Medical
What is COVID-19 brain fog — and how can you clear it?
As a cognitive behavioral neurologist, I’ve been hearing from many individuals who are complaining of “brain fog” after infection with COVID-19. So I thought it was worth discussing exactly what COVID-19 brain fog is, and some things to do that might help clear it. What is brain fog? Let’s start by trying to understand brain…
Read MoreThe importance of teaching young children about the existence and acceptance of LGBTQ people
I am a primary care physician for adults and children at a safety net clinic in Los Angeles. I also teach medical students. I am an out lesbian and am planning on becoming a parent. I struggled with my LGBTQ identity as a teenager in the early 2000s. I did not hear much about LGBTQ…
Read MoreA medical student learns to listen with her hands
In my first quarter of medical school, we learned the pulmonary exam. We were told to watch the patient’s breathing, feel for any asymmetries, use our hands to gauge resonance and listen to all lung fields with our stethoscopes. It didn’t seem too difficult. Our instructor demonstrated the exam on one of my classmates, and…
Read MoreWhat are your health goals for the coming year? [PODCAST]
“Yearly physicals are usually afforded a longer time than regular visits. If I can use most of that time focusing the discussion on what a healthy life means to each of my patients and what they need to achieve it, I feel that I’ve accomplished more than doing palpation, range of motion, and auscultation. Discussing…
Read MoreCOVID and the Texas freeze: death by a thousand cuts
In February, Texas lost power and water. A winter storm disrupted a power grid ill-prepared for freezing temperatures, shutting off power to homes, businesses, and water treatment facilities. Water pipes burst, water pressure dropped, and the water became unsafe for drinking or cleaning. My house was without power, internet, or wireless data for (only) 36…
Read MoreI’m so effing tired: How to finally boost your energy
An excerpt from I’m So Effing Tired: A Proven Plan to Beat Burnout, Boost Your Energy, and Reclaim Your Life. Did you know that a recent Harris Poll survey revealed that while about the same percentage of women and men reported feeling burned out in their work life, 35 percent of women told the Harris…
Read MoreLet 2021 be the year we end the pandemic
I listen to the wind howling outside on this night that’s stranded between the departing season of winter and the coming of spring. I await the arrival of longer days filled with sunshine, days that welcome new growth, new life. During the year that has passed into the recesses of my mind, new life and…
Read MorePatients are deserving of our best effort and most compassionate care. Every time.
She began telling me the same “sob story,” but this time, I looked at her and coldly said, “Mrs. _____, you are going home. I don’t care what you have to say; you are leaving today. I need the bed for someone else.” She began crying. I walked out without saying another word and wrote…
Read MoreCaptions on the COVID vaccine selfie matter as much as the picture [PODCAST]
“For a vaccination campaign to be highly effective, we need to be open to having difficult conversations with people who disagree with our perspective. If we don’t, the result will be a polarization of philosophical ideas and not an unbiased and unemotional assessment of the data where maybe we can meet in the middle. As…
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