Medical

In health care, we are all feeling overwhelmed right now. We are overwhelmed by the number of patients, the vast unknown about COVID-19, and the lack of appropriate equipment to do our jobs properly. Yes, right now, we don’t have the tools to adequately treat our patients and protect ourselves. We took an oath, but…

New York City medical residents who were out on research for the year are being reassigned from their research jobs …. to more research. Despite having spent all of last year managing ICU patients, a PGY-3 resident in New York City, received notice his reassignment will involve consenting COVID-19 patients for research – and not…

So can we talk about something? Something that may be unpopular or seem callous at this time? New York is the epicenter of this pandemic in our nation. They are now asking, nay pleading, for doctors to come help them. They’re drowning and do not have the staff to continue. Their own docs are overwhelmed…

As our nation takes over in the number of worldwide COVID-19 infections, President Trump is considering relaxing social distancing guidelines stating that doctors want to “shut down the world” for a couple of years. To do our jobs to save lives in our communities, we desperately need PPE, hospital beds, and ventilators too.  However, none of these things will…

I woke up today wearing the lead suit of grief. I was tired, irritable, and tearful.  I was angry at the lack of PPE and the risk that this poses to my colleagues.  I was sad, anticipating the loss of my colleagues who are still alive and well.  I was in denial, wondering if I…

When I look at his big blue-gray eyes, I see fear, sadness, resignation, and what only I can recognize as an attempt to reassure me. I can faintly make out small areas of moisture at the corners of his crinkled eyes, while I see him struggling for both words and breath. I can barely hear…

What a time to be alive. What a time to be a new emergency room doctor. Ten months into a hopefully long career and already facing the healthcare battle of my life. I’m in my early 30s. Not exactly the highest risk age group when it comes to the novel coronavirus. But make no mistake,…

I had been waiting for a FaceTime call back for a few weeks now, excited to share with my friend that I had decided which specialty I would pursue. It was when COVID-19 cast the darkness over New York City that I knew he would no longer be interested in that. My friend is a…

He was supposed to be the first patient of the day — not the last. He started as a “no-show” on an already overbooked afternoon office schedule. A gift of sorts, I thought, making clinic a little bit easier and a tiny bit quicker. But Jim showed up hours later in my waiting room. The…