Sharing Mayo Clinic

“I’ll see all of you at noon at the Foundation House,” I stated as I reminded the Year I Mayo Medical School students of their meeting with prospective students. “Is it Mayo wear?” a voice said, and I could hear the hopeful anticipation that I would say "no" in that voice. “Yes, it is Mayo wear” I responded with authority; and so on that day and at the appointed hour, they all showed up and were attired just as I expected -- they were all in their Mayo wear. Mayo wear -- it’s not a new line of clothing designed to promote health, nor is it a codified uniform of garments that Mayo doctors wear. It is our way of showing respect and honoring those who trust us with their lives -- our patients. Like so many good and lasting things, the professional dress of Mayo physicians was something that was gifted to us by our founders -- Drs. William and Charlie Mayo. To separate the physician from the patient by placing the doc in a white coat was not something that the doctors at Mayo found to be favorable. Rather they saw our professional dress as a way of showing our respect and honor at being able to serve patients.

I look forward to spring on the Mayo Clinic downtown campus in Rochester. The grass finally turns green after wintering under the snow, the flowers ...

Excerpt from my journal – April 30, 2009 “Today I saw the most beautiful newborn baby. He appeared perfect. Ten fingers, ten toes. His face, with lips that were full like a cherub, seemed filled with the promise of many tomorrows. His arms and legs, tiny as they were, bent gracefully as he was dressed in a gown and hat by members of the nursing staff. The fabric was soft and white, edged in miniscule lace, and, against his reddish coloring, made him look robust. Two nurses with the very gentlest of hands cared for this child. His weight in ounces and his length a mere few inches received their attention and care, the same as a robust squalling newborn. Seeing him in the bassinet, wrapped in a white blanket, I could only imagine the love that would fill the hearts of his family as they looked at him.” Over the years, I have watched the team of volunteers from Rochester Methodist Hospital (RMH) create dozens of tiny gowns and bonnets, blankets and memory envelopes. Until that day in April of 2009, I had never seen a recipient of their work: a family whose baby was born too early, a family who would hold their precious newborn briefly and then grieve for the life not to be fulfilled. The handiwork of the RMH volunteers helped create the caring and dignity that was provided by the nursing staff for that tiny baby and his family.

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'Date Night' Takes on New Meaning for Heart Patient at Mayo Clinic in Arizona It would be hard to ignore the elephant in the room. This "elephant" ...

Good Morning, Dr. Lanzino. I wanted to let you know that I am alive and happy. I went through a real state of anger and kept asking, "Why me?" I worried about the aneurysm that was clipped and the other one. I now find that I am asking, "Why not me?" Hearing back from both Anne and you, Dr. Lanzino, made a huge difference in the turn-a-round of my psyche. Your confidence in your work is very calming and assuring. I am beginning to understand that had it not been for your gift I would probably not be sitting here typing this email to you. Maybe I'd be gone completely or perhaps I would still be here but unable to move my fingers and arms, or worse yet, unable to think... a fate worse than death, to me.

This submission came via email from Marilyn Bates, a Mayo Clinic patient. Bulbs crack the soil as sleet clears from Pittsburgh streets. Spring is almost here or so I think. Not so in Rochester, Minnesota, where my sister and I journey along I-90 to the Mayo Clinic. Here, plains are snow-swept and box elders border an occasional farm, the landscape stark and icy. Procedures performed at the Clinic are often above and beyond those achieved at other medical establishments. Physicians there are not afraid to undo medical mistakes made by others. I am looking for a solution to my dilemma of coping with a missing left kneecap.

Dr. Ron Petersen, the director of the Mayo Clinic Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center, participated in the recent launch of the “Rock Stars of Science” campaign ...

This particular morning, as I made my rounds, I knew I had to hold up my end of the deal as I approached the door of my last patient of the morning. I had not seen him for a few days, and the last day I had with him he was not feeling well at all. "Next time we meet, I will take you out to see the daylight, I promise." He pointed a tired, but determined finger at me "you better keep your word!" Today was the day I would take him downstairs to see the morning sky, to hear the birds chirping, to smell the early morning air. But, first things first. Clothes. Real clothes. No hospital gown for my favorite patient whom I had dubbed "Sinatra Guy." He had the eyes, attitude, and personality of the beloved star and one could not help to see a little Sinatra "spark" in those mischievous eyes. He had been with us for quite some time, and now, as he recovered from the last leg of his journey in the hospital he wanted so badly to be in real clothes and to go outside for the first time in a long time.

With the economy the way it is, I wasn't sure what, if anything, would be taking place during Nurses Week to celebrate our wonderful nurses here in Jacksonville. I was happy to see that our Clinical Education Department put together a week-long series of events to celebrate.

Dr. Zofia Nowicki has had a passion for art for as long as she can remember. Growing up in an artistic and medical family in Florida (her mother is a professional artist and her father and brother are physicians), Dr. Nowicki, a fellow within Mayo Clinic’s radiology department completing a fellowship in Body MRI, has found many opportunities  to combine her love of art and science.

A couple of weeks ago, a friend at work sent me a link to a video in which Chloe Williams shows and tells her story ...