Your weekly roundup of STAT's First Opinion

Expert opinion and perspective, curated by Patrick Skerrett ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ 

This week in First Opinion: Gaslighting Black medical trainees. Empowering nurses. Turning to the social and behavioral sciences for guidance on Covid-19. And much, much more, all available here. If you have an idea for a First Opinion essay, please send it to first.opinion@statnews.com. Gaslighting of Black medical trainees makes residency something to 'survive' By Shenelle Wilson Adobe Judged by racially biased metrics and subject to gaslighting, Black medical trainees represent 20% of all residents dismissed from training. Read More Another way to empower nurses: Listen to them By Ann MacDonald Adobe Patient safety will improve in an environment in which nurses feel empowered to escalate concerns, working within an interdisciplinary team. Read More Ignoring behavioral and social sciences undermines the U.S. response to Covid-19 By Judith D. Auerbach and Andrew D. Forsyth Adobe Efforts to stop Covid-19 have failed in part because they have ignored insights and expertise from the behavioral and social sciences. Read More The U.S. must fix its innovation engine: the patent system By Adam Mossoff Adobe A 2014 Supreme Court ruling on patents hit the biotech sector particularly hard. Congress needs to modernize U.S. patent law. Read More Sponsor content by STAT Events The STAT Breakthrough Science Summit On March 31, take an inside look at the technologies and procedures set to redefine medicine, and change patient care in the years to come. You'll hear from the CEOs, scientists, entrepreneurs at the forefront of these efforts. Get your pass now, and use your STAT+ subscriber login to unlock a 20% discount. Penelope, a fictional pig, taught me how to talk with my patients about their fractured sleep By Rebecca Grossman-Kahn Adobe Health care needs new ways of connecting with people. The humanities can help clinicians better understand patients' experiences. Read More Giving gender-affirming care: 'gender dysphoria' diagnosis should not be required By Dallas Ducar Adobe The gender dysphoria diagnosis conflates a social identity with a mental disorder, and it propagates stigma. Read More Sunsetting medical license reciprocity would return medicine to the dark ages By Bret Mettler Courtesy Davis family Reinstituting regulations that limit clinicians to caring only for patients physically located in their state of licensure is a bad move. Read More Hospitals need to get ahead of regulations on climate change By Sierra Nesbit and Jenna Phillips Cherry/Getty Images Hospitals and other health care delivery organizations need to assess and mitigate their contributions to climate change now. Read More Politicians should not be deciding what constitutes good medicine By Richard J. Baron and Ezekiel J. Emanuel Adobe States are eyeing laws that bar medical licensing boards from taking action against physicians who spread false information about Covid-19. Read More Sunday, March 13, 2022       1 Exchange Pl, Suite 201, Boston, MA 02109 ©2022, All Rights Reserved. I no longer wish to receive STAT emails Update Email Preferences | Contact Us | View In Browser