Bernard-Henri Lévy— The only debate that has truly engaged Europe and the United States is the one about the comparative vices and virtues of the Korean and Chinese, Thai or Singaporean, Confucian or liberal models for compelling people to meet health requirements. To their credit, a number of so-called learned
Michelle A. Gourdine— In 2012, Trayvon Martin, a seventeen-year-old boy dressed in a hoodie, carrying a bag of Skittles and iced tea while walking through a neighborhood where he “didn’t belong,” was approached and eventually shot and killed by George Zimmerman, a resident on “neighborhood watch.” Like so many African
Tamara Venit Shelton— Nearly three years ago, on January 18, 2017, Chinese President Xi Jinping visited the World Health Organization and presented a traditional bronze statue used to identify acupuncture points on the human body. The gift was part of the Chinese government’s ongoing campaign to promote Traditional Chinese Medicine,
Frank M. Snowden— Health care is key in the forthcoming US election, with polls indicating that the American people regard the issue—in tandem with the economy—as their top priority. Voters are seriously anxious about current provisions of care and worried about possible further efforts to undermine Obama’s Affordable Care Act. In
Richard Robb— In fall 2018, measles returned to New York City. It was hardly surprising, given the alarmingly widespread resistance to vaccination. According to a recent survey, 2% of Americans believe vaccines are unsafe and ineffective and another 6% believe the side effects of vaccination outweigh the benefits. Many antivaxxers maintain
John M. Burkey— May is Better Hearing and Speech Month. You may have heard this before. Then again, you may have focused on May being arthritis awareness month, get caught reading month, national salsa month, or national bike month. More likely, May was viewed only with the comforting recognition that
John M. Burkey— A quick glance across the room drew my attention to the “Big Book of Worms.” Not surprisingly, this wasn’t the correct title to the brightly colored children’s book. Perhaps my misperception had been the result of poor lighting, my inner wish to be elsewhere fishing, or just
John M. Burkey— Good patient care requires careful listening. Sometimes this listening is not so difficult, however, as knowing what to do about what is heard. This story began several years ago when I was confronted by a patient with a complaint that at first did not appear to be related
John M. Burkey— Greetings from the “bad news room.” This is how a physician I worked with described my office because one of my roles as senior audiologist in our ear, nose and throat (ENT) practice is to tell patients that they have hearing loss. Since we are a busy