Where the “sharp end” and the “blunt end” of healthcare meet
Writing for healthcare professionals, patients, and families since 2007
Eve Shapiro writes about the human side of the “sacred interaction” that is, ideally, healthcare. Eve is keenly interested in relationships within healthcare, and the stories people tell about themselves and their experiences, whether they are on the “sharp” or the “blunt” end of care. Her particular interest is what happens at the point of contact between patients and clinicians—whether in an office, an exam room, the Emergency Department, the surgical suite, or the bedside.
Her current focus is how and where community health is being delivered person-to-person, in remote rural areas and underserved urban areas of the country—and how receiving much-needed care affects people’s health, social circumstances, and emotional wellbeing.
Read Eve’s latest book, Joy in Medicine? What 100 Healthcare Professionals Have to Say about Job Satisfaction, Dissatisfaction, Burnout, and Joy (November 2020, Taylor & Francis, publisher). Available from amazon.com or taylorfrancis.com
In 2017, Eve co-authored, with Anthony M. DiGioia, MD, The Patient Centered Value System: Transforming Healthcare through Co-Design (Taylor & Francis, publisher).
Eve has written for the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, the Institute for Healthcare Improvement, The Joint Commission, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Consumers Advancing Patient Safety, and other organizations.
Areas of Focus
Patient Safety and Systems Improvement
Patient safety depends on the optimal functioning of healthcare systems, which, in turn, depends on the continuous improvement of processes and performance. Eve writes about the road to improvement for organizations, clinicians, and, ultimately, for patients.
Physician-Patient Communication
The best patient outcomes depend on clear and complete communication between physicians and patients. Eve addresses barriers to optimal communication—including cultural differences, lack of time, lack of awareness, and lack of resources—and their negative consequences, not only for patients, but for physicians.
Healthcare Professional Well-being
Healthcare professionals must overcome obstacles daily to retain their joy in work and avoid burnout, which some have called the worst public health challenge in a century. Eve’s work provides insight into who our healthcare professionals are, and the forces against which they struggle, to provide the kind of care we all want for ourselves and our families.
“Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak; courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen.”
—Winston Churchill