Submission

Ten Commandments of Physician Wellness

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Submisison by: Kwabena Adubofour, MD
Source: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4453302/

From Edward J. Krall, MD: “There is a lot of press about the stress of practicing medicine, but less about the secrets of thriving. There is literature about resilience. It has limitations, but several themes have emerged. Pulling together ideas from that literature and experience from my work with colleagues, I offer to residents these “Ten Commandments of Physician Wellness.”

1. Thou shall not expect someone else to reduce your stress.
2. Thou shall not resist change.
3. Thou shall not take thyself in vain.
4. Remember what is holy to thee.
5. Honor thy limits.
6. Thou shall not work alone.
7. Thou shall not kill or take it out on others.
8. Thou shall not work harder. Thou shall work smarter.
9. Seek to find joy and mastery in thy work.
10. Thou shall continue to learn.

Osler’s Corner

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Submission by: Kwabena Adubofour, MD

“The young doctor should look about early for an avocation, a pastime, that will take him away from patients, pills, and potions…”

William Osler BMJ 1909;2:925-928.

“Like song that sweetens toil, laughter brightens the road of life, and to be born with the sense of comic is a precious heritage”.

William Osler ‘Two Frenchman on Laughter‘, CMAJ 1912(II):152

“Live neither in the past nor in the future, but let each day’s work absorb your entire energies, and satisfy your widest ambition”.

William Osler. Aequanimitas ‘After 25 years.’ 1914:213

“There is a form of laughter that springs from the heart, heard every day in the merry voice of childhood, the expression of a laughter — loving spirit that defies analysis by the philosopher, which has nothing rigid or mechanical in it, and totally without social significance. Bubbling spontaneously from the heart of child or man. Without egotism and full of feeling, laughter is the music of life”.

William Osler. Two Frenchmen on laughter. Men and Books. CMAJ 1912;(II):152

“Things cannot always go your way. Learn to accept in silence the minor aggravations, cultivate the gift of taciturnity and consume your own smoke with an extra draught of hard work, so that those about you may not be annoyed with the dust and soot of your complaint”.

William Osler. Aequanimitas ‘The Master-word in medicine.’ 1914:385

“To serve the art of medicine as it should be served, one must love his fellow man”.

William Osler. Modern medicine, its theory and practice. 1907;(1):34

“Keep a looking glass in your own heart, and the more carefully you scan your own frailties, the more tender you are for those of your fellow creatures”.

Homan E quoting Sir William Osler:Teacher and bibliophile. JAMA 1969;210:2223-5

Connecting with your Today and Tomorrow

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Submission by: Navneet Deol, OMS III

Source: https://www.aamc.org/news-insights/healing-power-poetry

When I think of a daily dose humanities the first thing that comes to my mind is the healing power of poetry.

To me, art is anything that can evoke an emotional connection, and some of the most powerful emotions can be preserved and shared when emotions can be translated into words.

This poem by 20th Century American poet Edgar Guest, “Have You Earned Your Tomorrow” is a humbling piece that reminds me of the importance of daily reflection on the type of human connections we create each day.

For tomorrow may not be promised, but knowing you did your best with your today may make your tomorrow even more rewarding and joyful.

So take a moment to connect with this poem, and let us know how you feel. Do you think your today has earned your tomorrow?

Have You Earned Your Tomorrow?

-Edgar Albert Guest

Is anybody happier because you passed his way?
     Does anyone remember that you spoke to him today?
This day is almost over, and its toiling time is through;
     Is there anyone to utter now a kindly word of you?

Did you give a cheerful greeting to the friend who came along?
Or a churlish sort of “Howdy” and then vanish in the throng?
Were you selfish pure and simple as you rushed along the way,
Or is someone mighty grateful for a deed you did today?

Can you say tonight, in parting with the day that’s slipping fast,
     That you helped a single brother of the many that you passed?
Is a single heart rejoicing over what you did or said;
     Does a man whose hopes were fading now with courage look ahead?

Did you waste the day, or lose it, was it well or sorely spent?
     Did you leave a trail of kindness or a scar of discontent?
As you close your eyes in slumber do you think that God would say,
     You have earned one more tomorrow by the work you did today?

Source: https://www.familyfriendpoems.com/poem/have-you-earned-your-tomorrow-by-edgar-albert-guest

Book Murdering

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Submission by: Emily T.

Image result for book

I recently saw a post on twitter about a hotly debated issue where twitter user @alex_christofi asked: “Yesterday my colleague called me a ‘book murderer’ because I cut long books in half to make them more portable. Does anyone else do this? Is it just me?”. https://twitter.com/alex_christofi/status/1219564301029138432

I was first shocked that someone would ruin a book like this, but then I thought that this was actually quite practical. With larger books it can be cumbersome to carry around and splitting it in half would help with portability.

Not long after seeing this twitter post, I found that Constance Grady at Vox wrote an article tackling the exact conundrum pointed out by the above Twitter post. She discusses how and why we’ve come to romanticize the value of a book and whether or not we should. She concludes her article with the following thoughts:

With a codex, you can get interactive with the text. You can dog-ear the pages if you choose. You can scribble in the margins and underline and highlight. You can rip a codex in half so it’s easier to carry around and dip into during your commute. Or you can treat your books as decorative objects. You can organize them by color. You can build collages with their spines. You can rip out the pages and use them to paper your walls. If you want to make people really mad, you can rip a book into pieces and then organize the shreds by color. None of these choices are moral failings — and all of them mean that you’re taking full advantage of the enormous flexibility and power of the printed book. And maybe that’s a power worth romanticizing.

https://www.vox.com/culture/2020/1/21/21075327/book-murder-ripping-books-in-half-color-coding-shelves-spine-in-marie-kondo

To all the readers out there, what do you think about ripping a book in half like this? Would you ever do it?