Michael Varenbut

So often, the humanities are positioned on the opposite side of the spectrum as medicine. The two are thought to be entirely separate disciplines, with creativity aligning with humanities and arts, and rationality and structure aligning with medicine. This is far from the truth, and even further from the ideal. A successful medical professional incorporates creativity in just about every aspect of their patient-facing interaction, research, and treatments.
Even the foundation and history of m...

In today’s day and age, the medical system focuses on treatments of illnesses, ailments, and diseases. Preventive care and medicine is by no means the standard or even widely practiced. Instead of being proactive, we are highly reactionary. This mode of medicine is so deeply ingrained in our society. It is normal to go to the doctor when you are sick and to seek medical advice when you are ill. However, it is far less normal to be attentive to disease prevention and taking care of yourself ro...

Differences Between Psychology and Psychiatry
Michael Varenbut
May 30
Often, those who are not within the medical field confuse psychology and psychiatry, psychologists and psychiatrists, and the responsibilities and functions that come with each title. More frequently than not, the two are conflated in their duties and the ways in which they work with a patient. In this article, I wanted to go over some basic differences between the two positions, as well as how they collaborate to work toge...

Often, those who are not within the medical field confuse psychology and psychiatry, psychologists and psychiatrists, and the responsibilities and functions that come with each title. More frequently than not, the two are conflated in their duties and the ways in which they work with a patient. In this article, I wanted to go over some basic differences between the two positions, as well as how they collaborate to work together.
Full article available: medium.com/@MichaelVarenbut/di…chiatry-5...

In the technology-driven world that we live in today, more and more aspects of life and business are becoming automated and changing in response to developments in artificial intelligence. There are many ways that AI and machine learning can be employed to improve business. Here are a few possibilities:
AI can be used to enable around-the-clock customer service and troubleshooting. It is possible to program chatbots that can be used either online or via a phone call and are set up to assist i...

An Abridged History of the DSM
Michael Varenbut
Apr 24
The DSM, also known as the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, is a text produced by the American Psychiatric Association (APA) that offers criteria and classification for mental disorders. A considerable benefit of this text is that it also provides common language and systems for psychiatrists, other physicians and psychologists to refer to their patients, and thus simplifies communication between medical professional...

Three Books I Read about Bipolar Affective Disorder and Schizophrenia
Michael Varenbut
Apr 1
An Unquiet Mind, by Kay Redfield Jamison
An Unquiet Mind is a tremendous book that is a multi-pronged examination of both research and medical discussions surrounding Bipolar Affective Disorder. It pairs this with the first-hand experience of Kay Redfield Jamison, who was diagnosed in college. Jamison writes about this disorder partially from the perspective of a psychiatrist and researcher, someone w...

An Abridged History of Hepatitis B and Understanding the Vaccine
Michael Varenbut
Apr 3
Hepatitis B was first discovered in 1965, by Dr. Baruch Blumburg who detected its presence in blood samples. It was discovered by accident, during a study to identify genes that result in susceptibility to certain diseases. This accidental discovery led to a significant medical breakthrough and resulted in a snowballing of research and studies to be conducted in the future surrounding the virus and its cau...

At many times, business and healthcare may seem to carry opposing ideologies. Broadly, the business field is stigmatized as functioning with the sole goal of earning money; this, of course, is an incorrect stigma, and one that is true only in businesses operating with ulterior motives. Healthcare, on the other hand, is viewed as mainly a system focused on social purpose and helping individuals. However, the two share a surprising amount of overlap in values when they are run properly and succ...

It is imperative that we work to take care of the earth and create environmentally safe ways of operating no matter what field you are in or where you are geographically located. Here are a few tips for working toward a more environmentally friendly model of business:
Reconsider Your Energy Options
Consider shifting your building to a green-energy option. This, depending on how much property you are using, can be a leviathan of a task that requires time and a large budget upfront. However, it...

Often, the field of business and the concept of creativity are viewed as incompatible. Business implies decisions, statistics, networking, and a range of other descriptors, but is infrequently associated with creativity. Even when it comes to subject separation is schools and universities, the two rarely collide, creativity instead becoming a defining characteristic of those studying the humanities, while those studying business are perceived as serious and definite.
This lack of association,...

PTSD, the acronym for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, is a disorder that can develop in those who have experienced a traumatic event. Commonly, it is associated with veterans deployed in wars. However, it can affect any range of people, soldier or not, who have experienced a traumatic event.
PTSD emerged at the forefront of American psychology during World War I and World War II, but this is not the earliest that it has been recorded in literature and historical accounts. Matthew J Friedman, ...

We live in an ever-changing society, one that is evolving at an unprecedented rate due to the influence and development of technology. This progression has impacted every sphere of life, from the home, to how we conduct social interactions, to the way that businesses function and strive toward success. Below are a few primary ways in which the architecture of entrepreneurship has changed in response to technology:
Increasing Connectivity
The presence of technology and mobile devices is expedi...

There are many stigmas surrounding mental illness, especially disorders like schizophrenia and bipolar affective disorder. A huge factor contributing to this stigma is the fact that the general population is relatively uninformed about the details surrounding these disorders, and frequently is predisposed to inaccurate representation. The first step in reducing stigma is education, so in this article, I will deconstruct the diagnosis and implications of schizophrenia, and describe how it is s...