Epilepsy is a condition that has had an outsized role in social life. In some societies, individuals with epilepsy are ostracized. In others they are revered as spiritually enlightened.

Primary care providers (PCP) are overwhelmed. There are not enough to meet patient demand, and they do not have time to attend to the needs of their large patient panels. These challenges are particularly acute when providers care for patients whose language or culture differs from their own.

Liz Dzeng, MD, MPH, PhD, remembers sitting in her post-graduate sociology courses at the University of Cambridge wondering how to participate in the conversations around her. Medical school and residency left her feeling deeply unfulfilled. She was on the verge of quitting the profession.

Medicine and healing create powerful social relationships for doctors and patients. These relationships become a focus for scientists and the lay public as well as in politics and the arts. At its best, qualitative research on medical culture can bridge these diverse audiences.

"I think primary care is where the crux of dementia care begins…I think that primary care providers should be able to identify Alzheimer's disease at the very least and provide Alzheimer's care for patients, because there are just not enough specialists out there to provide this care.” -Dr. Murphy,

It is an energy field created by all living things. It surrounds us and penetrates us. It binds the galaxy together. Culture? No. This is Obi Wan Kenobi’s description of The Force, the energy that allows Jedi to see the future, levitate machinery, and manipulate the weak-minded.