Healthcare – Page 7 – Scott J. Pearson’s Book Review

Cells are the New Cure: The Cutting-Edge Medical Breakthroughs that are Transforming Our Health

By Scott J. Pearson | August 2, 2020August 2, 2020 by Scott J. Pearson

Paradigm shifts happen in science occasionally, but historically, relatively few professionals make the shift. Usually, new generations of practitioners tend to bring in the change via their educational experiences. This is unfortunate. In this work, Smith and Gomez educate healthcare professionals and the reading public about advances in medical research. They attempt to enlighten us all about what is going to happen next in doctor’s offices. Their focus is on multiple developments around the cell.…

Healthcare Society

Stuck: How Vaccine Rumors Start – And Why They Don’t Go Away

By Scott J. Pearson | May 9, 2020 by Scott J. Pearson

A casual perusal of social media will demonstrate an active debate about vaccines in contemporary society. Many cite (relatively rare) side effects and disregard abundant scientific studies about vaccines’ effectiveness; these people argue that they should have a “choice” over whether to admit a vaccine in their bodies. They do not heed arguments that herd immunity protects the herd better – that eschewing vaccines hurt us all. In this sociological work, Larson addresses how these…

Healthcare

BLS (Basic Life Support) by the American Heart Association

By Scott J. Pearson | May 2, 2020 by Scott J. Pearson

This manual, based off of recommendations from the American Heart Association (AHA), teaches the basics of life support when/if one encounters someone in a life emergency. It intends to reach an audience of healthcare providers. It covers CPR, defibrillator (AED) use, rescue breathing, choking-rescue techniques, and naloxone administration for opioid-associated events. The AHA and Red Cross administer trainings with this material. This is the standard for life-supporting rescue and first aid. They also have a…

Biography-Memoir Healthcare

Fallible: A Memoir of a Young Physician’s Struggle with Mental Illness

By Scott J. Pearson | April 24, 2020 by Scott J. Pearson

As with most memoirs, this saga spans many sectors of life: religious faith (Mormon), an arduous journey (years of medical training), loneliness and solitude (missionary work in the Ukraine), deep, abiding love (a wife and kids), and obstacles (relentless anxiety). Jones relates his struggle with generalized anxiety disorder and in attaining a stable life. This difficulty is amplified by the fact that he undertakes psychologically stressful education to become a physician. The hardships never really…

Healthcare History Science Software-Technology

Life Out of Sequence: A Data-Driven History of Bioinformatics

By Scott J. Pearson | March 29, 2020March 29, 2020 by Scott J. Pearson

Upon reading the title of this book, many non-specialists might rightly ask, “What is bioinformatics? And why does it deserve its own history?” For the first question, bioinformatics is the application of computer technology to biological studies, and I hope that reading this review will answer the second question. Many of us were taught hypothesis-driven biology in school – that is, we were taught to ask a well-formed question, perform an experiment, and confirm/deny the…

Fiction-Stories Healthcare

Arrowsmith by Sinclair Lewis

By Scott J. Pearson | February 15, 2020February 15, 2020 by Scott J. Pearson

This brilliant work, published in 1920s America and winner of a Pulitzer Prize, addresses the state of medical research shortly after the Flexner Report famously shone a path for medical research to progress. It sets forth the classical view of a medical researcher – isolated, dedicated to his research, not interested in people, and essentially living in his lab. And yes, that view is traditionally centered around a researcher being a male in a more-or-less…

Biography-Memoir Healthcare

An Unquiet Mind: A Memoir of Moods and Madness

By Scott J. Pearson | January 31, 2020January 31, 2020 by Scott J. Pearson

Dr. Jamison is a clinical psychologist and professor at Johns Hopkins University. She also has struggled with bipolar disorder (otherwise known as manic-depression) for her entire life. Her topic of research and clinical expertise is bipolar disorder as well. Due to this rare combination of deep suffering and erudition, Dr. Jamison’s autobiography is of intense interest. She is able to view herself and her disease in an extraordinarily objective light. Thus, she can present her…

Healthcare History Science

The Great Influenza: The Story for the Deadliest Pandemic in History

By Scott J. Pearson | December 28, 2019December 28, 2019 by Scott J. Pearson

When it comes to pandemics – the worst version of an epidemic – the flu virus (influenza) still strikes the most fear in officials of public health. It is highly contagious and leaves us with few options to counteract. The year 1918 had the worst attack of the flu worldwide. In this book, Barry traces the history of what happened in that year and extracts lessons for us to follow in our age. The 1918…

Healthcare Science

TIME Mental Health: A New Understanding

By Scott J. Pearson | November 11, 2019November 11, 2019 by Scott J. Pearson

It’s often said that brain science (neuroscience) is the moving frontier of the twenty-first century. The field of modern psychology took shape in the twentieth century. The output of the intersection of these types of study is still taking place, but TIME magazine’s focus on mental health could not take place at a more opportune time. One in five Americans have dealt with one form of mental illness in their personal health. The annual spending…

Biography-Memoir Healthcare Science

The Youngest Science: Notes of a Medicine-Watcher

By Scott J. Pearson | August 28, 2019April 1, 2020 by Scott J. Pearson

Lewis Thomas spent his life revolving around various aspects of medicine – apprenticeship, patients, research, administration, being a patient, and writing. In this memoir, he shares tales and insights from all of these experiences in an easy-to-digest and relatable format. I especially enjoyed his notes from his time as Dean of Yale’s medical school. Perhaps it’s because I work for an associate dean of medicine now. I appreciate his admonishments not to intervene too much…