Insights

You learn a lot when you spend months reporting on a given issue or community, as our fellows can attest. Whether you’re embarking on a big new story or seeking to go deeper on a given issue, it pays to learn from those who’ve already put in the shoe leather and crunched the data. In these essays and columns, our community of journalists steps back from the notebooks and tape to reflect on key lessons, highlight urgent themes, and offer sage advice on the essential health stories of the day. 

Author(s)
By William Heisel

In July 2013, Miranda Dyer was in Lakeland Regional Medical Center in Florida. She had been there a few months prior for a hysterectomy, and this time she had to be rushed back to the ER because her pulse had slowed to dangerous levels. She was growing tired of searching for answers.

Author(s)
By Lee Adcock

Earlier this year, I shut down at the Association of Health Care Journalists conference in Denver. What makes me crumble like this? I don’t know, but I have a hunch: I’m pretty sure I have a social phobia.

Author(s)
By Kellie Schmitt

In recent years, there's been growing concern that a lack of doctors will keep newly insured patients from accessing care. Now, a new tool can predict the supply of physicians and help journalists ask and answer new questions from the data. Fresh story ideas abound.

Author(s)
By Rachel Cook

The allegations of dental negligence against Dr. Robert Tupac described a host of problems — painful eight-hour dental surgery performed without anesthesia, crumbling dental work, drooling and bone loss. But with patients not eager to talk to a reporter, court records proved key to the story.