Medical
Will the pandemic derail medical students’ career paths?
As I sit here and stare at my computer screen for the 11th hour today, my attention has drifted from my hypothetical study material to reality. Over the past two months, I’ve spent hours on WebEx lectures as opposed to learning from patients, hours on video lessons instead of casual chats with residents and attendings…
Read MorePlease avoid getting sucked into polarized binary thought
A number of people have asked my take on Plandemic and a viral interview of a couple of docs in Bakersfield who challenge conventional wisdom on COVID. Part of me feels like I shouldn’t amplify the chatter. But maybe I can type something slightly antiviral. As usual, I land in a boring, neutral, barely worth…
Read MoreCOVID-19 as a threat to wellness
I believe physician wellness is essential to an effective doctor-patient relationship and an optimal healing environment. Thus, I approached my intern year with a sense of curiosity about what wellness would look like during a time that is well-known to be a particularly rigorous portion of residency. Having heard sentiments of “doom and gloom” from…
Read MoreHow are the residents doing during the pandemic?
When the director of my general surgery program asked for a report on how the pandemic was affecting the residents, I queried my colleagues, promising anonymity to encourage candor. I received a wide variety of responses and reactions. Some are thriving; others are not. Overall, everyone understands that this is a historic crisis that we…
Read MoreUpset with the government’s pandemic response? Let’s elect more scientists and doctors.
As a physician on the frontlines, l have watched in dismay as many U.S. states have begun to reopen from the lockdown. This is despite the fact that most of them do not fulfill the recommendations set forth by the White House. Those guidelines ask for a “downward trajectory” in newly diagnosed cases or in the percentage…
Read MoreAn emergency room nurse diagnosed with PTSD
An excerpt from The View From The Wrong Side Of The Day: A Story About Nursing, PTSD And Other Shenanigans. I’m not exactly sure when things first started to get bad for me. Thinking back, it was all rather like the analogy of the frog in the boiling water. Put a frog in a boiling…
Read MoreMedical education in the COVID-19 pandemic can’t be ignored
Within the current COVID-19 pandemic, health care workers and educators have quickly needed to make adaptations and sacrifices. In order to make room for the conservation of necessary aspects of care, we need to take a conscientious look at our resources. As such, two missions have been embraced nationally by health care systems and university…
Read MoreHow to respond to tantrums
As Murphy’s Law would have it, children’s tantrums seem to happen at the most inconvenient times. Your toddler or independent-minded 3-year-old turns red, screams, stomps, and appears possessed when you’ve finally gotten everyone geared up for a family walk, or wrangled that video call you spent days coordinating with relatives to get everyone live at…
Read More3 steps to changing your EHR system
If you are a physician unhappy with your current EHR system (surveys suggest 2 out of 3 are), and you do have the ability to switch, this article is for you. Our COVID-19 pandemic may place you in a bad financial time for this, but it’s also placed you in an excellent time to plan…
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