Medical

Many states are beginning to reopen, and hospitals are once again scheduling elective surgeries. The question on many patients’ minds is, “Should I undergo elective surgery right now?” Although 31 percent of people have chosen to delay care and 50 percent of people over 65 have decided to wait to receive care during COVID-19, according…

Looking back on the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, I hope that we are able to take away several lessons. Immediately after the virus showed up in the United States, many physicians without access to virus testing seemed to go straight to imaging for an answer. While a few imaging tests proved to be…

I wake up in a cold sweat. It’s 4 a.m. “Are you awake?” The text goes to one of my colleagues and best friends. I call him brother. He responds as calmly and kindly as he always does. “Sure, what’s wrong?” I don’t know where to begin. I feel stuck in a nightmare surrounded by…

The tenets of managing an ICU are relatively simple: Air goes in and out, blood goes round and round. There’s this moment in the delivery room where everyone holds their breath. In that silence, we expect a tiny gasp or maybe a big cry. “Why isn’t he crying,” moms often ask. “Is there a problem?…

When I left Wall Street to pursue a career in medicine, I had some understanding of the long and winding path ahead of me, but I never anticipated our current strange reality leveled by the destructive force of the SARS-CoV-2 virus.  We now face surreal uncertainties, including the shutdown of large swaths of our health…

“As a nearly graduated medical student, I have come to the conclusion that the focus of medical school is split between training and distinguishing medical students. Modern pedagogy has not found its way into the modern medical school classroom. Preclinical students spend mounds of time on impossible tasks, like memorizing First Aid for the USMLE…

“Come with me on this journey, this very ancient journey. To experience the age-old story of a very modern foe. This foe is invisible; it is neither living nor dead. You cannot smell it, and you cannot taste it. While it is not alive, it can become alive, with a flick of the right kind…

The severity of COVID appears to be increased in people with obesity. This may represent an opportunity to discuss the benefits of lifestyle change with overweight patients. However, if not done appropriately, the opportunity becomes transformed into just one more damaging, body-shaming experience for the patient. There has been much written and little done about…