Manifesto 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...

Moments that Matter: in-between routine care to emergency medicine

by Eric Bersh | Aug 28, 2023

From shared-decision making, patient-centered care and value-based care to common technology innovations, healthcare players often describe how we aspire healthcare to be in concepts, buzzwords, branding and what has become common lexicon mentioned in conversations...

What My Second Lease on Life Taught Me about the Power of Human Connection

by Eric Bersh | Aug 17, 2023

I was born with a congenital heart defect called bicuspid aortic stenosis with regurgitation. When I was 12 years old I was told I needed immediate open-heart surgery. As the anxiety, depression and sheer terror set in, my family tried to distract me by taking me on...

Team Building In The Wake of the COVID-19 Pandemic

by Eric Bersh | Aug 8, 2023

Editor’s note: In her new book, Communicating Through a Pandemic: A Chronicle of Experiences, Lessons Learned, and a Vision for the Future, Amelia Burke-Garcia, PhD, MA explores the many and varied roles that communication has played over the course of this pandemic,...

How Trust Fuels Equitable Health Outcomes

by Eric Bersh | May 24, 2023

At the Society for Participatory Medicine, we recognize trust and respect as a two-way relational dynamic essential to our mission to transform the culture of healthcare relationships so people can live their best lives (see our Participatory Medicine manifesto). And...

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?...