March 2012
9 posts
Healing
Our mission is to “support the health, healing and learning of those we serve.”
Shirley, a 79 year old patient at Methodist Hospital taught me the meaning of “healing” on a Saturday many years ago. On that particular weekend, I drove to the hospital resentful and feeling sorry for myself for being on call and missing family activities.
[[MORE]]
As her physician for...
Health care and zip codes
If you are 65 or older, what do you think is the best predictor of the volume of healthcare services you receive for a given condition or concern. Is it your financial wealth? Race? Ethnicity?
The answer: none of the above.
It’s your zip code.
[[MORE]]
Everything’s bigger in Texas
In an influential article in The New Yorker magazine called “The Cost Conumdrum,” author and physician Awtul Gawande...
Words we use
Our words direct thoughts and feelings. When interacting with patients our word choices shape our views.
During my formal medical training, I innately desired to support and understand individuals struggling to adjust to a clinical diagnosis. As an eager medical student, I valued learning how another human being makes meaning from their medical condition. However, the training culture eroded my...
Open wide and say, 'Ah'
In 1945, the New England Journal of Medicine, citing a 1934 study, suggested the dangers of presenting one’s tonsils for a medical examination. Despite the great advances in medicine, I wonder whether our thinking about medical procedures has significantly advanced in the 80 years since publication of this study.
[[MORE]]
The American Child Health Study surveyed 1,000 school age children...
Health care is different
During my wife’s recent health crisis I noticed we were both hypersensitive to almost every health care interaction. We hung on each word and reacted to a tone of voice or averted eyes. Would we have reacted this way in a non-health care setting such as Target or the grocery store? Of course not, as we would not necessarily be feeling anxious or vulnerable in a checkout line. Essentially, as...
What keeps me up at night?
Question: What keeps me up at night?
Answer: Bubbles and change fatigue.
A natural response to fatigue is sleep, where we often drift off into our own bubble of comfort and security to rest and recharge ourselves from the rigors of the day.
But fatigue also keeps me awake at night when the fatigue is the kind caused by the pressure to change in order to survive. And when I get “change...
Sleepless Nights
“David, you will be okay. Just take a running start from your bedroom door and jump into your bed.”
As an eight year old, I performed this flying leap ritual every night to prevent the monster under my bed from grabbing my legs and pulling me under. Oddly, I sensed the monster only at night. I played all day with wooden blocks in our basement but once the sun set, I feared going into our...
Patient time
I recently experienced “patient time.”
Sensing the rapid pace of time, I generally move quickly to complete an endless list of tasks. Two illusions fuel my usual pace. First, a finite limit exists to the tasks that I could do. And second, I can outrun time.
My wife’s recent stay in the hospital brought back the sense of “patient time.” Watching her rhythmic breathing as she slept in a cloud of...
I have Park Nicollet
One of our marketing campaigns highlights actual Park Nicollet patients joyously stating: “I have Park Nicollet.” In addition to serving as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Park Nicollet, I am also a patient and I’m a family member of Park Nicollet patients. I am extremely proud and grateful that “I have Park Nicollet.”
Monday December 5th proved a difficult day in the Abelson household....
