Dr. David Elpern majored in comparative literature at Columbia College and earned his medical degree at New York University School of Medicine.
He was a general practitioner in a small town on Kauai, HI, for 4 years before completing his dermatology residency at Johns Hopkins.
He practiced dermatology on Kauai from 1979 to 1993 and since then in Williamstown, MA.
For the past 20 years, Dr. Elpern has had a special interest in medical education. He has organized an annual national continuing medical education course in dermatology since 1986, as well as symposia on the medical humanities in Hawaii, Canada, New England, Cuba and Asia.
He is a co-founding editor of the online journal Dermanities and Cell 2 Soul: The Journal of Humane Medicine and the Medical Humanities. He is married with three grown daughters.
Q. Why did you choose dermatology?
A. I fell in love with the specialty as a medical student at NYU in the late 1960s. The wards were full of desperately sick patients from all over the world with disorders such as pemphigus, psoriatic erythroderma, mycosis fungoides and reactional leprosy. “Giants” in dermatology were on staff in those days, and the work they were doing was so important and stimulating.
Q. Are an understanding and appreciation of the humanities important in dermatology?
A. Robertson Davies wrote: “More humanism and less science. That’s what medicine needs. But humanism is hard work, and so much of science is just Tinkertoy.”
I believe this. Many patients need our specialized knowledge, and it is vitally important to provide that.
Then, there are others who need the “friendship of a listening face” — the woman I saw yesterday with an abscess is an example. Her sister died 2 weeks ago, her sister’s husband a month before. A grandson was murdered last summer in a senseless shooting. She needed affirmation and presence as much as my expertise with a #11 blade. The latter is easier and can be documented on the chart.
The humanities help to nurture this aspect of our professional selves. Literature, cinema, art, music — all of these are often as important to a well-rounded and complete physician as reading the latest review article. Mastering the sciences is hard. So is enriching one’s self at the fount of the humanities. As physicians, we need to embrace the science and the arts. Osler said, “often the best part of your work will have nothing to do with powders and potions.” Nothing has changed.
Q. What is your greatest regret?
A. I regret not telling some individuals how important they were to me when I had the chance. It’s easy to forget one’s mentors in the busy fray of life and practice. I am a procrastinator and have missed this chance more than once. You’d think I’d learn!
Dr. David Elpern majored in comparative literature at Columbia College and earned his medical degree at New York University School of Medicine.
He was a general practitioner in a small town on Kauai, HI, for 4 years before completing his dermatology residency at Johns Hopkins.
He practiced dermatology on Kauai from 1979 to 1993 and since then in Williamstown, MA.
For the past 20 years, Dr. Elpern has had a special interest in medical education. He has organized an annual national continuing medical education course in dermatology since 1986, as well as symposia on the medical humanities in Hawaii, Canada, New England, Cuba and Asia.
He is a co-founding editor of the online journal Dermanities and Cell 2 Soul: The Journal of Humane Medicine and the Medical Humanities. He is married with three grown daughters.
Q. Why did you choose dermatology?
A. I fell in love with the specialty as a medical student at NYU in the late 1960s. The wards were full of desperately sick patients from all over the world with disorders such as pemphigus, psoriatic erythroderma, mycosis fungoides and reactional leprosy. “Giants” in dermatology were on staff in those days, and the work they were doing was so important and stimulating.
Q. Are an understanding and appreciation of the humanities important in dermatology?
A. Robertson Davies wrote: “More humanism and less science. That’s what medicine needs. But humanism is hard work, and so much of science is just Tinkertoy.”
I believe this. Many patients need our specialized knowledge, and it is vitally important to provide that.
Then, there are others who need the “friendship of a listening face” — the woman I saw yesterday with an abscess is an example. Her sister died 2 weeks ago, her sister’s husband a month before. A grandson was murdered last summer in a senseless shooting. She needed affirmation and presence as much as my expertise with a #11 blade. The latter is easier and can be documented on the chart.
The humanities help to nurture this aspect of our professional selves. Literature, cinema, art, music — all of these are often as important to a well-rounded and complete physician as reading the latest review article. Mastering the sciences is hard. So is enriching one’s self at the fount of the humanities. As physicians, we need to embrace the science and the arts. Osler said, “often the best part of your work will have nothing to do with powders and potions.” Nothing has changed.
Q. What is your greatest regret?
A. I regret not telling some individuals how important they were to me when I had the chance. It’s easy to forget one’s mentors in the busy fray of life and practice. I am a procrastinator and have missed this chance more than once. You’d think I’d learn!
Dr. David Elpern majored in comparative literature at Columbia College and earned his medical degree at New York University School of Medicine.
He was a general practitioner in a small town on Kauai, HI, for 4 years before completing his dermatology residency at Johns Hopkins.
He practiced dermatology on Kauai from 1979 to 1993 and since then in Williamstown, MA.
For the past 20 years, Dr. Elpern has had a special interest in medical education. He has organized an annual national continuing medical education course in dermatology since 1986, as well as symposia on the medical humanities in Hawaii, Canada, New England, Cuba and Asia.
He is a co-founding editor of the online journal Dermanities and Cell 2 Soul: The Journal of Humane Medicine and the Medical Humanities. He is married with three grown daughters.
Q. Why did you choose dermatology?
A. I fell in love with the specialty as a medical student at NYU in the late 1960s. The wards were full of desperately sick patients from all over the world with disorders such as pemphigus, psoriatic erythroderma, mycosis fungoides and reactional leprosy. “Giants” in dermatology were on staff in those days, and the work they were doing was so important and stimulating.
Q. Are an understanding and appreciation of the humanities important in dermatology?
A. Robertson Davies wrote: “More humanism and less science. That’s what medicine needs. But humanism is hard work, and so much of science is just Tinkertoy.”
I believe this. Many patients need our specialized knowledge, and it is vitally important to provide that.
Then, there are others who need the “friendship of a listening face” — the woman I saw yesterday with an abscess is an example. Her sister died 2 weeks ago, her sister’s husband a month before. A grandson was murdered last summer in a senseless shooting. She needed affirmation and presence as much as my expertise with a #11 blade. The latter is easier and can be documented on the chart.
The humanities help to nurture this aspect of our professional selves. Literature, cinema, art, music — all of these are often as important to a well-rounded and complete physician as reading the latest review article. Mastering the sciences is hard. So is enriching one’s self at the fount of the humanities. As physicians, we need to embrace the science and the arts. Osler said, “often the best part of your work will have nothing to do with powders and potions.” Nothing has changed.
Q. What is your greatest regret?
A. I regret not telling some individuals how important they were to me when I had the chance. It’s easy to forget one’s mentors in the busy fray of life and practice. I am a procrastinator and have missed this chance more than once. You’d think I’d learn!
