Archive Posts

Upstate pediatrician Ann Botash, MD, who has been journaling for years, will read a portion of her short story “Whistling Willy’s Love Song” that recently won a Bruce Dearing Writing Award, presented by Upstate’s Center for Bioethics and Humanities (CBH). Botash, who is joined by the CBH’s Deirdre Neilen, PhD, will share what writing does for the health care professional, and why physicians sometimes turn to creative writing as an outlet.  All submissions to the contest also receive consideration for publication in CBH’s journal, The Healing Muse.

Upstate nurse practitioner and palliative care specialist Patricia Lippincott Knox, MSN, FNP, helps us understand the importance of advance directives – the planning and documents that instruct others about your medical care should you be unable to make decisions on your own – including a living will, health care proxy, and do not resuscitate order (DNR). 

Resources: Caring Connections – provides free advance directives and instructions; Advance care planning, from the NYS Department of Health; Respecting Choices

Joel Potash, MD, retired Upstate family physician and medical ethicist, explores the possibility of adventure as people age without denying that aging can be challenging as well.  Dr. Potash is sponsoring an upcoming seminar on end-of-life issues titled ‘Age-ing is an Adventure in Spiritual Growth  – Are You Ready for the Journey?‘.  For more information, call 315-413-3272.

In honor of National Poetry Month, we are joined by Dr. Deirdre Neilen, to share a very moving essay about the importance of caregivers and families, and their role in healing.  Neilen is the editor of Upstate’s The Healing Muse, the annual journal of literary and visual art published by Upstate Medical University’s Center for Bioethics & Humanities. The journal features fiction, poetry, narratives, essays, memoirs and visual art, particularly but not exclusively focusing on themes of medicine, illness, disability and healing.   The Healing Muse – Order Your Copies Today!

Peter Blanck, PhD, JD, University Professor and chairman of the Burton Blatt Institute (BBI) at Syracuse University, discusses the civil rights of people with disabilities, including the basis and history of the discrimination.

Dr. Deirdre Neilen, editor The Healing Muse, shares the latest issue of the annual journal of literary and visual art published by Upstate Medical University’s Center for Bioethics & Humanities.  The journal features fiction, poetry, narratives, essays, memoirs and visual art, particularly but not exclusively focusing on themes of medicine, illness, disability and healing.

Order Your Copies Today!

Dr. Robert Corona, chair of Upstate’s Department of Pathology, talks about a new federal law proposing any laboratory results can be released to patients as soon as they are available, and what the concerns are from the medical professional’s perspective.

The Anxiety of Waiting for Test Result, The New York Times.

Upstate bioethicist James Dwyer PhD, talks about his recent year spent as a Fulbright scholar teaching medical ethics in Taiwan.

Renown bioethicist Arthur L. Caplan from the University of Pennsylvania will be in Syracuse for a special seminar sponsored by Upstate Medical University’s Center for Bioethics and Humanities on April 12.   Dr. Caplan talks about the ethics of the allocation of organs for transplant.

Read more about:
Dr. Caplan’s seminar on April 12: “Are We Going Too Far to Get Organs for Transplant?”
Dr. Caplan’s article: How Target-ed advertising strips away our privacy

Upstate urologist Rakesh Khanna discusses prostate cancer screening guidelines, risks factors and treatment options.