Profile on an ISTM Member: Compassion and Medicine

Travel medicine attracts interesting people. Or, perhaps, involvement in travel medicine makes people more interesting. Whichever, many of our members have fascinating aspects to their lives and careers, aspects which are intertwined yet separate to the actual practice of our specialty?

NewsShare is starting a new feature: profiling a member who fits this description. Please send a few paragraph of an ISTM member, (it can be yourself), to be included in future issues.

David R. Shlim, M.D., a long-time member of the ISTM, and the former medical director of the CIWEC Clinic Travel Medicine Center in Kathmandu, Nepal, has produced a book that grew out of his experience in running the world's busiest destination travel medicine clinic. No, it's not another book about travel-related diseases. The book, entitled Medicine and Compassion: A Tibetan Lama's Guidance for Caregivers, is the result David offering free medical care at a Tibetan monastery while working at the CIWEC Clinic. The advice that he received from the Tibetan teachers at the monastery had a positive impact on his ability to offer compassionate medical care to travelers. Eventually, David got the idea to present two conferences on medicine and compassion featuring the head of the monastery, Chokyi Nyima Rinpoche. Medicine and Compassion represents the teachings that were given at the two conferences. The book presents a broad view of the advantages of cultivating a compassionate attitude towards patients, and how one can train individually to expand and strengthen one's own compassion and patience.

For further information, please contact David at drshlim@wyoming.com