Enclothed Cognition

Its not yet November, but lets take some time to be thankful for how far the medical industry has progressed. Medical knowledge improves and evolves every day, hospitals are (usually) extremely sanitary environments, and medical instruments must be tested and approved for safety. 

Between 1932 to 1972 the U.S. Public Health Services violated the basic rights of its human patients in a study that went on for forty years. The Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment was “the longest nontherapeutic experiment on humans in medical history” (James Jones), during which 600 black men became the unknowing victims of one of the most infamous breaches of medical ethics.

The PA role has been shaped by years of experience and has its roots as far back as the 1600’s, when Peter the Great introduced “feldshers” into his armies as military medical assistants. Throughout modern history one can find references to non-physicians providing healthcare, especially during wartime. 

Mary Mallon, commonly known as “Typhoid Mary” was an Irish immigrant who moved to the United States in 1833. Mary was a typical immigrant worker making her way in a new country, and her memory would have faded quickly had she not become the infamous icon of infectious disease that she is now known for. 

Experts such as Tom Frieden, Director of the CDC, worry that the overuse of antibiotics could lead to the next global pandemic by creating microbial illnesses that cannot be controlled by modern medicine. Here's what you need to know about antibiotic resistance.

New medical students all over the country recently slipped on their white lab coats for the first time and got to feel the prestige and honor that this symbol holds. The white lab coat worn by doctors transcends the limits of merely functional workwear, giving the wearer a feeling of confidence and pride in their accomplishments and the knowledge that they are looked up to as among the most trustworthy members of society.

As with medical knowledge, medical uniforms, and medical treatments, spaces for healing and medicine have evolved through history. Today you can visit a private practice or hospital, but where did patients from the past go when they were sick? The modern hospital has evolved from ancient Egyptian sleeping temples, to religious patient wards, to the hospitals we are used to today--here is a brief history of the institution of hospitals.

Although she was mentally slow, Rosemary Kennedy was sweet natured throughout her childhood and the Kennedys went to great lengths to hide her apparent disabilities. But by her early twenties her disposition began to change and she became extremely volatile, swinging into violent fits of rage and temper tantrums.