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I want to continue my thoughts from my last post when a patient asked me where my church is when he heard that I’m a minister. I responded with “It is here, you are sitting in it.” I wasn’t kidding. This clinic really is my congregation, and I love its members and staff. If I’m Read more of My Congregation Is HIV Positive, And So Is Yours Recently one our patients at the clinic where I work looked at my name badge and saw the word “Chaplain.” “What the heck is a Chaplain?” he asked in good faith with a wrinkled brow. “Good question,” I said. He was not interested in knowing how many degrees I had from a theological graduate school Read more of What Is An HIV Rev? This week I have been reminded what it is like to have a family member who is ill. I am usually on the other side of this equation being a member of the medical team who cares for persons who are sick and their family members. The shoe is now on the other foot. My Read more of A View from the Other Side I have worked closely with my colleague, Dr. Jim Raper (pictured right), for almost 15 years in the clinic. I am amazed at his work ethic and compassion for the human family. Recently, I was struck by his patience with a woman at the clinic whom he refers to as “one who is lost.” Of Read more of The Lost and Found I had lunch with 20 of our patients this week and asked them to teach me about “Barriers to HIV Care.” I asked,
“Are you aware of reasons that might get in the way of you coming to your doctor’s appointment?”
The lunch Read more of Breaking Down Barriers to HIV Care The frantic female voice on my voicemail yesterday said, “I feel really stupid asking this, but I just have to ask! I am a nurse, I know I should know better, but I was in a couple’s home yesterday and at the end of our conversation I asked them how their health is and they Read more of Stupid Not To Ask I was walking by one of our exam rooms in our outpatient HIV clinic today when a clear voice said to me, “Hey, how you doin?” with a unique New Jersey accent. A Jersey accent gets my attention because I’m in Birmingham for one, and two, my wife lived in New Jersey for awhile growing Read more of Infected by Hope It sounded like a strange request on the phone. “Malcolm, can you ask my Support Team volunteers not to bring me any more green bean casserole to my house?” said the young man on the other end of the phone who was a patient at our clinic. “Sure Mike, that’s not a Read more of The Green Bean Casserole Rule “This is Jane. Can my husband and I meet with you?” the gentle voice asked on the phone. “We are having a hard time with our son’s diagnosis.” It was the mother of one of our newly diagnosed 40-something year old patients. I had met the son and his parents a week earlier during a Read more of Double Disclosure “Jan” arrived in our waiting room, I introduced myself and we found a nearby available office. She was an attractive, petite, and educated young woman who was fashionably dressed in her mid 20′s and a worried look on her face. “I’ve had this HIV OraQuick test before, in fact I was here a couple of Read more of I Just Couldn’t Say No |
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Malcolm Marler's Blog 2012 |
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