by Jay Baruch

About Jay Baruch

Jay Baruch is an emergency physician, writer, and professor of emergency medicine at Alpert Medical School of Brown University, where he is the director of the medical humanities and bioethics scholarly concentration. He is the author of Tornado of Life: A Doctor’s Journey through Constraints and Creativity in the ER.

Creativity

The budding medical student examines the patient, exploring every symptom and recording every detail. The abdomen is… kind of tender? The story is just as ambiguous. The patient’s account disorients her: he dodges questions, forgets answers, and at times, prickles. The patient says too much or too little. Nothing lines up. Each piece of information generates more uncertainty. Being a doctor seemed like it would depend on commanding a vast knowledge. She is finding that in the practice of medicine, knowledge alone is inadequate.