White Coats for Black Lives

Black money in white coats: whither medical ethics?

There has been a sea change in the ethos of medicine in India in recent decades. Academic dishonesty of an alarming nature has been reported in medical colleges. Moral degeneration and corruption have engulfed the establishment at the highest level. The head of the Medical Council of India was found guilty of corruption and stripped of his position a few years ago. Many professors in private me...

Should doctors wear white coats?

OBJECTIVE To compare the views of doctors and patients on whether doctors should wear white coats and to determine what shapes their views. METHODS A questionnaire study of 400 patients and 86 doctors was performed. RESULTS All 86 of the doctors' questionnaires were included in the analysis but only 276 of the patients were able to complete a questionnaire. Significantly more patients (56%)...

Of White Coats and Stethoscopes

A WHITE COAT. THE COUNTRY DOCTOR’S BLACK BAG. A STETHOSCOPE. A snake-entwined staff. The oath of Hippocrates. The clinical acumen of Osler and the compassionate service of Schweitzer. These are the symbols and personifications of our chosen profession. One symbol of medicine since antiquity has been the Aesculapian staff. A glance through this journal will uncover the staff in the American Medi...

Black Lives Do Matter.

I n this issue of Circulation, Mehta and colleagues 1 provide additional information on the state of cardiovascular care for the black population in the United States and, once again, the results remain mixed in our ability to optimize care for all. Their data remain consistent with findings from Bridges et al 2 in 2000 in identifying race as an adverse factor for mortality for coronary artery ...

Black robes and white coats: who will win the new mental health tribunals?