Tag: communication

Shilpa Darivemula, MD, MS Shilpa Darivemula, MD, MS (2 Posts)

Fellow Physician Contributing Writer

The University of North Carolina

Shilpa is a General Research Fellow in Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of North Carolina and Creative Director of the Aseemkala Initiative, an organization that creates choreographies and conducts research on traditional arts to address health equity for women of color. Shilpa trained in Kuchipudi at the Academy of Kuchipudi Dance in Atlanta and at the Kalanidhi Dance school in Bethesda, MD. Shilpa served as AMWA National Artist-in-Residence in 2016, studied traditional dance as women’s medicine as a Thomas Watson Fellow in 2013, and studied art as a vehicle to teach cervical cancer awareness as a ASTMH Kean Fellow in 2018. She continues to perform medical narratives, conduct research, and run workshops exploring cultural humility and justice in healthcare through her work with the Aseemkala Initiative.




Chinnamasta’s Do-Not-Resuscitate Order: Using Classical Indian Dance to Improve Intensive Care Unit Non-Verbal Communication

Published by Shilpa Darivemula, MD, MS

Communication is often noted as the connecting thread between multiple factors in the intensive care unit (ICU) environment, especially when the patient is unable to voice decisions. High-quality communication about goals of care and implementation of interventions versus palliative options has been shown to decrease family depression, improve adherence to MOLST forms by patients who become nonverbal, and decrease clinician burnout. Several models of communication have been implemented, focusing on semantics, environments, impacts on stress, …

In COVID We Mistrust

Published by Brian Lefchak, MD, MPH

In the pandemic’s wake, we witnessed the explosion of viral social media content such as Plandemic, an alternate exaggerated narrative which sought to perpetuate the types of claims one would expect from the title. These kinds of conspiracy theories have always existed in many different shapes and forms; however, COVID-19 struck at a time when society was suffering from a pre-existing condition of deep mistrust.

Can Empathy Be Taught, or Is It Innate?

Published by Okechukwu Anochie, MD, MS

In medical school, I was taught to sit at eye level when speaking to patients, ask how they would prefer to be addressed, and ask open-ended questions to allow them to express themselves. I learned to interject with “That must be really difficult for you,” or “I can only imagine how that makes you feel,” as a way to show empathy and foster better connection with patients.

Okechukwu Anochie, MD, MS (1 Posts)

Resident Physician Contributing Writer

RWJ-Barnabas Health

I'm a PGY-3 internal medicine resident at RWJ-Barnabas Health who is passionate about healthcare disparities and healthcare policy. One of my goals in life is to work at the federal level to influence healthcare policy laws that will ensure those who desperately need adequate healthcare are not lost through the cracks in our healthcare system. My hobbies include natural bodybuilding, learning programming languages, traveling and experience new cultures.