A practicing rheumatologist for 20 years, Umbreen Hasan, MD, FACP, MBA, Coon Rapids, Minn., knows how challenging it can be to work through pain. Over the years, she has helped many patients learn how to manage chronic pain so they can continue to pursue the activities they love. Five years ago, after suffering a severe…
Scenario: A patient with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) presents for a follow-up visit. After addressing her inflammatory arthritis symptoms, medications and laboratory results, she is asked if she has any other questions, and she begins describing her chronic low back pain, which has become worse despite physical therapy (PT). She requests stronger medications because her RA…
Rheumatologists who are outstanding clinicians, providing consistently exceptional care to patients and serving as role models for colleagues and trainees, are highlighted in our Lessons from a Master Clinician series. Here, we offer insights from clinicians who have achieved a level of distinction in the field of rheumatology. Jonathan Kay, MD, is professor of medicine,…
On Dec. 27, 2017, RaDonda Vaught killed Charlene Murphey, allegedly. Ms. Murphey was a lifelong resident of Gallatin, a suburb of Nashville, Tenn. She was well known from having worked at the local Walmart for 24 years, before she retired in 2012, when she was 65 years old.1 On Dec. 24, 2017, she was helping…
David S. Pisetsky, MD, PhD, often tells people that science involves reading and writing as much as conducting experiments. No matter what discoveries are made in the lab, if they can’t be communicated well or put into context, he asks, how can they be used to advance the field and benefit patients? The recipient of…
Samuel Strober was born on May 8, 1940, in Brooklyn, N.Y., the oldest son of Lee and Julius Strober. Sam attended Public School 92 in Brooklyn and Stuyvesant High School in Manhattan, and graduated from Columbia College, New York, in 1961, and Harvard Medical School, Boston, in 1966. While in high school, Sam won a…
James Franklin Fries was born on Aug. 25, 1938, in Normal, Ill. His mother taught middle school English and his father was a college business professor. Jim graduated from Stanford University in 1960 with a major in philosophy, and received his MD at Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, in 1964. He pursued internal medicine and rheumatology…
If you ever want to be depressed, turn to the internet. This might strike some of you as a truism. Certainly, between the pandemic and the war in Ukraine, it is difficult to open your browser without being smacked in the face by a dismally depressing piece of news. In this particular case, however, I’m…
When Jonathan Kay, MD, attends a medical lecture, he does more than just listen to the speakers or watch their presentations. He typically whips out his pen and draws a caricature of someone in the room. Dr. Kay is a professor of medicine and holds the Timothy S. and Elaine L. Peterson Chair in Rheumatology…
He just didn’t get it. I love my mechanic. After many years of taking my car to mechanics who took my money without explaining what they were doing with it, I finally found someone who loved to teach. Whenever I bring my car to his shop, class is in session. He gestures for me to…