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The physicians I most admire show in their personhood and their actions that they base their work in a bio-psycho-socio-spiritual model. They are practical and USEFUL in the way that a good carpenter or a good plumber is useful. At the same time they invite and show by their actions that they deserve a level of trust that one usually wouldn’t place in a carpenter or plumber. An excellent physician is comfortable listening to people’s dilemmas, concerns, and fears and patiently, competently collaborating to help them deal with those dilemmas, concerns, and fears.

My pet peeve with our profession in these decades is that there is way, way too much scientism and far too little high-quality practical philosophy. Patient-centered care involves helping people make sense of the quirks and failings of their physical bodies. Making sense always involves some kind of narrative—some placing of the symptom or experience into a meaningful sequence that unfolds across time in a specific context. Scientism at its worst invites us to always think in ahistorical, contextless abstractions, and these abstractions are always very thin descriptions of what in any specific instance are very complex events. No map can come close to containing the territory it represents.

My colleague Joe Gibes has this to say about the need for a grounding in narrative and other concerns from the humanities if one is to be a complete physician:

Your initial reaction when your naturopath showed you the “foods to avoid” list for your digestive concerns:

When you tried the suggestion of kale chips:

The first time you tried bitter herbs for digestion and you were like:

Your reaction when you cooked your first healthy meal (considering your version of cooking is heating up Chef Boyardee):

When you’re on a hypoallergenic cleanse, and you’re at the grocery store with 2 other customers staring at the last bottle of almond butter:

You told your partner you’re going gluten-free and gluten is in the first 5 ingredients of the snack he/she brought you:

How you felt after that hypoallergenic cleanse:

When you realized you unintentionally lost weight and your skin cleared up after you followed the dietary work:

The organic coconut oil you use is on sale for ½ price:

When your naturopath says your breakfast is spot on:

For more information on my practice, or recipes/tips visit:

www.rahimkanjind.com

The global health care system is in crisis, says Dr. Tabatha Parker, founder of Natural Doctors International (NDI). It relies on the exportation of a Western model—one that doesn’t even work in the countries it’s coming from—to developing countries that can’t afford it.

Parker, a naturopathic doctor, sees NDI as a bridge between exported conventional medicine and centuries-old indigenous healing techniques, such as the use of herbal medicine, which in some places in the world is the dominant type of health care. “That has to be a part of the system if you’re going to actually reach people,” Parker says. Naturopathic doctors “are trained in a way that no one else in the world is trained: to be [that] bridge.”

Dr. Tabatha Parker was chosen as an Utne Reader visionary in 2011. Each year Utne Reader puts forward its selection of world visionaries—people who don’t just concoct great ideas but also act on them.

Watch: This powerful new series highlights the ways abortion providers save and improve women’s lives

“We all dress for Bill,” Anna Wintour once said. 

Remembering the legendary photographer Bill Cunningham, who was truly a national treasure.