As a freelance journalist for more than 20 years, Carol Patton has written more than 1,000 articles covering healthcare and other topics. She has earned several awards and recognitions for her articles, including the 2012 Health Care Journalism award from the National Institute for Health Care Management Foundation. She has profiled more than 100 healthcare professionals with unusual hobbies and is constantly amazed at their talent, commitment and innovations.
Roughly 20 years ago, Gary S. Firestein, MD, was surfing at Cloudbreak, a sheltered reef nearly three miles south of Namotu Island in Fiji. With waves soaring as high as 20 feet, it’s either a surfer’s dream or nightmare, and ranked among the 10 most challenging waves anywhere on the planet. At the time, Dr…. [Read More]
Some would call Guillermo J. Valenzuela, MD, a hunter of sorts. He has accompanied men and their dogs into the forests of Italy in search of white truffles, an underground fungus considered a European delicacy. “Years ago, when visiting my wife’s family in Italy, I walked into a very old restaurant in Parma,” says Dr…. [Read More]
In November 2017, Brit Adler, MD, an instructor in the Division of Rheumatology at Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, was traveling across a glacier in the Cordillera Blanca mountain range in Peru. At nearly 15,000 feet high, the hikers in the caravan were secured to each other by ropes secured to harnesses. At that altitude, no… [Read More]
Ever wonder why some rheumatologists are more successful at starting or building a private practice than their peers? More than likely, their success is due in part to the patient-centered strategies embedded in their practices’ cultures. Although the ACR predicts a nationwide shortage of 2,500 rheumatologists within the next decade, many patients can still pick… [Read More]
Sara Alehashemi, MD, MPH, recalls the first time she ever stepped foot on a badminton court. It was back in 2003, when she was a 24-year-old medical school student at Hormozgan University of Medical Sciences (HUMS) in Iran. She was completing a rotation in orthopedic surgery and had been teamed up with another medical student… [Read More]
Yolanda López López, MD, MA, a rheumatologist in Bayamón, Puerto Rico, says she’s been writing “forever.” But when she was in high school, several teachers, counselors and others persuaded her against selecting writing as a profession or even getting a college degree in literature because she wouldn’t be able to earn a comfortable living. At… [Read More]
Ever wonder how magicians know what card you pulled out of the deck, make objects vanish or unlink and link solid metal rings? Christopher Morris, MD, knows how these tricks are performed, but he won’t tell you. A rheumatologist who has been in private practice for 25 years at Arthritis Associates, Kingsport, Tenn., he has… [Read More]
Two years ago, Carla Guggenheim, DO, a rheumatologist in private practice in Lansing, Mich., was recovering from extensive shoulder surgery when her dance teacher asked her to perform a complex Indian piece from the Bharatanatyam Repertory at a gala showcasing graduate dance students. Because of her surgery, Dr. Guggenheim agreed to dance only 90 seconds… [Read More]
CHICAGO—At the 2018 ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting in October, the ACR and the ARHP honored distinguished individuals who have made significant contributions to rheumatology research, education and patient care. This month, The Rheumatologist speaks with the ACR winners about their individual contributions to advancing rheumatology. You’ll also find the 2018 Masters list. In the next issue,… [Read More]
Years ago, 16-year-old Bryce Binstadt, now a pediatric rheumatologist at the University of Minnesota Masonic Children’s Hospital, was waterskiing with friends on Potato Lake in Minnesota, where his family frequently vacationed. Dr. Binstadt had been an avid water-skier since he was 8 years old and had become very skilled at the sport—even skiing backward. This… [Read More]