Grief is not a disorder and should be considered normal Have you been tearful and sad after the death of a loved one?  Did you notice changes in appetite, difficulty sleeping, troubles concentrating, and decreased energy for at least two weeks after the loss? Did you think that was a normal, healthy, and adaptive response to a major loss? Well, if you believe the new DSM-5 criteria approved by the ...

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What happens when you randomly assign medical students to either a mandatory two week rotation in specialized geriatric training or to a traditional non-geriatric clerkship that sees a lot of old people? Will there be any difference in the knowledge of geriatric conditions, the attitudes toward older adults, or geriatric clinical skills between the two groups?  Or does mere exposure to an aging patient population give students the training they need to ...

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A recent issue in The Lancet included an article entitled “The Death of Ivan Ilyich and pain relief at the end of life.” This is a thought provoking article focused on the question of whether there is overuse of pharmaceuticals to treat various forms of suffering in hospice and palliative medicine. The authors argue that a good death, as seen through their interpretation of The Death of Ivan Ilyich, may include ...

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