Stress, according to noted Slovakian researcher Hans Selye, is neither good nor bad. Instead, it is defined as "the non-specific response of the body to any demand for change." At some point, though, stress ceases being an impetus for productive effort in the service of positive performance and …
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Educating the Whole Child
This month marks the public television premiere of a very important film, Race to Nowhere. Vicki Abeles' provocative documentary tells the story of children, parents and teachers who are increasingly frustrated by an educational system pushing our kids to breaking point. As a pediatrician and a …
Health is a Creative Process
One of my staff members recently observed me going from room to room, seeing patients in my pediatric practice, without paper and without a laptop. This is my usual routine. I must have seen three or four kids in a row that afternoon when she asked me how I seemed to know who everyone was and how I …
The Rx Life Solution
"Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." – attributed to Albert Einstein The Problem Americans are sicker than ever before, and despite throwing tons of money at the problem, we continue to be sicker than citizens of most other affluent countries. …
‘Let Them Read Books’: Stories as Stress-Busters
Stress is everywhere. Most recent estimates are that 1 in 4 teens are diagnosed with an anxiety disorder. We've seen these numbers explode in recent years following traumatic weather disasters like Hurricanes Katrina and Sandy. Along with poverty, food insecurity and pollution, stress is a …
‘I’m From Jersey’: A Pediatrician’s Reflections on Sandy
Understand, I was born and raised in New Jersey, and I have lived my entire life here with the exception of college and medical school. N.J. is not just where I live; it is a part of who I am, as much as it is for the families I care for in my pediatric practice. I am deeply embedded, consciously, …
The Last Well Child
Q: "What is a well person?" A: "A well person is a patient who has not been completely worked up." As I enter the exam room, a smiling 10-year-old boy greets me. Pete, my last patient of a long day, is here for his annual well visit. I chat with him about his life -- home, …