Getting from how to why: a pause for reflection on professional life

Academic Medicine : Journal of the Association of American Medical Colleges
M C McEntyre

Abstract

In the course of institutional life, many may lose their sense of purpose. The daily demands of both medicine and teaching--small defeats, time pressures, bureaucratic obstacles, and chronic overload--can erode the sense of purpose and clarity of desire that infuse work with spirit and energy. One antidote for this drained state is time for renewal--not long periods of rest and relaxation, valuable though these may be, but rather a "particular kind of stopping . . . the pause for a poem." The author describes how stopping in the middle of the day to read and reflect on a poem can defamiliarize the familiar, giving the reader a fresh outlook on the ordinary day. She describes how poetry also can awaken a sense of play, a childlike openness and sense of curiosity, and a renewed awareness of feelings. To honor feeling can provide a needed corrective to the conventionalized response that has become thoughtless or bloodless or tired. The kind of play poems engage readers in can also provide a connection to the sacred, restoring the wider vision and deeper purposes without which the practice of medicine might diminish to something less lifegiving for both patient and physician than it ought to be. In her discussion of the restorative...Continue Reading

Citations

Mar 14, 2008·Philosophy, Ethics, and Humanities in Medicine : PEHM·Johanna Shapiro
Jul 1, 2015·Philosophy, Ethics, and Humanities in Medicine : PEHM·Johanna ShapiroDavid J Doukas
Apr 4, 2000·Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health·E M Andresen, R C Brownson

❮ Previous
Next ❯

Related Concepts

Trending Feeds

COVID-19

Coronaviruses encompass a large family of viruses that cause the common cold as well as more serious diseases, such as the ongoing outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19; formally known as 2019-nCoV). Coronaviruses can spread from animals to humans; symptoms include fever, cough, shortness of breath, and breathing difficulties; in more severe cases, infection can lead to death. This feed covers recent research on COVID-19.

Blastomycosis

Blastomycosis fungal infections spread through inhaling Blastomyces dermatitidis spores. Discover the latest research on blastomycosis fungal infections here.

Nuclear Pore Complex in ALS/FTD

Alterations in nucleocytoplasmic transport, controlled by the nuclear pore complex, may be involved in the pathomechanism underlying multiple neurodegenerative diseases including Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis and Frontotemporal Dementia. Here is the latest research on the nuclear pore complex in ALS and FTD.

Applications of Molecular Barcoding

The concept of molecular barcoding is that each original DNA or RNA molecule is attached to a unique sequence barcode. Sequence reads having different barcodes represent different original molecules, while sequence reads having the same barcode are results of PCR duplication from one original molecule. Discover the latest research on molecular barcoding here.

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

Chronic fatigue syndrome is a disease characterized by unexplained disabling fatigue; the pathology of which is incompletely understood. Discover the latest research on chronic fatigue syndrome here.

Evolution of Pluripotency

Pluripotency refers to the ability of a cell to develop into three primary germ cell layers of the embryo. This feed focuses on the mechanisms that underlie the evolution of pluripotency. Here is the latest research.

Position Effect Variegation

Position Effect Variagation occurs when a gene is inactivated due to its positioning near heterochromatic regions within a chromosome. Discover the latest research on Position Effect Variagation here.

STING Receptor Agonists

Stimulator of IFN genes (STING) are a group of transmembrane proteins that are involved in the induction of type I interferon that is important in the innate immune response. The stimulation of STING has been an active area of research in the treatment of cancer and infectious diseases. Here is the latest research on STING receptor agonists.

Microbicide

Microbicides are products that can be applied to vaginal or rectal mucosal surfaces with the goal of preventing, or at least significantly reducing, the transmission of sexually transmitted infections. Here is the latest research on microbicides.

Related Papers

Academic Medicine : Journal of the Association of American Medical Colleges
Delese Wear, B Castellani
Academic Medicine : Journal of the Association of American Medical Colleges
Thomas S Inui, Richard M Frankel
Journal of General Internal Medicine
Kathy A Stepien, Amy Baernstein
Academic Medicine : Journal of the Association of American Medical Colleges
Kirk L SmithAlice Anne O'Donell
Academic Medicine : Journal of the Association of American Medical Colleges
Andrew H Brainard, Heather C Brislen
© 2021 Meta ULC. All rights reserved