Pulse--voices from the heart of medicine was launched in 2008 by the Department of Family and Social Medicine at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in collaboration with educators around the country. Every Friday, Pulse e-mails its readers a first-person story or poem about giving or receiving health care. The pieces are written by patients, physicians, students, nurses and other health professionals.
Pulse is read for pleasure and for educational purposes. It is used to teach professionalism and the humanistic practice of medicine to medical students, nursing students and residents. It is also used in undergraduate writing courses.
Pulse stories are short and well-edited. At the same time, they explore, with authenticity and sensitivity, the impact of medical encounters on all involved.