Eric Cassell

American physician and bioethicist (1928–2021)

Eric Jonathan Cassell (August 29, 1928 – September 24, 2021) was an American physician and bioethicist.

Early life and education

Eric Jonathan Goldstein was born on August 29, 1928, in New York City.[1] He and his brother changed their surname to Cassell to render it closer to their grandfather's name, which was changed at Ellis Island.[1] He received a BS from Queens College, City University of New York, in 1950, an MA from Columbia University, also in 1950, and an MD from New York University School of Medicine in 1954.[1][2]

Career

Cassell taught at Cornell University Medical College and Mount Sinai School of Medicine, and practiced at French Hospital and New York Hospital.[3] He was elected a member of the National Academy of Medicine in 1982.[4]

According to a 2019 critical review of Cassell's work, his views on the nature of suffering were "close to canonical" in the medical community.[5] Cassell advanced a subjective view of suffering, according to which the condition must be understood by reference to the beliefs and perceptions of the person experiencing it.[5]

In 2001, Cassell published a study in Annals of Internal Medicine that assessed the decision-making capacity of severely ill adults, finding that their decision-making abilities were similar to those of children under 10. Commenting on his findings, Cassell stated, "I think it's grossly unfair and I actually think it's an abuse of a patient to put someone in a position to make decisions when they don't have the capacity to make them."[6]

Cassell died on September 24, 2021, in East Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania.[1]

Books

  • Cassell, Eric J. (1976). The Healer's Art: A New Approach to the Doctor-Patient Relationship. Philadelphia: Lippincott. ISBN 0-397-01098-2. OCLC 1958247.[7]
  • Cassell, Eric J. (July 24, 1997). Doctoring: The Nature of Primary Care Medicine. Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195113235.001.0001. ISBN 978-0-19-511323-5.[8]
  • Cassell, Eric J. (April 8, 2004) [1991]. The Nature of Suffering and the Goals of Medicine. Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195156164.001.0001. ISBN 978-0-19-515616-4.[9]
  • Cassell, Eric J. (December 5, 2012). The Nature of Healing: The Modern Practice of Medicine. Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195369052.001.0001. ISBN 978-0-19-536905-2.[10]

Further reading

  • Duffee, Charlotte (September 2020). "What really is the nature of suffering? Three problems with Eric Cassell's concept of distress". Bioethics. 34 (7): 695–702. doi:10.1111/bioe.12748. ISSN 0269-9702. PMID 32627862. S2CID 220367885.

References

  1. ^ a b c d Roberts, Sam (October 14, 2021). "Dr. Eric Cassell, Bioethicist Who Put the Patient First, Dies at 93". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on October 14, 2021. Retrieved October 16, 2021.
  2. ^ Nemeh, Katherine H., ed. (2007). American Men and Women of Science (23d ed.). Thomson Gale. p. 102. ISBN 978-1-4144-0974-0. ISSN 0000-1287. OCLC 77517165. Gale K3099017807.
  3. ^ "Cassell, Eric J." Writers Directory. 2005. Archived from the original on October 16, 2021. Retrieved October 16, 2021.
  4. ^ "Eric J. Cassell, M.D." National Academy of Medicine. Archived from the original on October 16, 2021. Retrieved October 16, 2021.
  5. ^ a b Tate, Tyler; Pearlman, Robert (2019). "What We Mean When We Talk About Suffering—and Why Eric Cassell Should Not Have the Last Word". Perspectives in Biology and Medicine. 62 (1): 95–110. doi:10.1353/pbm.2019.0005. ISSN 1529-8795. PMID 31031299. S2CID 139104047.
  6. ^ Tarkan, Laurie (October 2, 2001). "Debating Patients' Capacity to Decide". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on February 27, 2021. Retrieved October 16, 2021.
  7. ^ Reviews of The Healer's Art:
    • Kessler, Richard H. (1977). "The Healer's Art: A New Approach to the Doctor-Patient Relationship by Eric J. Cassell". Perspectives in Biology and Medicine. 20 (3): 461–462. doi:10.1353/pbm.1977.0059. ISSN 1529-8795. S2CID 72239024.
    • Wolff, Grace S. (September 6, 1976). "The Healer's Art: A New Approach to the Doctor-Patient Relationship". JAMA. 236 (10): 1172. doi:10.1001/jama.1976.03270110068040. ISSN 0098-7484.
    • Rosenberg, Mervin (February 1977). "The Healer's Art: A New Approach to the Doctor-Patient Relationship". The American Journal of Psychiatry. 134 (2): 220–a–221. doi:10.1176/ajp.134.2.220-a. ISSN 0002-953X.
  8. ^ Reviews of Doctoring:
    • Madison, Donald L. (November 19, 1997). "Doctoring: The Nature of Primary Care". JAMA. 278 (19): 1628. doi:10.1001/jama.1997.03550190098059. ISSN 0098-7484.
    • Thompson, Trevor (October 2003). "Doctoring: the nature of primary care medicine". Family Practice. 20 (5): 613–614. doi:10.1093/fampra/cmg522. ISSN 1460-2229.
    • Geiger, H. Jack (November 27, 1997). "Book Review of Doctoring: The nature of primary care medicine". The New England Journal of Medicine. 337 (22): 1637. doi:10.1056/NEJM199711273372221. ISSN 0028-4793.
  9. ^ Reviews of The Nature of Suffering and the Goals of Medicine:
    • Meilaender, Gilbert (April 1, 1992). "The Nature of Suffering and the Goals of Medicine". Commentary. 93 (4): 58. ISSN 0010-2601. ProQuest 1290083511.
    • Egan, Mary (December 1994). "Book Review: The Nature of Suffering and the Goals of Medicine". Canadian Journal of Occupational Therapy. 61 (5): 287. doi:10.1177/000841749406100513. ISSN 0008-4174. S2CID 147670820.
    • Astrow, Alan B. (1993). "The Nature of Suffering and the Goals of Medicine By Eric Cassell". Perspectives in Biology and Medicine. 37 (1): 150–152. doi:10.1353/pbm.1994.0033. ISSN 1529-8795. S2CID 71174888.
  10. ^ Reviews of The Nature of Healing:
    • Kontos, Nicholas (January 2014). "The Nature of Healing: The Modern Practice of Medicine". The American Journal of Psychiatry. 171 (1): 122–123. doi:10.1176/appi.ajp.2013.13030429. ISSN 0002-953X.
    • Vincent, A. (September 2014). "The Nature of Healing: The Modern Practice of Medicine". Journal of Palliative Medicine. 17 (9): 1078. doi:10.1089/jpm.2014.9407. ISSN 1096-6218.
    • Blinderman, Craig D. (August 2013). "The Nature of Healing". Journal of Pain and Symptom Management. 46 (2): 303–304. doi:10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2013.03.005.

External links

Authority control databases Edit this at Wikidata
International
  • ISNI
  • VIAF
  • WorldCat
National
  • Catalonia
  • Germany
  • Israel
  • Belgium
  • United States
  • Japan
  • Czech Republic
  • Australia
  • Korea
  • Netherlands
Academics
  • CiNii
  • Google Scholar
Other
  • NARA
  • IdRef