Early in my military medical career, I gained a deeper understanding of what true healing really involves

When Wayne B. Jonas, MD, started practicing medicine in 1981, he was the only physician responsible for two entire battalions and their families – about 4,000 people. He learned quickly how to deliver person-centered, relationship-based…

An excerpt from Healing and Cancer: A Guide to Whole Person Care If you've never (until reading Healing and Cancer) heard of the Personal Health Inventory (PHI) as a tool or the HOPE visit as…

Navigating the complexities of oncology care often means addressing more than just the clinical aspects of cancer. Conventional healthcare models, with their focus on symptom management and disease treatment, sometimes miss the holistic needs of…

I’ve often wondered what will be the first signs that our health care system in the U.S. is shifting toward whole person, preventative care. The first hint I got that we may be reaching this…

When patients with cancer pain ask you about pain management options, what do you say?  It might depend on where you practice. Most people with cancer are treated in community hospitals, in areas where medications…

Salutogenesis: The creation of health and homeostasis is the underlying process of healing that occurs constantly, every second, every day from the time we’re born until we die. When it breaks down we get sick…

I recently had an interaction that surprised me. I was speaking with a health systems administrator who was interested in understanding the efficacy of the efforts his team was making related to delivering whole person…

Jan comes back to her childhood home year after year. She walks by the water in the canals, by the lakes and the ocean. She comes back to see her family, the plants having grown…

As we near the end of March, I think about Match Day, when fourth-year medical graduates all over the country find out where they will spend the next several years. One resident encounter stood out…