Doctor issues Archives

A Surprising Collaboration Gives Trauma Patients a Second Chance

by Eric Bersh | Sep 25, 2023

Emergency medicine has always been a collaborative practice, where teamwork and communication are paramount as first responders, nurses and physicians work together knowing that every second counts. While much has been written about collaboration during the clinical...

Building for Success: How Good Clinicians Can Empower Patients

by Eric Bersh | Jul 12, 2023

Editor’s note: Ibrahim Rashid contracted Long COVID more than two years ago. The experience is propelling his patient advocacy and entrepreneurship, as co-founder of the digital health company Strong Haulers. In this excerpt from his new book, Strong Hauler: Learning...

The Power of the Prescription Pad

by Eric Bersh | May 17, 2023

At some point in our lives, we’ll be handed a little sheet of paper from our physician that has scribbled on it the medication we need, how much of it, and how often we should take it. These little slips of paper are power. They tell us that in order to get better, we...

A Reminder of How To Care Through Self-Reflection

by Eric Bersh | May 9, 2023

After 28 years of nursing I could potentially consider myself an expert in the field. But this perception couldn’t be further from the truth. I still come home from a shift and often wonder and hope that I brought comfort to at least one patient. Did I do enough?...

Participatory Medicine: the Final Mile of Health Care System Change

by Eric Bersh | Apr 20, 2023

When I describe the concept of participatory medicine, people who work in the healthcare industry often confuse it with other change initiatives, like social determinants of health or better access to care. It’s a different story when I describe participatory...

AI Gives SPM a New Opportunity to Lead

by Eric Bersh | Apr 6, 2023

I recently posted an article entitled, “In Cancer, Patient-Empowering AI Begins to Change Care, Relationships,” that contained this declaration, “Good medicine needs to become participatory medicine, not least because involving the patient as a partner consistently...