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Film actress, humanitarian and global citizen Angelina Jolie’s recent comments about the racial bias experienced by her daughter during medical treatment, struck a chord with many parents of black girls, including me. In an interview she conducted with medical student Malone Mukwende, Ms. Jolie noted that her daughter, Zahara, whom she adopted from Ethiopia, recently had surgery, and whenever she looked at medical charts, the reference point was always white skin. (Sylvia Gail Kinard, 11/8)

Addiction rates among the nearly 3 million actively practicing nurses in the United States are estimated by the National Council of State Boards of Nursing to be like that of the general population, roughly 10-15%.  With this data it can be assumed that over 300,000 impaired nurses remain hidden in the workforce, posing an increased risk of harm to themselves and their patients. These risks can be reduced through early identification and intervention by their colleagues, however most nurses adhere to a “don’t ask, don’t tell” alternative as legal and ethical concerns arise when confronting a fellow nurse suspected of substance abuse.  (Daniel Del Toro, 11/8)

The world is in the midst an escalating global crisis of brain health, by which we mean all mental health and neurological disorders across the lifespan, from autism and schizophrenia to Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. The existing workforce of health care providers cannot keep up with this brain health epidemic, and existing approaches to care are woefully inadequate. Screening is rarely implemented. Diagnosis is often subjective. Treatment is largely trial and error. (Erin Smith, Mark Heinemeyer and Harris A. Eyre, 11/9)

The speed at which Covid-19 vaccines ruptured the link between infections and death has put renewed focus on the miracle, and science, of inoculation. If only we had a vaccine for cancer, too, people have said. Oh, wait, we do. And now a major study has shown just how effective it is. (Therese Raphael, 11/8)

Don’t faint, don’t faint. I mentally repeat the words with each squeeze of the stress ball, willing myself to remain conscious. The phlebotomist has tried to ensure that I do: propped up my feet, cradled an ice pack behind my neck, gave me a can of Coke (which, in my reclined position, I spilled down my shirt). The tangle of tubes stemming from a needle in the crook of my right arm darkens. Presumably, clinical machinery beeps and whirs, but I’m too focused on not passing out to listen. (Lindsey Leake, 11/8)

The open enrollment period for Connecticut retired teachers who access their health insurance benefits through the Teachers’ Retirement Board (TRB) began on October 18. For the 2022 calendar year, the TRB has chosen UnitedHealthcare as the sole provider for the two insurance options being offered to retirees: the UnitedHealthcare Advantage Plan and the Senior Supplement Plan which supplements original Medicare. During this enrollment period, UnitedHealthcare has been offering in-person and virtual information sessions throughout the state.  The sessions should offer an unbiased detailed review of both insurance options.  However, that has not happened. (Kathleen R. Hennessey, 11/9)

Paternity leave bolsters family relationships. Among 6,000 couples followed from when their child was a baby until kindergarten age, couples in which fathers took even just a week or two of paternity leave were 26 percent more likely to stay married, compared with couples in which fathers took no leave. Another study found that when fathers took paternity leave, their children reported closer relationships with their dads nine years later. One reason paternity leave might boost fathers’ relationships is that parenting experience transforms men’s brains and bodies. Men’s hormones can shift both before and after a child’s birth, and there is exciting new evidence that fathers’ brains reflect the transition to parenthood as well. (Darby Saxbe and Sofia Cardenas, 11/8)