Heard in the Blogosphere
BACK of the BOOK
A Look at Expressions of Clinician Well-Being
The National Academy of Medicine ( NAM ) recently launched a new visual arts project to try to prevent physician burnout and promote self-care : “ Expressions of Clinician Well-Being .” The organization collected insights from health-care providers and patients , then asked artists to express what clinician burnout and resilience looks , sounds , and feels like to them . “ We hope this art will offer an entry point for conversations that can be difficult to have and shed light on the joys and challenges experienced by so many ,” representatives from the NAM said .
Below are some selections from the gallery :
National Academy of Medicine
@ theNAMedicine
The well-being of clinicians impacts all of us . Our art exhibition , Expressions of Clinician Well-Being , hopes to bring greater awareness to this critical issue . # ClinicianWellBeing
Shawn M . Hamm , DO , MPH
@ shawn _ hamm
The Expressions of # ClinicianWellBeing Project is amazing ! Art can sometimes say what we cannot . See how hundreds of artists envision a future where there are no barriers to achieving clinician well-being .
Gavin Preston , MD
@ GavinPrestonMD
# TipsForNewDocs If you think you know more about how to treat a patient than the experienced # nurse at the bedside , YOU ARE ALMOST CERTAINLY MISTAKEN .
Clinton Lewis , MD
@ CWLBloodDoc
I love my job - hearing people ’ s stories is an amazing privilege and pleasure . Recently learned the best way to drink camel milk is when it is warm and fresh . # hematology # BMT # PatientCare # narrativemed
The Problem With Miracle Cancer Cures
“ While the conversation [ about transitioning from aggressive anti-cancer treatment to palliative care ] is often heartbreaking , it has rarely been a hard call . But now it is . … A new generation of cancer treatments … have become available in recent years [ and ] the hype feels mostly justified . … What strikes me most about them is that by blurring the line between cure and comfort — and between hope and hopelessness — they have disrupted the fragile equilibrium that we doctors have long taken for granted . … As we continue to chase progress in cancer , let ’ s be sure that we don ’ t rob dying patients of a smaller , more subtle miracle : a death with dignity and grace , relatively free from pain and discomfort .”
— Robert M . Wachter , MD , on the unintended consequences of “ revolutionary ” treatments on
Gretchen A . Case , PhD
@ whywhatnot
Our medical students make artwork as part of their formal education . Really beautiful artwork . Recognized on national levels . Not that we ’ re humblebragging or anything . palliative-care decisions , in The New York Times
Are Big Clinical Trials Relevant ?
With a move toward health care tailored to an individual patient ’ s DNA , large-scale clinical trials that take years to enroll and complete may become extinct , according to some researchers . In The Wall Street Journal , scientists debated whether traditional clinical trials still produce relevant results .
“ People have to rethink the value of the large clinical trial in an era of personalized medicine . [ With genomics ], doctors are trying to match drugs to individual patients ’ features , so the sorts of trials we need will look much different than the large clinical trials .”
— Nicholas Schork , PhD , from the Translational Genomics Research Institute
“[ The move toward ] smaller , more focused trials [ is ] a positive trend . As knowledge of cancer deepens , it means we can complete trials that provide thorough answers with fewer participants , at lower costs , and in less time .”
— James Doroshow , MD , from the National Cancer Institute
ASHClinicalNews . org ASH Clinical News
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