Should Health Professionals Be Like Jedi Knights?

Mike Magee David Brooks stimulated a brisk national discussion last week in a column called “The Humanist Vocation”.(1) In it, he noted that college majors in the humanities had dropped from 14% to 7% in the past 50 years. In the piece he defined the job of humanities “to cultivate the human core, the part […]

Is Obesity a “Disease” or a Trojan Horse? The Debate Inside The AMA.

Mike Magee The vote of the A.M.A. House of Delegates is in – obesity is a disease.(1, 2) But what exactly does that mean? To say that the issue is complex and controversial is an understatement. Just take a look at the debate that preceded the AMA vote. Against Declaring Obesity A Disease: The AMA […]

Plan B: Context and Facts

Mike Magee This week the Obama administration gave the green light to unrestricted availability and sales of the morning-after contraceptive pill, Plan B. In the recent past U.S. District Judge Edward R. Korman had called the administration’s age restrictions “politically motivated” and “scientifically unjustified”. Without signaling a change in their opinion, the administration declined to […]

Medical Leaders and Consumers Lining Up To Support Nurses.

Mike Magee On January 1, 2014, as a result of implementation of the Affordable Care Act, the US will experience a major expansion of individuals covered by health insurance. The law includes three key pillars – insurers must provide coverage to all comers regardless of medical history; all citizens must pay in (either through purchase […]