Recently I have been talking with my medical students about how the recognition of beauty can shape our actions. We routinely behold lovely paintings, people, and vistas, I tell my students. And paintings, people, and vistas might move us. But we don’t always allow them to move us to action.
The Harvard philosopher Elaine Scarry, in her book On Beauty and Being Just, argues that beauty can propel …
How perceiving beauty makes us better doctors
I dreaded Mr. L’s office visits. His mouth half vacant of teeth and his clothes reeking of hand-rolled cigarettes, he regularly demanded medicines he didn’t need. He was pushy and thankless. I frequently declined his requests. He stuck with me anyway.
Over the years he grew in orneriness. Divorced, childless, and unemployed, he declared one day that he was tired of living. He was reasonably healthy. He disavowed depression. Would I …
Might doctors be inclined to facilitate the deaths of patients they don’t like?
You need a doctor, and I love what I do. But this work just isn’t sustainable.
In 2009, I finished medical training and joined a clinical academic practice. For those not in the know, doctors can — very generally speaking — work in one of two domains: in private practice, or on faculty at a medical school where they see patients, teach, and/or do research. Some docs manage to keep a …
Don’t make me leave primary care
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