Bringing Back the Story: Wellbound Storytellers and Health Empowerment

The Navajo Sugar Monster Long ago the Holy People predicted that a monster would take over the Navajos. Our mothers and fathers would change...No longer were man and woman together. One after another this monster ate away their faces. It gnawed away Navajo identity....Everything turned from light to dark....Words ceased to exist. The Holy People …

The Power of Patient Blogs: A Window Into the Lived Experience

“Patient blogs reveal the true extent of the impact of cancer on finances, work practices, family life…they offer a window into the lived experience of the patient.” ~Marie Ennis-O’Connor When you are 34 years old, lecturing and working in Public Relations and Marketing at a University, you aren’t thinking about cancer.  Yet in 2004, Marie …

What ever happened to old school medicine? It’s still around…

"Nothing connects doctor & patient faster than a simple moment of pure listening. Not just waiting for your turn to talk, but real listening." Tweet by Dr. Steven Eisenberg, January 5, 2013 I wrote a post a year ago entitled "What happened to Old School Medicine?"  Perhaps, by putting my mourning  for my father "out …

$375 Billion Worth of Value: Family Caregivers

"There are four kinds of people in this world: those who have been caregivers, those who currently are caregivers, those who will be caregivers, and those who will need caregivers." Rosalyn Carter First Lady Rosalyn Carter is both philosophical and truthful when she describes caregivers.  There are 66 million adults in the US who are …

Patient Safety: Costs in Healthcare

For many years my mother worked part-time in a hospital in North Carolina in quality.  In researching cost and quality issues, she found that a significant amount of money and time was spent on a problem that was preventable.  It was a problem that patients got in the hospital.  It was painful and could be …

Patient-Centered Medicine Part 2

The etymology of the word “Patient” is described on  Webster’s site  as: derived from the Latin word patiens, the present participle of the deponent verb pati, meaning "one who endures" or "one who suffers". Patient is also the adjective form of patience. Both senses of the word share a common origin. On Graduation Day, medical students become MDs and …

Patient-Centered Medicine Part 2

WE ARE ALL PATIENTS! The etymology of the word “Patient” is described on  Webster’s site  as: derived from the Latin word patiens, the present participle of the deponent verb pati, meaning "one who endures" or "one who suffers". Patient is also the adjective form of patience. Both senses of the word share a common origin. On Graduation Day, medical …

What happened to "old school" medicine?

Times they are a-changing.  My dad wouldn’t have liked what’s happening. C. A. Hoffman, Jr.  was an old-school physician.  Often, to the chagrin of his office staff, he spent real time with his patients.  Five o’clock would come and go. His office was busy and filled with his laughter and booming voice.  A ringing office …