By Jesse Singal
New York Magazine
Originally posted April 14, 2016
Here is an excerpt:
In an unexpected twist, we may even find that recognizing our luck increases our good fortune. Social scientists have been studying gratitude intensively for almost two decades, and have found that it produces a remarkable array of physical, psychological, and social changes. Robert Emmons of the University of California at Davis and Michael McCullough of the University of Miami have been among the most prolific contributors to this effort. In one of their collaborations, they asked a first group of people to keep diaries in which they noted things that had made them feel grateful, a second group to note things that had made them feel irritated, and a third group to simply record events. After 10 weeks, the researchers reported dramatic changes in those who had noted their feelings of gratitude. The newly grateful had less frequent and less severe aches and pains and improved sleep quality. They reported greater happiness and alertness. They described themselves as more outgoing and compassionate, and less likely to feel lonely and isolated.
The article is here.
Thursday, May 5, 2016
We are zombies rewriting our mental history to feel in control
By Matthew Hutson
Daily News
Originally posted April 15 2016
Here is an excerpt:
Another possibility, one Bear prefers, is that we misperceive the order of events in the moment due to inherent limitations in perceptual processing. To put it another way, our brain isn’t trying to trick us into believing we are in control – just that it struggles to process a rapid sequence of events in the correct order.
Such findings may also imply that many of the choices we believe we make only appear to be signs of free will after the fact.
Everyday examples of this “postdictive illusion of choice” abound. You only think that you consciously decided to scratch an itch, make a deft football play, or blurt out an insult, when really you’re just taking credit for reflexive actions.
The article is here.
Daily News
Originally posted April 15 2016
Here is an excerpt:
Another possibility, one Bear prefers, is that we misperceive the order of events in the moment due to inherent limitations in perceptual processing. To put it another way, our brain isn’t trying to trick us into believing we are in control – just that it struggles to process a rapid sequence of events in the correct order.
Such findings may also imply that many of the choices we believe we make only appear to be signs of free will after the fact.
Everyday examples of this “postdictive illusion of choice” abound. You only think that you consciously decided to scratch an itch, make a deft football play, or blurt out an insult, when really you’re just taking credit for reflexive actions.
The article is here.
Wednesday, May 4, 2016
Surgeon General Concerned About Physician Burnout
by Joyce Frieden
MedPage Today
Originally posted April 10, 2016
Here is an excerpt:
But in the months since he has taken office, a growing concern about emotional well-being emerged "from conversations I had with community members, and it is based on the science developed over the years that tells us emotional well-being is an important driver of health."
"People think that emotional well-being is something that happens to you -- things line up in your life, you have the right job, and your health is good, and [you are in] a happy family and in a good relationship and you're happy in your emotional life," he said. "But there's a growing body of science that tells us there are things we can do to develop our emotional well-being proactively, and that in turn can have a positive impact on our health."
Murthy noting that promoting well-being doesn't require reinventing the wheel as there are already programs focused on emotional well-being that have significant outcomes for health and education, but people just don't know about them.
The article is here.
MedPage Today
Originally posted April 10, 2016
Here is an excerpt:
But in the months since he has taken office, a growing concern about emotional well-being emerged "from conversations I had with community members, and it is based on the science developed over the years that tells us emotional well-being is an important driver of health."
"People think that emotional well-being is something that happens to you -- things line up in your life, you have the right job, and your health is good, and [you are in] a happy family and in a good relationship and you're happy in your emotional life," he said. "But there's a growing body of science that tells us there are things we can do to develop our emotional well-being proactively, and that in turn can have a positive impact on our health."
Murthy noting that promoting well-being doesn't require reinventing the wheel as there are already programs focused on emotional well-being that have significant outcomes for health and education, but people just don't know about them.
The article is here.
Nurses Say Stress Interferes With Caring For Their Patients
By Alan Yu
NPR.org
Originally posted April 15, 2016
Here is an excerpt:
Almost 20 percent of newly registered nurses leave a hospital within the first year for the same job elsewhere, or a different job in a different organization, according to a 2014 study. Rushton says to her, that means health care organizations aren't investing enough in their nursing staff.
Nurse burnout also is linked to moral distress, Rushton says, from situations where nurses know what they should do for their patients but can't act on it. For example, nurses might have to give a patient at the end of life a treatment that causes suffering without any medical benefit. She just started a program called the Mindful Ethical Practice and Resilience Academy to try to help new nurses deal with moral distress.
It's a series of in-person workshops, some of which involve nurses using simulations to practice how to make their ethical concerns heard at work. One scenario includes a patient with a complex medical condition and a nurse has been caring for him and talking to him for days following the recommended treatment.
The article is here.
Note: There are several significant areas that apply to mental health professionals in terms of stress, moral distress, professional respect, and overwork.
NPR.org
Originally posted April 15, 2016
Here is an excerpt:
Almost 20 percent of newly registered nurses leave a hospital within the first year for the same job elsewhere, or a different job in a different organization, according to a 2014 study. Rushton says to her, that means health care organizations aren't investing enough in their nursing staff.
Nurse burnout also is linked to moral distress, Rushton says, from situations where nurses know what they should do for their patients but can't act on it. For example, nurses might have to give a patient at the end of life a treatment that causes suffering without any medical benefit. She just started a program called the Mindful Ethical Practice and Resilience Academy to try to help new nurses deal with moral distress.
It's a series of in-person workshops, some of which involve nurses using simulations to practice how to make their ethical concerns heard at work. One scenario includes a patient with a complex medical condition and a nurse has been caring for him and talking to him for days following the recommended treatment.
The article is here.
Note: There are several significant areas that apply to mental health professionals in terms of stress, moral distress, professional respect, and overwork.
Tuesday, May 3, 2016
The Challenge of Determining Whether an A.I. Is Sentient
By Carissa Véliz
Slate.com
Originally posted April 14, 2016
Here is an excerpt:
Sentience is important because it warrants moral consideration. Whether we owe any moral consideration to things is controversial; things cannot be hurt, they have no interests, no preferences. Paraphrasing philosopher Thomas Nagel, there is nothing it is like for a thing to be a thing, an inanimate object. In contrast, there is something it is like to be a sentient being. There is a quality to experience; there is a comforting warmth in pleasure and a disagreeable sharpness in pain. There is something it is like to be thirsty, afraid, or joyful. Because sentient beings can feel, they can be hurt, they have an interest in experiencing wellbeing, and therefore we owe them moral consideration. Other things being equal, we ought not to harm them.
It is not easy to determine when an organism is sentient, however. A brief recount of past and present controversies and mistakes makes it clear that human beings are not great at recognizing sentience.
The article is here.
Slate.com
Originally posted April 14, 2016
Here is an excerpt:
Sentience is important because it warrants moral consideration. Whether we owe any moral consideration to things is controversial; things cannot be hurt, they have no interests, no preferences. Paraphrasing philosopher Thomas Nagel, there is nothing it is like for a thing to be a thing, an inanimate object. In contrast, there is something it is like to be a sentient being. There is a quality to experience; there is a comforting warmth in pleasure and a disagreeable sharpness in pain. There is something it is like to be thirsty, afraid, or joyful. Because sentient beings can feel, they can be hurt, they have an interest in experiencing wellbeing, and therefore we owe them moral consideration. Other things being equal, we ought not to harm them.
It is not easy to determine when an organism is sentient, however. A brief recount of past and present controversies and mistakes makes it clear that human beings are not great at recognizing sentience.
The article is here.
What Kind of Legal Rights Should Robots Have?
By Jessie Guy-Ryan
Atlas Obscura
Originally posted March 12, 2016
Here is an excerpt:
So, to summarize the above: robots can’t give performances, aren’t animate objects, but can take possession of items as extensions of their operators. The entire paper is full of interesting, sometimes contradictory, cases, and well worth reading. But the varying precedents established combined with judicial metaphors advancing the idea that robots inherently lack autonomy, may create difficulties as robots—and, inevitably, legal cases involving robots—become more and more common and these narrow decisions and definitions become less and less accurate.
“The mismatch between what a robot is and how courts are likely to think of robots will only grow in salience and import over the coming decade,” Calo writes. He emphasizes the importance of exploring existing case law and establishing new institutions and agencies to provide knowledge and information to help guide courts.
The article is here.
Atlas Obscura
Originally posted March 12, 2016
Here is an excerpt:
So, to summarize the above: robots can’t give performances, aren’t animate objects, but can take possession of items as extensions of their operators. The entire paper is full of interesting, sometimes contradictory, cases, and well worth reading. But the varying precedents established combined with judicial metaphors advancing the idea that robots inherently lack autonomy, may create difficulties as robots—and, inevitably, legal cases involving robots—become more and more common and these narrow decisions and definitions become less and less accurate.
“The mismatch between what a robot is and how courts are likely to think of robots will only grow in salience and import over the coming decade,” Calo writes. He emphasizes the importance of exploring existing case law and establishing new institutions and agencies to provide knowledge and information to help guide courts.
The article is here.
Monday, May 2, 2016
Panelists Debate Morality Of Assisted Suicide Bill
By Jenna Rudolfsky
The Cornell Daily Sun
Originally posted April 18, 2016
Panelists from the Cornell Law School hosted a discussion entitled “Death with Dignity” to debate the controversial issue of assisted suicide and pending New York state legislation last Thursday.
If the “Death with Dignity” bill passes, New York will become the sixth state to allow terminally ill patients to end their own lives with prescribed lethal medication, according to MSNBC.
Panelist Prof. Daryl Bem, psychology, whose wife committed assisted suicide, discussed her struggles with Alzheimer’s disease in explaining why he is in favor of assisted suicide.
The article is here.
The Cornell Daily Sun
Originally posted April 18, 2016
Panelists from the Cornell Law School hosted a discussion entitled “Death with Dignity” to debate the controversial issue of assisted suicide and pending New York state legislation last Thursday.
If the “Death with Dignity” bill passes, New York will become the sixth state to allow terminally ill patients to end their own lives with prescribed lethal medication, according to MSNBC.
Panelist Prof. Daryl Bem, psychology, whose wife committed assisted suicide, discussed her struggles with Alzheimer’s disease in explaining why he is in favor of assisted suicide.
The article is here.
Mental illness: Families cut out of care
Liz Szabo
USA TODAY
Originally posted April 14, 2016
Here is an excerpt:
The federal law, called the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, or HIPAA, forbids health providers from disclosing a patient’s medical information without consent.
Unlike patients with physical conditions, people with serious mental illness often need help making decisions and taking care of themselves, because their illness impairs their judgement, says Jeffrey Lieberman,chairman of psychiatry at the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons and director of the New York State Psychiatric Institute. In some cases, patients may not even realize they’re sick.
Excluding families can have a devastating impact on patients like these, Lieberman says.
Many health providers don’t understand what HIPAA actually allows them to say. As a result, they often shut families out, even in circumstances in which they’re legally allowed to share information, says Ron Manderscheid, executive director of the National Association of County Behavioral Health and Developmental Disability Directors.
The article is here.
USA TODAY
Originally posted April 14, 2016
Here is an excerpt:
The federal law, called the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, or HIPAA, forbids health providers from disclosing a patient’s medical information without consent.
Unlike patients with physical conditions, people with serious mental illness often need help making decisions and taking care of themselves, because their illness impairs their judgement, says Jeffrey Lieberman,chairman of psychiatry at the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons and director of the New York State Psychiatric Institute. In some cases, patients may not even realize they’re sick.
Excluding families can have a devastating impact on patients like these, Lieberman says.
Many health providers don’t understand what HIPAA actually allows them to say. As a result, they often shut families out, even in circumstances in which they’re legally allowed to share information, says Ron Manderscheid, executive director of the National Association of County Behavioral Health and Developmental Disability Directors.
The article is here.
Sunday, May 1, 2016
The patient called me ‘colored girl.’ The senior doctor training me said nothing
By Jennifer Adaeze Anyaegbunam
Stat
Originally posted April 11, 2016
Medicine struggles with a chronic disease: racism.
Medical schools try to combat this disease with diversity initiatives and training in unconscious bias and cultural sensitivity. I’m about to graduate from the University of Virginia School of Medicine, so I’ve been through such programs.
They’re not enough.
Every one of us needs to own the principles that protect us and our patients from racism and bias. That means learning to see prejudice and speaking up against it. But that is far, far easier said than done.
Again and again during my four years of training, I encountered racism and ignorance, directed either at patients or at me and other students of color. Yet it was very hard for me to speak up, even politely, because as a student, I felt I had no authority — and didn’t want to seem confrontational to senior physicians who would be writing my evaluations.
The article is here.
Stat
Originally posted April 11, 2016
Medicine struggles with a chronic disease: racism.
Medical schools try to combat this disease with diversity initiatives and training in unconscious bias and cultural sensitivity. I’m about to graduate from the University of Virginia School of Medicine, so I’ve been through such programs.
They’re not enough.
Every one of us needs to own the principles that protect us and our patients from racism and bias. That means learning to see prejudice and speaking up against it. But that is far, far easier said than done.
Again and again during my four years of training, I encountered racism and ignorance, directed either at patients or at me and other students of color. Yet it was very hard for me to speak up, even politely, because as a student, I felt I had no authority — and didn’t want to seem confrontational to senior physicians who would be writing my evaluations.
The article is here.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)