Medicine Grand Rounds, co-sponsored by the Department of Medicine, Geisel School of Medicine

Abraham Verghese, MD, MACP

Dr. Verghese is Professor and Senior Associate Chair for the Theory and Practice of Medicine in the Department of Medicine at Stanford University. He has long been a leading advocate for the "human touch in medicine" and calls for the return of the traditional one-on-one physical exam, which along with listening to a patient's story is at the heart of the physician/patient relationship. He reminds students that when they shortcut the physical exam, they shortcut the transformative nature of that relationship.

Also a bestselling author, Verghese's first book, My Own Country, chronicled his work with AIDS patients in rural Tennessee, where he first realized the power of human touch to critically ill patients when little else could be done for them. The book was a finalist for a National Book Critics Circle Award and was made into a film of the same title by Mira Nair. His second book, The Tennis Partner, about a friend and tennis partner's struggle with addiction, was a New York Times notable book and a national best seller. His third book, Cutting for Stone—his first work of fiction—was a New York Times Book Review bestseller for more than two years and is currently in film production.

A graduate of Madras Medical College, Verghese was a resident and chief resident in internal medicine at East Tennessee State University and then a fellow in infectious diseases at Boston University. He has been on the faculty of East Tennessee State University, the University of Iowa, Texas Tech University and the University of Texas Health Sciences Center, San Antonio, where he was the founding director of the Center for Medical Humanities and Ethics. He is board certified in internal medicine, pulmonary and infectious diseases. Verghese is a Master of the American College of Physicians and was elected to the Association of American Physicians as well as the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences. He has served on the Board of Directors of the American Board of Internal Medicine.

He also holds a Master of Fine Arts degree from the Iowa Writers Workshop at the University of Iowa.

Abraham Verghese, MD, MACP has disclosed possible conflicts of interest, which have been resolved by the Chair through an independent peer review of the presentation’s content. Dr. Verghese is a member of the Random House Speakers Bureau.

Please note that Dr. Verghese has requested that this Medicine Grand Rounds not be posted to the Internet. We hope that you will be able to join us in Auditoria E&F at DHMC for Medicine Grand Rounds.

** The Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education to provide continuing medical education programs for physicians.**

** The Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center designates this live activity for a maximum of 1 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™.  Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity. **