By Kathryn Hayward, M.D. I live on the island of Mallorca, a Spanish island in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea. People here regard themselves as the Chosen Ones when it comes to diet. After all, numerous scientific studies or at least their press accounts have told the whole world that the Mediterranean diet is the winner. For those living…
By Kathryn Hayward, MD What causes us to make personal change, to engage in transformation? During much of our lives, we simply put one foot in front of the other, repeating again and again the same patterns in our relationships, clinging to the same beliefs and replaying the same thoughts in our heads. Along the way, however, opportunities for growing in…
A video post by Tom Rosshirt This week’s blogpost is a video of a short talk given by Advisory Council member and former Clinton speechwriter, Tom Rosshirt. The remarks, delivered at a conference in Washington, DC, highlight three “parts of speech”—Trust, Argument, Request. Tom explores the role of vulnerability in building trust, which he says is the most important of the…
By Rachael Maciasz, MD I wasn’t really sure what I was getting into when I decided to be a doctor. My impression of medical students was that they were driven people who love to learn and want a satisfying and rewarding career. Sounded like me! Everything was going great until I got to my third year of medical school and…
By Tom Rosshirt A speechwriter learns that public speeches and private conversations are made great by the same ingredients, which can improve emotional and physical health as well. In the summer of 2008 I met in Washington, DC with two respected colleagues to study two dozen speeches and answer the question: “What makes a speech great?” After two days, we…
The second of two essays about my journey into consciousness and action – by Tom Courl Read the first essay. Things haven’t been the same since a stress test at age 55 showed an arterial blockage and that I was at risk of having a heart attack. After getting the bad report, I could no longer cling to the story…
The first of two essays about my journey into consciousness and action – by Tom Courl I’m not supposed to get a heart attack! That was my reaction when I found out that I failed my stress test. I was 55 years old. It was February of this past year. At the time, I was mostly dwelling on the possibility…
By Adam Rindfleisch, M.D. In the past year, the Veterans Administration (VA) has been receiving a fair amount of negative press. It is tough to work in the VA right now. Morale is pretty low. And it is always challenging to be a Veteran – Veterans are one of the groups most in need of support of their health needs. …
By Kathryn Hayward, MD My daughter called me on the phone after taking her 15-month old baby to the doctor. Her voice was filled with the concern of a first-time mother whose first child had her first upper respiratory infection. “Mom, the doctor says that giving guaifenesin to Bianca is both dangerous and useless!” Growing up with a primary care…
By Kathryn Hayward, MD and Jack Temple MS IV My heart quickened with excitement as I read Jack Temple’s last blog post. Dr. Edwards’ response to their conversation during Jack ́s residency interview filled me with hope. I thought, “In an actual residency interview, an MD showed interest in Jack’s experiences with Integrative Health. Wow.” I hadn’t spoken directly with…
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