Searching Behind “No!”
Congratulations to Northwestern University Doctor of Physical Therapy Program graduate student Bethany Shieh, SPT, the winner of the annual physical therapy student essay contest co-sponsored by the ACAPT Consortium for the Humanities, Ethics, and Professionalism (CHEP) and JHR. In her essay, “Searching Behind ‘No!'”, Ms. Shieh illustrates how we can create space to understand the pain, suffering and frustration that accompany and influence patient care, if we are willing to enter and dwell in our patient’s life experience.
Spring 2020 Resources
Download the article (pdf) Table of Contents What We’re Watching How Doctors Can Help Low-Income Patients and Still Make a Profit by P.J. Parmar, MD In this TED Talk, Dr. P.J. Parmar shares how he’s been able to create and maintain a successful medical practice serving low-income patients. His practice focuses on the personal and […]
COVID-19 Resources: Health, Humanities, and Pandemic Intersections
To help JHR readers—and clinicians dealing with the pandemic—find inspiration, intellectual stimulation, and even some entertainment during these days of crisis and necessary isolation, Jamie Fleshman, SPT has compiled an extensive list of thought-provoking resources. The materials accessed through the links offered here address ethics, disability, a wide range of the arts, education, and clinical information—all collated from a humanities perspective. Readers are invited to access it frequently for inspiration during the weeks ahead.
Reviving and Reflecting on “Portrait of Spirit: One Story at a Time”
Both a book and an exhibit, Portrait of Spirit: One Story at a Time by Billy Howard and Maggie Holtzberg offers new perspectives while challenging the way we view the lived disability experience. Using stunning photographs and beautifully written narratives from Portrait of Spirit, this piece serves as an ode to the groundbreaking stories that started it all while advocating for continued societal change for people living with disabilities.
Critical Disability Studies With Rehabilitation: Re-thinking the human in rehabilitation research and practice
In this Perspective, Donya Mosleh, PhD argues for a new mode of scholarly practice that recognizes and addresses tensions between two fields that seemingly occupy opposite ends of a continuum. In order to promote a more productive engagement, critical disability studies with rehabilitation sciences unsettles knowledge relations that position these two fields as oppositional and incompatible.
Finding Help: Exploring the accounts of persons with disabilities in Western Zambia regarding strategies to improve their situation
The main focus of rehabilitation is to provide help to those who need it. But does the Western definition of “help” always apply in other regions? In “Finding Help: Exploring the Accounts of Persons With Disabilities in Western Zambia…,” Shaun R. Cleaver and colleagues present the concept of help in a completely new light, and offer suggestions for a more societally-based approach to healing.
Out of Oxygen
In this sensitive reflection, DPT student Mercedes Aguirre describes an incident during her first clinical experience that taught her the importance of taking a deep breath—and speaking up on behalf of one’s patient.
Beyond First Impressions
Jake Raecker, DPT student, recalls a patient he encountered during his first clinical rotation who gave him quite a shock—but, with care and attention, taught him a valuable lesson about looking beyond first impressions.
“The Best is the Enemy of the Good”
The healthcare professions often attract talented, committed perfectionists. But what can practitioners do when that perfectionism negatively affects rehabilitation? In “The Best is the Enemy of the Good,” David Gillette describes how his PT residency experience, and the thoughtful guidance of his mentors, helped him confront the negative aspects of his perfectionism and turn his thoughts toward the good.
Human Anatomical Gifts and Informed Consent: Three Perspectives
The United States abides by the Revised Uniform Anatomical Gift Act to regulate bodies donated to science; prior consent must be given. When DPT students at Georgia State University had the opportunity to attend an anatomic exhibition displaying preserved human specimens from another country, many ethical questions arose. In “Human Anatomical Gifts,” three writers offer their perspectives, developed during the discussions that ensued, on the ethics of anatomic study—and exhibition.