A family medicine physician reflects on the true costs for the patient and the clinician of the increasing digitization of modern medicine.
Read moreCaregivers, Grief and Metaphors: Reflecting on Sara Adler's poem “Birds of Prayer” by John Jacobson
“Birds of Prayer” is striking to me for the writer’s use of metaphor. I believe that both caregivers and the ill need metaphors. We especially need metaphors from nature. They reconnect us to a wider web of life where we can find some sense of belonging. They also give us distance. They help make sense of the senseless.
Read moreTime of Death: How Clinicians Cope with A Patient's Final Moments by Anna Belc
I found so much comfort in Thomas J Doyle’s non-fiction piece "To Pronounce." He writes so vividly of entering a patient’s room to quietly declare time of death that I find myself standing right next to him, feeling the sadness he is describing. He has learned over time to honor the moment. I hope that one day I will feel less lost when faced with the end of someone’s life.
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