Overview
My overall area of clinical interest is pediatric dermatology. I have a passion for teaching, a deep commitment to empathic communication between health care providers and patients, and an intense interest in working with people from different countries and cultural backgrounds.
I have given seminars and lectures on communication skills to residents and fellows in numerous specialties, and to physicians and nurses in medical centers around the U.S. I am the author of numerous articles on this topic and developed a national curriculum in doctor-patient communication for residents in neurosurgery in the United States. More recently, I have completed work on “Keepers of the House,” a documentary film and curriculum that documents the deep human relationships between housekeepers at Duke Hospital, and patients and their families.
In addition, I have consulted on developing curricula in doctor-patient communication in medical schools and clinics in Chile, South Africa, Botswana, and Kenya . I helped to create a curriculum in respectful maternity car for midwives and health extension workers in Ethiopia, and for midwifery students in Chilean Patagonia.
