: Aaron Fox, Quinta Fernandes, Santiago Bejarano Hernandez “You – hold pressure on the thigh wound!” “Peds Surg is on their way!” “Placing a second IV.” “How much Morphine has he gotten?” “Can someone distract him with his bear?” These are the voices […]

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Listen to Me

Film Review by Robert Abrams Buzz (short film, Sudan 2022, directed by Mohamed Fawi, produced by Amjad Abu Alala, distributed by Mad Solutions), world Premiere at the 2022 Cairo International Film Festival (CIFF) Buzz, a new short film created by the visionary director Mohamed Fawi, presents, in just under 20 minutes, several different themes that […]

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We Are Trying to Put the Humanity Back Into Medicine … So, Why Do We Keep Removing It?

By Meagan Brennan   The focus on patient-centred care has prompted physicians to consider how to better centre the human experience in healthcare. Most patient-centred initiatives ask, “How can we put the humanity back into our medical practice?” Perhaps a better question is “Why did we remove it at all?” Instead of trying to foster […]

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Sedated: How Modern Capitalism Created Our Mental Health Crisis

Book Review by Laura Grace Simpkins James Davies. Atlantic Books, 2021. 9781786499875. More than 20 per cent of adults take a psychiatric drug each year in Britain alone–over a 500 per cent increase since 1980. Despite this ‘prescription epidemic’, the prevalence of mental illnesses, from the least to most severe, has simultaneously risen. Many of […]

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Let’s End Violence Against Girls and Women: International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting (FGM/C): Monday, 6 February 2023

Professor Hassan Shehata is the current RCOG Vice President for Global Health. In this blog, he reflects on the RCOG’s role in eradicating Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting (FGM/C), and launches a call for action by healthcare professionals and NGO’s around the world to stop all forms of gender-based violence including FGM.   Introduction: about FGM When […]

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Giuseppe Tornatore, A Master of Italian Cinema Constantly Reflecting on the Past

Film Review by Franco Ferrarini, Gastroenterologist and Film Reviewer ‘Film Legends Among Us’ series There is no future, Salvatore: only the past exists. (Quote from “Cinema Paradiso”) Giuseppe Tornatore is an Italian film director and screenwriter who, after the Golden era from the ‘50s to the ‘70’s led by Federico Fellini and Luchino Visconti, restored […]

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