The Way We Work…together

When illustrator and author David Macaulay, best known for The Way Things Work, first started an ambitious new book explaining how the human body worked, he soon gave up. He didn't have a science background past high school chemistry and biology classes—neither of which he particularly enjoyed—which made explaining and drawing concepts like the sharing of electrons between atoms or how people feel pain tricky, to say the least.

More

in this issue

National Family Literacy Day: A novel approach to raising cultural awareness | On November 1, families across the nation will switch off their television sets as part of National Family Literacy Day. While reading together can bring families closer, the act of reading can also help to teach understanding about various cultures and backgrounds.

Generation Cures | Children's Hospital Trust has led an effort to create generationcures.org, a new Web site that educates children about the importance of caring and compassion while raising funds for Children's Hospital Boston's research. They hope to engage children through the site's animated stories, interactive games and videos.

Bea Fingfing: An example worth following |When Bea Fingfing, RN, was a 13-year-old growing up in a tiny village in Suriname, South America, she witnessed an event that's stuck with her to this day. She was living with her extended family, including her mother's elderly uncle, Papa Kwamina, whom her mother diligently cared for. One day, he went to the outdoor bathroom and didn't return.

Employee of the month | Congratulations to senior phlebotomist John Beagan, who's been selected as Children's Hospital Boston's Employee of the Month for November.

Amanda Gaudet: Finding strength in survivors' stories | When people ask me what I do, I usually start by saying that I work at Children's Hospital Boston and try to leave it at that. If they probe, I admit that I work in the Social Work Department. If further discussion ensues, I tell them I'm an advocate in the domestic violence program and wait for what almost always comes next: "Oh that must be really hard. You must hear really awful things."