Quiet Lessons

Quiet Lessons

Mrs Barnes is a chronically ill woman in her 50s who came to our intensive care unit after a bowel resection became complicated by infections. Her infections caused life-threatening dysfunction of multiple organ systems: she was on a ventilator, vasopressors, dialysis, and nutrition was administered through her vein. Every organ system that modern medicine can support artificially was being sup...

Lessons from a quiet classic.

Parasitology has a rich tradition of studies linking taxonomy, ecology, and life cycles and development. This tradition has produced an enormous amount of empirical evidence demonstrating that parasites form highly integrated reproductive-developmental-ecological systems that are highly persistent through space and time. As well, phylogenetic studies of parasites, especially of parasitic platyh...

Quiet healing.

Both physicians and patients want deeply healing doctor-patient relationships. Too often, though, the ever-expanding demands of medical practice combine with the defenses of the patient to create doctor-patient isolation. Eastern and Western cosmologies and traditions may encourage different approaches to human interaction and healing. At times, probing the patient with more questions may open ...

Quiet caring.

D URING A WALK ABOUT THE ONCOLOGY unit where I was receiving antibiotics for pneumonia, I encountered an elderly woman, her arm splinted and wrapped by a sling and burdened by intravenous and oxygen tubing. She was slowly and painfully making her way to the family lounge with her nurse and daughter. I helped them into the room, and then we all sat down. I asked her about her arm. She told me th...

Quiet Lasers