Dr. Mark A. Lewis' inclination for helping others was passed down to him through the generations before him. His father died of lung cancer, the result not of smoking, but of the rare mutation that underlies familial tumor syndrome, in the Lewises' case, Multiple Endocrine Neoplasia type 1 (MEN 1). Lewis' own MEN 1 status was only revealed in his first year of oncology residency, as were the tumors already growing in his pancreas, where they still reside today, dormant, for now. Realizing that he and his father shared this familial form of cancer made his father's struggles make more sense in retrospect, and it continues to shape his relationships with medicine.
Nursing assistants, food service workers and support staff at eight Twin Cities hospitals are voting this week on whether to authorize a two- to five-day strike. The vote was called by the Service Employees International Union Healthcare Minnesota, which represents some 3,500 employees who have been in contract talks with the hospitals since January. The union set up voting tables Monday outside three of the affected hospitals: Fairview Southdale, North Memorial Medical Center and Children's Hospital in Minneapolis. The voting, which will continue through Tuesday, also involves workers at Methodist Hospital, Fairview Riverside, Children's in St. Paul, Bethesda Hospital and St. John's Hospital.
Population estimates indicate that the number of Minnesotans age 65 and older will rise 40 percent in the next 10 years. Students are looking beyond two-year-nursing programs to learn more about physical therapy, treatment management and psychological care while pursing a bachelor's degree. Nurse educators say two-year degree programs are not enough to keep up with the increasing demands on the profession, and more nursing students are pursuing four-year programs. Enrollment in undergraduate and graduate nursing programs increased 8.5 percent last year, from 238,799 in 2010 to 259,100 in 2011, according a recent report by the American Association of Colleges of Nursing.
Dr. Sanjeev Grover, 49, pleaded guilty in March to federal charges of dispensing and distributing oxycodone. He lost his medical license. He took a plea deal and will be sentenced in a Tampa courtroom today. He faces up to 20 years in prison. Once, Grover had a fellowship at prestigious Duke University. He was a university professor. He treated cancer patients. So how did he go from being a respected doctor to dealing pills outside a fast food restaurant? The answer is simple: greed. He recently agreed to an interview with the Tampa Bay Times, offering a seldom-heard perspective about a prescription drug epidemic.
An exhibition called "Trail of the Magic Bullet: The Jewish Encounter With Modern Medicine, 1860-1960," is on view at Yeshiva University Museum in Manhattan. The exhibition offers a rare look at a topic few patients ever stop to consider: the emergence of European and American Jews as innovators in medicine, despite their status as outsiders frequently scorned by the medical establishment.
Dr. Patrick Quinlan will step down Sept. 1 as chief executive officer of Ochsner Health System, handing control of the region's largest health-care provider to his longtime second-in-command, President and Chief Operating Officer Warner Thomas. Quinlan, who has led Ochsner since 2001, will remain in the system as a governing board member and as director of a new enterprise: the Ochsner Center for Wellness and Health Policy. The leadership transition has been formally in the works for more than a year, according to the two executives and Ochsner board president Jimmy Maurin. Quinlan will keep his vote on the Ochsner governing board in one of the seats reserved for physicians.