Ralph C. Williams Jr. (Feb. 17, 1928–Feb. 2, 2020) was destined to become an artist. He started painting when he was 8 years old and never stopped. His journey, however, included a substantial career as a rheumatologist. After completing his training in internal medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, he joined the Rockefeller Institute in…
Many practitioners can relate to the epiphany of Roy Basch, MD, the lead character in Samuel Shem’s satirical novel The House of God.1 During his first on-call shift as a medicine intern, long work hours combined with jaded advice from his senior resident leave Dr. Basch feeling disenchanted with the medical profession until he cares…
I have been tongue-tied, of late. When I was a medical student, I was told not to turn the physical examination into an aerobic workout. This sage piece of advice was imparted by my physical examination preceptor, who had watched me perform a complete examination on a hapless volunteer. At the time, I thought of…
Presenters at the Access in Rheumatology meeting held in advance of the ACR’s State-of-the-Art Clinical Symposium took a deep dive into the access challenges faced by rheumatology patients and discussed possible solutions. Treatment At least until 2026, prescription drug spending will exceed the U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) and health spending, said rheumatologist Colin C….
On March 29, Brandon Elliot walked up to a 65-year-old Filipino American woman near Times Square and kicked her in the chest. Footage from the security camera of a nearby luxury apartment building recorded the attack: Elliot shoved her to the ground, and then repeatedly kicked and stomped on her, while shouting, “You don’t belong…
Independence Day. I can’t wait. Generally, it’s not a holiday that carries a lot of meaning for me. Having grown up in New York and Boston, the smaller firework displays that take place in Baltimore fail to impress. Also, as a program director, the holiday falls in the middle of the new fellows’ first week…
On Feb. 1, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences announced that Daniel L. Kastner, MD, PhD, scientific director of the Division of Intramural Research of the National Human Genome Research Institute, where he is a National Institutes of Health (NIH) Distinguished Investigator, was awarded the 2021 Crafoord Prize in Polyarthritis “for having established the concept…
Some artists paint with oils or watercolors, others with acrylics. Shivani Garg, MD, MS, prefers Nescafé or Maxwell House coffee. A faculty member in the Division of Rheumatology in the Department of Medicine at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health (UWSMPH), Madison, Dr. Garg learned this technique—painting with instant coffee mixed…
A 26-year-old Peruvian woman presented to the emergency department of a large teaching hospital in Lima, Peru, with epistaxis and hematomas that had occurred over the preceding few days; she was found to have severe thrombocytopenia and a normocytic, normochromic anemia. She was treated with pulse doses of methylprednisolone; however, within two days, she presented…
Have you ever asked a patient, “How’s your sex life?” If your answer is “No,” you’re not alone. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) finds healthcare providers don’t talk about sex with their patients for a variety of reasons: They feel uncomfortable discussing sex and sexuality with patients; They believe discussing sex will…