15th annual Richard B. Davis, MD, PhD, History of Medicine Lectureship hosted by the McGoogan Library is Tuesday, April 16, 2024.

Dr. Jay Baruch will present for the 15th annual Richard B. Davis, MD, PhD, History of Medicine Lecture, hosted by the McGoogan Health Sciences Library. Dr. Baruch’s lecture, “Humanities as critical medicine: the necessary practice of uncertainty, adaptability, and discovery” will encompass his more than 30 years as an ER physician and the emotions, difficult choices and moral challenges he has experienced.

The Davis Lecture will take place on Tuesday, April 16, 2024, from noon–1 p.m. CDT. The lecture will be a hybrid event located at the UNMC Michael F. Sorrell Center for Health Science Education, room 2014, and via Zoom (registration required). Zoom captioning will be available, along with an American Sign Language interpreter online. UNMC students, faculty and staff can also attend an informal meet and greet with Dr. Baruch on the morning of Wednesday, April 17.

As a practicing ER physician for over thirty years, Dr. Baruch has learned that caring for patients can feel like swimming in choppy waters teeming with uncertainty, crests of emotions, difficult choices and moral challenges. He also discovered how bridging disciplines with skills from his other life as a writer and his humanities-and arts-based work have been critical clinical tools in his practice and informed his “accidental” academic career. The humanities provide sharp navigational tools for explorations into those messy spaces where medical data and decision-making tools cannot reach. In his discussion, he will share some personal challenges and offer examples of how the arts and humanities and learning from people who think differently are necessary in a changing health care system.

Individuals interested in attending the lecture can do so in person (MSC 2014) or register to attend via Zoom. Boxed lunches will be available to the first 35 in-person attendees.

The library will also hold a drawing for signed copies of Dr. Baruch’s book, Tornado of Life: A Doctor's Journey Through Constraints and Creativity in the ER. Individuals can enter online.