Medical

During this time of social distancing, most of us are struggling to keep our social connections alive. I found that in this flurry of planning how to continue to care for my orthopaedic patients, making sure childcare is lined up, and setting up “decontamination zones” in my home for my critical care doc husband and…

Physician burnout and shortage have a profound impact on the ability to deliver quality, accessible health care in the United States — especially in rural areas where specialists are scarce. Burnout is costing the U.S. health care system roughly $4.6 billion a year, according to a study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine. Another…

In “Why doctors should get political,” I focused on the need for doctors to voice their opinions in order to rally patients and inspire them to take control of their own health, but what about the responsibility we have to ourselves, our families, and our colleagues? Who will advocate for us as health care providers…

Since the coronavirus outbreak, reports of anxiety have increased, especially among physicians. Physicians face numerous stressors, including fears of contracting the coronavirus, concerns about potentially infecting loved ones, PPE shortages, testing delays, and frequently making quick decisions with limited information. Common symptoms of anxiety are increased worrying about one’s self and/or loved ones, difficulty sleeping,…

We are scared. This virus threatens our lives.  It threatens our families.  It threatens our friends.  We have physician friends crying between patients in fear that their partners who work in the emergency department (ED) may contract this virus, known to affect health care workers with greater severity than the average person.  We see reports…

Past experiences should inform, but not determine, future action.  This has been much on my mind as we bolstered outpatient psychiatric services in response to the COVID-19 crisis.  The effort has felt deeply personal, as well as professionally imperative.  Waiting now for my own COVID-19 test results, keeping physical distance from my family, I suddenly…

I’m bombarded with emails of rapidly changing policies to prevent infections and identify COVID-19 patients (in the course of writing this, I’ve already received three more emails), I’m having a hard time finding masks because the nurses are hoarding them in some corner or taking them home, I feel regret for previously telling friends when…

As we try to predict what will happen here in the US with COVID-19, it’s natural to look at the experience in China, where the epidemic began. In a study published in the journal Pediatrics, we learn about how the pandemic affected children. What this study tells us The study looked at information about 2,143…

Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has slowly but surely made its way to Middle America, stowing away on well-meaning citizens who have traveled to the coasts or overseas for one reason or another. It has sneakily hitchhiked its way into Creighton University basketball games, pub crawls, and several area Walmarts. A few patients have been seriously ill,…