Table of Contents
A Magazine for Alumni and Friends of Dartmouth Medical School and Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center
Vol. 33, No. 3 Spring 2009
FEATURES
Coverage of cancer is often about numbers: incidence figures, risk ratios, five-year survival percentages, mortality rates. All those numbers are, of course, important. But so, too, is every individual story that underlies the numbers. Here is one such story.
Turning medical students into doctors is a job that calls for scientific acumen, medical expertise, and lots of patience. And it calls for patients, too. Many students say that the most powerful lessons they learn—especially those about the importance of the human touch—are insights that they glean from patients. Here are several such sagas.
The Supply Side of Medicine
By Amos Esty
How many doctors does the U.S. need? Many more, say some policy-makers, to address access problems and population trends. Not so, says a DMS researcher, who argues that churning out more doctors won't fix the problems and may make them worse. He and others call instead for a more rational payment system and better-organized planning to rectify current imbalances in the physician supply.
COVER
Writer P.J. Hamel can often be found beating cake batter, or blogging about baking, at the King Arthur Flour Company. Eight years ago, though, what she was intent on beating was breast cancer. She writes about her diagnosis and treatment—and her life since—in the feature "My Story." The cover photo is by Jon Gilbert Fox.
OUR MISSION
Dartmouth Medicine seeks to convey the breadth and depth of the education, research, and clinical activities of DMS and DHMC; to serve as a publication of historical record; to stimulate thought and discussion on issues in medicine and medical education; and to reflect the range of opinions and activities among Dartmouth medical students, faculty, and alumni. Abbreviations used in these pages include DMS (Dartmouth Medical School), DHMC (Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center), MHMH (Mary Hitchcock Memorial Hospital), and DC (Dartmouth College). The opinions of contributors do not necessarily reflect those of DMS or DHMC.
STAFF & CONTRIBUTORS
DEPARTMENTS
Editor's Note
"In the end"
By Dana Cook Grossman
Discoveries
- Study reveals surprising cancer remission rate
- A push for new knowledge about labor
- Hunting for the whys of Parkinson's
- Addition to knowledge about egg division
- Study was an open and shut case
- Bariatric surgery also cuts CV risk
- Vioxx shows some long-term cardiac effects
- Research briefs
Vital Signs
- These elderly "actors" may be retired, but they're not retiring
- Facts & Figures
- Trustees establish a department and two chairs
- Surgery center is under construction, off site
- No butts about it on website aimed at girls
- Feeling low? Help may soon arrive from on high
- Ensuring safety, even in the middle of the night
- Clinical Observation
- Grant income goes down as NIH funding falls
- Investigator Insight
- Students trade their glass slides for images on a computer screen
- Film chronicles the impact of chronic illness
- Media Mentions: DMS and DHMC in the news
- Worthy of Note: Honors, awards, appointments, etc.
- Then & Now
- News Briefs
Point of View
"Patron of Positivity"
By Julia Nordgren, M.D.
Grand Rounds
"Meaningful memories"
By Joanna H. Fanos, Ph.D.
Student Notebook
"Categorical denial"
By Sarah Dotters-Katz
Faculty Focus
"Alan I. Green, M.D.: 'Glee' club"
By Jennifer Durgin
Alumni Album
"Carole Jenny, M.D., '70: Tough and tender"
By Rosemary Lunardini
Art of Medicine
"Not Tuscany"
By John Rush
If you'd like to offer feedback about Dartmouth Medicine, we'd welcome getting your comments at DartMed@Dartmouth.edu.
Spring 2009