Medical
Remedy for a sick nation: Curbing hyperpartisanship after the pandemic
“Obama!” Mr. J grumbled, shaking his head and wrinkling his nose. “Obama, Obama, Obama!” Mr. J was known in the hospital as a frequent flier for his heroin abuse. Now, though, his use of dirty needles had landed him in my ICU with a life-threatening bacterial infection in his bloodstream. As his fever raged, he became so delirious that…
Read MoreWe seem reluctant to remember that people incarcerated are exactly that: people
When I found out that health systems across the country contract with prisons for hospital laundry and other services, the same systems that train medical students like myself, someone dear to me was in prison. Each time I walk into a patient’s room and see fresh linens, when I wear fresh scrubs, I am still…
Read MoreCane Chi for Rehabilitation
If you have a leg injury that you are trying to rehabilitate, while restricting contact during pandemic lockdown, think about a virtual workout option. Mark Shuey, with the help of Dr. John Ruberto, Bruce Vinciguerra, and Timothy House, has combined exercise techniques into a Martial Arts discipline for the purpose of delivering to its followers,…
Read MoreOpening America: Should we really have to choose between economic revival and human life?
Let me tell you a story about Francisco, a recent patient under my care in one of New York City’s hardest-hit hospitals. Suffering from severe COVID pneumonia, he gasped for air as I tried to exude empathy underneath the cold appearance of my head-to-toe, blue protective equipment. Carefully placing a breathing tube into his airway,…
Read MoreI’m a doctor in a family of COVID deniers
I am the only physician in a family of farmers. As I witness the pandemic’s devastating health consequences from the frontlines, I feel a fundamental responsibility to share my experience and advice with my loved ones to keep them safe. However, I find myself battling COVID-denial propaganda at every turn. Even my years of medical…
Read MoreDr. Li Wenliang is my hero
On December 30, 2019, Li Wenliang sent a message to a group of fellow doctors warning them about a possible outbreak of an illness that resembled severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in Wuhan, Hubei province, China, where he worked. Meant to be a preemptive confidential message, he encouraged his colleagues to protect themselves against possible…
Read MoreIf cannabis becomes a problem: How to manage withdrawal
Proponents of cannabis generally dismiss the idea that there is a cannabis withdrawal syndrome. One routinely hears statements such as, “I smoked weed every day for 30 years and then just walked away from it without any problems. It’s not addictive.” Some cannabis researchers, on the other hand, describe serious withdrawal symptoms that can include…
Read MoreCombining different biopsies limits uncertainty in prostate cancer diagnosis
Are prostate cancer biopsies reliably accurate? Not always. The most common method, called a systematic biopsy, sometimes misses tumors, and it can also misclassify cancer as being either more or less aggressive than it really is. During systematic biopsy, a doctor takes 12 evenly-spaced samples of the prostate, called cores, while looking at the gland…
Read MoreThe 5 myths of “difficult” patients
I saw a “difficult” patient in the clinic this week. We’ve all been there, sometimes multiple times a week. The patient who is upset and won’t stop telling unrelated history. The one who comes in every week with vague complaints with a negative workup. The patient who is constantly going doctor shopping and doesn’t believe…
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