Tuesday, March 6, 2007

Patients like Philoctetes

"We have created a subclass of patients like Philoctetes with modern medicine. They are abandoned on their islands to live long, but have we risen to the challenge of taking emotional care of them?"
Pediatrician Lyuba Konopasek and classicist Bryan Doerries (his words above) find in Sophocles' Philoctetes a way to help medical students understand the needs of patients receiving long-term care.
The Difficult Patient, a Problem Old as History (or Older) (New York Times)

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