A conversation between Janet D. Stemwedel, Ph. D. and Dr. Peter Lipson M. D. about the power relationships of health care providers and patients.

What are the contemporary issues in the ethics and economics of medicine? For example, should a provider refrain from providing care if she/he finds your behavior/lifestyle immortal? Why do these objections disproportionately come up on issues of women's health?

The Baltimore Sun reports:

Baltimore neurosurgeon Benjamin S. Carson said he was "humbled" when President Bush draped the nation's highest civilian award, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, around his neck yesterday.

But such accolades are routine for the doctor who persevered through a childhood of poverty and urban violence to become the youngest department head at Johns Hopkins Hospital and a benefactor distributing thousands of scholarship dollars each year.

I found these open and personal thoughts by a young Episcopalian studying at Loma Linda University a rare insight into the struggles of a modern Christian medical student. Not only does one see a very thoughtful and spiritually sensitive soul, but his review of Loma Linda should make the faculty proud.