Books and Articles worth a Review…

A Disturbing Trend – As noted in the Quotes section above, Santina Wheat, MD, a physician who provides frequent commentary on “social medicine” describes the evolving trend of negative discourse among physicians online. She noted: “As conversations have devolved into judgment, criticism, and a striking lack of trust—not just between physicians and patients but among physicians themselves.” Those of us in the healthcare community need to take note. Check out the full note she offered to all of us by checking the hyperlink for the article.

  

A Critical Read For All Of Us – Earlier this week while on a plane, I finished reading a book that had been recommended to me entitled: “Doughnut Economics – 7 Ways to Think Like a 21st Century Economist” by Kate Raworth. Not only was it recommended to me but it was ranked by the Financial Times on their “Book of the Year Longlist”. First, I have little formal economics education or training. Second, it’s one of those books that might not be at the top of your list – except for the recent events out of Washington that keep percolating across the USA and world economy. And, third, her thoughts and perspectives offer an layperson-friendly approach to a complex subject that holds massive implications for all of us over the coming decade. In fact, I recommend this read above all of the other “health care stuff” that’s out there. Economics is at the core when we stop and consider it. While there are both positive and negative critiques of the book, the perspective of Doughnut Economics is an important addition to the broader discussion on the economic capacity of our nation and the world. It goes far beyond politics to the realities of daily life in which we find ourselves in the current century. Consider it… 

Books and Articles Worth a Review…

Memory And Politics – It seems that we – as a nation – are all a dither about the memory capabilities of our candidates for President. In recent weeks, both Candidate Trump and President Biden have had public lapses in their memory. So, do we have a problem? Mary Louise Kelly recently hosted a session on National Public Radio (NPR) that you may want to listen to for thoughts from experts on the question. The essence of the piece is that it’s common for people of advancing age to have memory lapses that are not necessarily associated with dementia or cognitive impairment. Whew!!! I was getting concerned. I know this is a big issue on all sides of the equation and there are lots of pointing fingers out there on both sides. To be honest, at the ripe old age of 73 I recognize that I’m not as quick on the draw at pulling memories from the old brain as I was in the last decade but I’m not senile, nor do I have dementia. So, all of us need to get educated on what the experts are saying rather than the pundits and partisans who are pointing fingers at both candidates. Perhaps I’m being too middle-of-the-road but it seems to me that we should be looking at results and team. The President of the USA needs to surround him/herself with the best-skilled team members and work to obtain the best results not only for us – as a nation – but also for the world at large. So, I’ll leave it there.

Books and Articles worth a Review…

A Poem…

Everything hurts.

It’s a hard time to be alive,

And even harder to stay that way.

We’re burdened to live out these days,

While at the same time, blessed to outlive them.

                Amanda Gorman, Poet for the Biden Inauguration, 2020 

The poem no doubt resonates with the younger population but also brings a sense of pause to those of us who have lived through other trying times – like the Vietnam War and the accompanying civil unrest that created upheaval across society. We seem to be in similar times… 

To Lighten The Load – If the springtime weather, sprouting of plant life and seemingly increased flexibility of living have not yet lightened your load, may I suggest that you consider listening to the Top 20 Songs of the 1970s. For many of us “older types” just singing along the words will lighten the spirt. For the “younger’s”, you’ll get a sense of how we made sense of the madness of the 60’s and 70’s. Give it a try.

Books and Articles worth a Review… 

On The Lighter Side, Love in Kilnerry – I recently attended a movie premier that used the town next door to Kittery as its backdrop for an American oasis – Portsmouth, New Hampshire. The community was depicted as this wonderful little place with a fair number of older residents (which is very “true” for Kittery and increasingly less “true” for Portsmouth!!) and, it included a bustling number of youngers as well (also, true!!). The premise of the movie is that Kilnerry has a chemical plant located in the community where the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently completed research finding that of study of rats showed that they were becoming hyper-sexual as a result of pollutants from the factory. Hmmm 😊. You get the drift. The story then describes how the elders in town – upon learning the news – were seemingly adopting the news as their own. Any number of the characters become engaged in dalliances worthy of good humor and fun, including the local priest who declares himself a “nudist” in the manner in which God created man – in front of his entire congregation! It’s a very fun movie and I highly recommend it – in part as a diversion from the many troubling days we are facing across the world. Check it out.  You will not be disappointed. BTW, the Mayor of Portsmouth declared the city “Kilnerry for the Day” when the debut of the movie was shown at the local high school. As you can imagine the audience was filled with elders from both sides of the Piscataqua River… There were many in the audience who were reminiscing about the ‘60s and ‘70s – but, I didn’t ask why…

Pandemic Lessons From History – We are all “tired”. We want everything to “return to normal”. We miss the “personal contact”. And, the list goes on… In essence, after two and one-half year of a full-throttled COVID-19 pandemic, we are “exhausted”. I recently read an article that provided some very interesting lessons learned from prior pandemics. While you can go review the article on your own, here is the Cliff Notes version:

1.       Past pandemics do not perfectly predict the direction of future (or, existing) pandemics – The one pandemic that we all tend to turn to for “lessons learned” is the 1918 flu pandemic that killed over 50 million people worldwide. The article points to an article completed by two University of Pittsburgh Health Sciences professors, historian Mari Webel and virologist Megan Culler Freeman. They noted early on that:  “Unfortunately, the end of influenza in summer 1919 does not portend the end of COVID-19 in the summer of 2020.”

2.      Calling the pandemic over when it’s not really over – The parallels are stunning. When the 1918 pandemic continued on for a long time, the American as well as the world population became fed up with the social distancing precautions requirements. Hmmm!! Some reactions never change. Individual choices were highlighted, and the end result was a premature return to “normal”.

3.       Once a virus causes a pandemic, it become a continuous presence in the population – In the past pandemics basically burnt themselves out! Take the “Black Death” as an example. It has caused at least 3 major pandemics over the last 5,000 years according to the article. Nükhet Varlik, a historian at Rutgers University notes that these pandemics finally wound down as a result of “changes in temperature, humidity and the availability of hosts, vectors and a sufficient number of susceptible individuals.” The only successful campaign to wipe out a pandemic-causing virus has been smallpox – and, that’s only a very recent phenomenon.

4.       An endemic endgame is probable – Most of the researchers who are following the COVID-19 pandemic are coming to the conclusion that the virus (SARS-CoV-2) is going to hang around in the populace as an ongoing threat due to is highly mutatable state. And, like the flu, it spreads easily through the air.

So, the message seems clear. We may be in for a societal change related to “social distancing”, the use of “masks”, the details of “gatherings” and all of the other changes we’ve experienced over the last couple of years. The other clear message from the article is that we need to stay abreast of the CDC recommendations on COVID-19 vaccinations.