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Latest Posts

Classical Guitar: The Gift Of Relaxation?

I have an artist friend in New York City who is incredibly talented.  He (Hanan Harchol) is a professional animator and illustrator with a Masters from the Art Institute of Chicago. Of course (in these economic times especially) making a living as an artist can be a real challenge. Hanan keeps himself afloat by working evenings as a strolling classical guitarist in upscale Manhattan restaurants.  I’ve attended several of his shows, and he is super talented. This holiday season he made a compilation CD of lullabies and I highly recommend it.

Supporting my friend does a few things: 1) his CD is an affordable holiday gift for your friends and family 2) his CD is one of the few gifts I can think of that may reduce the anxiety felt by all of us in these challenging economic and political times and 3) your support helps a truly gifted artist continue to do what he does.

So take a listen to his work here – I’m sure you’ll agree, it beats anti-anxiety meds hands down.


Latest Interviews

IDEA Labs: Medical Students Take The Lead In Healthcare Innovation

It’s no secret that doctors are disappointed with the way that the U.S. healthcare system is evolving. Most feel helpless about improving their work conditions or solving technical problems in patient care. Fortunately one young medical student was undeterred by the mountain of disappointment carried by his senior clinician mentors…

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How To Be A Successful Patient: Young Doctors Offer Some Advice

I am proud to be a part of the American Resident Project an initiative that promotes the writing of medical students residents and new physicians as they explore ideas for transforming American health care delivery. I recently had the opportunity to interview three of the writing fellows about how to…

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Latest Book Reviews

Book Review: Is Empathy Learned By Faking It Till It’s Real?

I m often asked to do book reviews on my blog and I rarely agree to them. This is because it takes me a long time to read a book and then if I don t enjoy it I figure the author would rather me remain silent than publish my…

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The Spirit Of The Place: Samuel Shem’s New Book May Depress You

When I was in medical school I read Samuel Shem s House Of God as a right of passage. At the time I found it to be a cynical yet eerily accurate portrayal of the underbelly of academic medicine. I gained comfort from its gallows humor and it made me…

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Eat To Save Your Life: Another Half-True Diet Book

I am hesitant to review diet books because they are so often a tangled mess of fact and fiction. Teasing out their truth from falsehood is about as exhausting as delousing a long-haired elementary school student. However after being approached by the authors’ PR agency with the promise of a…

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