Medical
What should you do during a psychiatric medication shortage?
You have finally found a medication to treat your depression that your body tolerates well. It has taken your psychiatrist months to find the optimal dose (after two failed medication trials). The COVID-19 pandemic hit, but in spite of your new daily stressors, you seem to be doing relatively well. That is, until you hear…
Read MoreAAMC’s video interview tool for admissions is poised to introduce further bias to medical school admissions
Recently, the AAMC announced its partnership with HireVue’s video interviewing platform to introduce the Video Interview Tool for Admissions (VITA), an online, one-way recorded interview without a human interviewer. The candidate is shown several text prompts on HireVue’s system and instructed to record a ~3-minute response to each prompt. A list of participating medical schools…
Read MorePeople with COVID-19 who live in highly polluted areas are more likely to die
The COVID-19 pandemic has shone a spotlight on the health inequities many Americans face because of where they live and the air they breathe. We are seeing what I have long seen in my allergy practice—many of my patients live in communities with unhealthy air. Patients like James, a 50-year-old African American bus driver who lives…
Read MoreHow writing inspires this physician [PODCAST]
“Being present is a wonderful thing. It relieves stress caused by focusing on failures of the past and worries of the future. Both realms are unreachable, largely unchangeable. But at the same time, they both entice and tease our minds such that we often find ourselves everywhere, but at the moment as we focus on…
Read MoreHow the United States depends on doctors trained in other countries
An excerpt from Doctors’ Orders: The Making of Status Hierarchies in an Elite Profession. Copyright (c) 2020 Tania M. Jenkins. Used by arrangement with the publisher. All rights reserved. I met Trevor on his very first day of residency, at the start of three years of practical, on-the-ground training in internal medicine following medical school.…
Read MoreHow the United States depends on doctors trained in other countries
An excerpt from Doctors’ Orders: The Making of Status Hierarchies in an Elite Profession. Copyright (c) 2020 Tania M. Jenkins. Used by arrangement with the publisher. All rights reserved. I met Trevor on his very first day of residency, at the start of three years of practical, on-the-ground training in internal medicine following medical school.…
Read MoreProtesting in the time of COVID-19
We’ve known for a long time that racism is a deeply ingrained public health issue resulting in real, tangible health disparities. For people of color, racism results in unequal access to quality education, healthy food, livable wages, affordable housing, and medical care. We also know very well that COVID-19 is disproportionately impacting our communities of…
Read MoreProtesting in the time of COVID-19
We’ve known for a long time that racism is a deeply ingrained public health issue resulting in real, tangible health disparities. For people of color, racism results in unequal access to quality education, healthy food, livable wages, affordable housing, and medical care. We also know very well that COVID-19 is disproportionately impacting our communities of…
Read MoreLet’s assume you have coronavirus
There are now 16 states (as of the end of June) that require people to wear face coverings when out in public. But we need to acknowledge it: many Americans really don’t want to. Our president and vice-president don’t wear masks, even though members of their staff have tested positive for COVD-19. When protestors gathered in…
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