*Keywords: Dermatopathology, skin specimens, physician burnout, emotional intelligence, detachment, empathy. *The author has no conflicts of interest to report. Preparing Dermatopathology Specimens in Proper Context by Travis Dowdle* As a specimen grosser, I am frequently greeted by samples like this one. Abnormal, soaked in formalin, and disconnected. Without the labeling on the jar there would be no way to ascertain the origin of this tissue. The face and story of this person it was taken from are unknown to me. “Every piece is a person,” Dr. Michelle Tarbox, associate professor of dermatology at Texas Tech University Health Science Center mentioned before going on to explain other important elements of the … Continue reading
SpringFest at PGI
by Ravi Shankar I struggled to keep my eyes open, my head straight and my attention focused on the task at hand. It was past two in the morning. I was fighting a losing battle at my friend’s apartment. The strong cups of coffee were not working. We were bringing out the next day’s edition of ‘Bullsheet’, the graffiti-style newsletter which was a PGI tradition during the institute arts festival. Taking on this added responsibility was tough but I enjoyed the creative freedom and the opportunity to look at the festival through a comical, non-serious eye. Most past literary and cultural secretaries had outsourced the task to others. We wrote … Continue reading
A Monument in Hiroshima
Ali Mahmoud1, BS, Shahzeb Hassan1, BA, Taha Osman Mohammed1, BS Leonard Hoenig2, MD Affiliations: 1. Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois 2. Private Practice, Pembroke Pines, Florida Corresponding Author: Leonard J. Hoenig, MD gooddocljh@gmail.com Conflicts of Interest Statement: There are NO conflicts of interest. Key Words: Hiroshima, Sankichi Toge, poetry ABSTRACT “A Monument in Hiroshima,” Japan (Figure) is dedicated to Sankichi Toge (1917-1953) a survivor of the atomic bomb blasts which occurred 75 years ago. Toge was a poet who became the voice of the atomic bomb survivors. This article presents highlights from Toge’s poetry that capture his vision of peace and a world free of nuclear … Continue reading
Coffee, Cutlets and the Culture of Healing
Dr. P. Ravi Shankar* Key words: India, Internship, Kerala, medical college, medical students, coffee I was disoriented in time, place and person. Events were unfolding at a rapid pace. The meeting with the Principal, the completion of admission formalities, the medical checkup in the classroom, and the allotment of rooms in the hostel. We had come back to the main square of the medical college. My father and his uncle were there with me. We decided to go to the college canteen which at that time was run by the Indian Coffee House. It was my first introduction to the venerable institution. The college canteen was a circular structure with … Continue reading
Lives Now Gone: A Nursing Home Diary
Strange is our situation here on earth. Each of us comes for a short time, not knowing why, yet sometimes seeming to a divine purpose. From the standpoint of daily life, however, there is one thing we do know: that we are here for the sake of others. Albert Einstein Lives Now Gone: A Nursing Home Diary by Dr. Robert Norman Over the last 25 years I have treated patients at dozens of nursing homes throughout Florida and taken down notes and kept a diary. Over the last few months, the urgency of my diary has been heightened due to the rampage of Covid 19. I have talked to many … Continue reading
She Did Not Know
Lymphoma could live in his skin like a creature crawling in sacred places, she thought it should be forbidden she searches online “types of lymphoma” pictures appear resembling dark mountains she asks him each morning how are you? he keeps saying he is “fine.” she’s awake until 4 am— she comes up with a plan 1. how to nurse him back to health, 2. how to save his skin. Bio: Palmer Smith is a current MFA student at Columbia University and an MA student at Middlebury College in Vermont. Her writing has been featured in Harness Magazine, Literary Yard and Thought Catalog. As a Scottish girl, she wears 55 SPF. … Continue reading
The Surgeon’s Cap Bias
The Surgeon’s Cap Bias: Intelligence, Respect and the Enemy of Feminism By Emily Haque, BSA* Tags: feminism, gender bias, implicit bias, surgery, women in medicine On the first day of my surgical clerkship, I briskly followed my attending, a vascular surgeon, around the pre-op bay while ruminating about whether or not I was too close to him, if I should stand, if I should sit, if I should put my hair up or leave it down, or even if I should ask him a question. As he towered over me, I decided to keep quiet and avoid bothering him at all costs. I didn’t know why I was so intimidated … Continue reading
Music and Medicine: Bach Partitas on the Covid Ward
by David Elpern For almost a decade, I have used music when performing biopsies and excisions in my office. I got the idea from my friend Tim Lee, an ophthalmologist on Kauai. That led to a study published in 2014.1 Music is a simple, inexpensive aid that we use every day in my office. So, I read the article, Bedside Concerts Comforting Virus Patients by Benjamin Weiser in the May 4th, 2020 New York Times with particular interest. It features Rachel Easterwood, whose idea it was to stage concerts for Covid 19 ICU patients. Easterwood is a professionally trained musician-turned-ER physician from Columbia P&S (the same medical school that my … Continue reading
Ditching the Razor: Armpit Hair is Back!
Tayler D. Parker, BA1; Ashley E. Brown, MD1 McGovern Medical School, UTHealth Science Center at Houston, Houston, TX Corresponding author: Tayler D. Parker, BA, 6431 Fannin St, Houston, TX 77030, email Tayler.D.Parker@uth.tmc.edu, phone: 806-445-4949 Tags: beauty, behavior, shaving, medical sociology, health anxiety “Keep your man faithful and ensure home security- Shave your underarms!”. This slogan may sound comical, but it is an actual message found in underarm shaving advertisements for women as early as 1915.1 Whether shaving was driven by the emergence of sleeveless tops or by a male-driven culture, most women in the United States were shaving their armpits consistently by the 1950s for both social normativity and perceived … Continue reading
Anatomy of a Paper: Adalimumab and the Medical-Industrial-Academic Complex
by David J. Elpern, M.D. The Skin Clinic 12 Meadow Street Williamstown, Massachusetts djelpern@gmail.com Something is rotten in the State of Phrma Abstract: Pharmaceutical companies, clinical researchers, key opinion leaders and respected medical journals often work in concert to promote and sell new medications. The biologics are the most profitable and competitive pharmaceutical market today. Herein, I analyze the background of a publication on the biologic, adalimumab in a prominent medical periodical. This cautionary tale may guide readers when they encounter similar ghost-driven PhRMA-sponsored research. Keywords: adalimumab, key opinion leaders, hidradinitis supprativa, medical publications, ghost writing, risankizumab, disclosures, conflict of interest For some years, I had been struggling to treat … Continue reading
