By Dr. Jim Ferguson I’m getting tired of writing, “Here we go again.” However, another scandal has surfaced in the Obama Administration, this time in the Veterans Administration (VA). I know something about medical care in the VA system, because I once worked as a doctor in a VA hospital. It was my observation that […]
By Dr. Jim Ferguson In a way I’m envious of my other grandson, Noah. He’s ten years old and is counting the days until school is over for the summer. He makes me think of those long ago halcyon days which seemed to last forever in the mind of a ten year old boy. A […]
By Dr. Jim Ferguson I admire the prose of Rick Bragg, the southern writer and author of several books and a monthly column in Southern Living. Perhaps if I had followed a different timeline I might have had a writing vocation rather than a mid-life avocation. But who knows, if my destiny had been different […]
By Dr. Jim Ferguson I’m reading the Bible again this year, but this time as part of a group. The last time I read this compendium of wisdom by myself. I much prefer reading the Bible with other pilgrims, and then discussing our weekly reading assignments. Last fall I found a schedule that organized the […]
By Dr. Jim Ferguson Summer will soon be here and you may think it’s strange, but I have been thinking about ticks. Perhaps it’s because I found one on my pant leg this week and, serendipitously(?), an article on these pests appeared in the New England Journal of Medicine. However, as I started this essay, […]
By Dr. Jim Ferguson Some days it’s easier to write than others. Today it’s tough because I have lots of things to do on this gorgeous spring afternoon. Murphey’s Law states that the job at hand expands to fill the time allotted. My corollary to this law is that a job not only fills, but […]
By Dr. Jim Ferguson It’s hard to be objective about yourself. This is why doctors and patients are advised to seek medical help rather than treat themselves. However, let’s be honest: we all prescribe for ourselves for minor issues. If my memory serves me correctly, I once wrote a story about the scientific method and […]
By Dr. Jim Ferguson Do you remember the days of HMOs? Back in the 1990s health maintenance organizations were ballyhooed as the way to reduce medical costs. Basically, this was accomplished by limiting medical services. The justification for restricting care was to limit waste and unnecessary testing, procedures, etc. It didn’t work, and HMOs are […]
By Dr. Jim Ferguson I plan to see the movie Noah despite the warnings of some fundamentalists. I believe my faith can handle a story not told by the King James Bible. I mean no disrespect to the fundamentalist perspective, which originated in the late 19th century, and holds that every word in the Bible […]
By Dr. Jim Ferguson “The questions never change, just the answers.” Sometimes I don’t remember if I’ve written something, read it somewhere, or just thought it. Perhaps my stories and life have merged into one composite. You need to pray for my wife, Becky, because she’s my sounding board as well as my “editress.” She’s […]
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