Today the nursing staff held a birthday party for a patient. The party was not to celebrate with her, but to cheer on her departure from the service. She had moved into a new age bracket, and as a result, would receive care on the far side of campus. Her details are important insofar as she was a difficult case, a hassle overnight, and poor. The more details emerged, the clearer it became – these people had loved her for the past two decades. So perhaps it was not as much a celebration, but…

This post is in response to the following questions: If there is one thing you would like to see change in your faith or ethical tradition over the next ten years, what would it be? What role would you want to play?

Medical science is my faith tradition. Of all talk of medicine losing its soul, there is a false assumption that science itself once included this soul. Indeed, religious thought strongly shaped the work of physicians centuries ago. However, the emergence of the doctrine…

My favorite place in the hospital is the lobby between the chapel and Dunkin Donuts. Every evening I look forward to passing into the open ceiling veranda, to elevator jazz-music, awaiting my coffee fix for the evening. I wonder if this is the most sacred space in the hospital. Certainly the chapel doesn’t hold a chance – situated in a high traffic hallway, the chairs lined up in perfected geometry, like the DMV without the wear or tear and less gum under the seats. Lest one think that I am…

Paul Tough, author of How Children Succeed: Grit, Curiosity, and the Hidden Power of Character, opened his talk by discussing rats. In an audience of Harvard education students, this set the expectation of a talk about what science can teach about the nebulous concept of character education.

While engaging and provocative, his talk only briefly discussed hard science. In his introduction to the book, social scientist Robert Putnam praised Tough's recent book for its ability…