It Takes a Pit Crew

The Race To Treat HIV Disease

Several years ago, Atul Gawande spoke to the graduates of Harvard Medical School. His address was published in the New Yorker under the title of “Cowboys and Pit Crews”.  In his articulate way, Dr. Gawande described the necessary cultural transition in the way health care teams operate and cooperate. His article came to mind as I was preparing to speak at the World AIDS Day Service of Remembrance this past December 1st. I was tasked with giving statistics on the current situation of HIV in Atlantic County, but I began with a poem. I wrote this back when AIDS was much different than it is today.

 

copyright: michaeljung/123rf stock photo

copyright: michaeljung/123rf stock photo

I’m Still Your Doctor

I happen to be there when you’re admitted.
My job is to keep you alive at any cost.
Lucky for you that I have experience
and I’m really good at diagnosing

the opportunistic diseases of AIDS.
So when you have the bad luck
to have a rare pneumonia
and a virus attacking your eyes, (more…)