Medical
Coronavirus can be controlled, but we must embrace sacrifice
In the midst of this coronavirus pandemic, a friend of mine relayed a troubling story to me recently. My friend is a dermatologist who is 9-months pregnant, living and working in a county with no known community spread of the novel coronavirus. After spending time examining a 19-year-old with acne, the patient told her that she…
Read MoreI’m grateful my father never lived to see the COVID-19 outbreak
My dad was a baseball enthusiast and a connoisseur of fried calamari and dark chocolate. He had a genius-level IQ and knew the answers to obscure Jeopardy questions. He would beat you at any trivia game. He was an avid reader, typically reading at least three books at once and still able to follow the…
Read MoreThe opioid crisis is real. But so is pain.
“I’m not impressed with his pain.” “I only give Norco if I see a bone sticking out.” “She says her pain is a 10/10 but …” On any given shift in the emergency room, I hear some version of these said by residents or fellow attendings. And whenever I hear these phrases, I think to…
Read MoreFrontline clinicians deserve hazard pay
These are interesting times. Our schools are shut down. Transportation halted. Businesses shuttered. Public spaces abandoned. Cities locked down. Stock markets crashing. It is the greatest disruption to life we have faced since 9/11, and this will last much longer. It’s not hyperbole to say that we are on a wartime footing, and every aspect…
Read MoreCane Chi for Wellness Training at Home
It is so easy to forget that Even in our self-imposed isolation, there are things you can do to improve your health. Cane Masters Inc. supplies canes and entire Cane Chi training kits that you can use in your own home. No need for additional social distancing, these kits include the Cane Chi exercising video,…
Read MoreInnovation in the time of COVID-19
Necessity is the mother of invention, and in no time is invention more necessary than during a global pandemic. Starting with the drive-through testing clinics pioneered overseas that spread to the United States (big shout-out to the University of Washington for putting step-by-step instructions for how to start your own drive-through clinic on their COVID-19…
Read More7 ideas for an alternative Match Day
As a cardiologist, a mom of three school-aged kids, a physician’s wife, and associate dean of student affairs, I am acutely aware of how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected our communities. In this time of constant change and concern, it is important to find joy in whatever we can. This week is Match Week. Instead…
Read MoreSchool closed due to the coronavirus? Tips to help parents cope
Although the precautionary measures to contain the spread of the new coronavirus and COVID-19 are efforts to protect the community, the notification of your child’s school closing may have landed like one of your worst nightmares. Children thrive on routine and predictability, both of which are in short supply right now for families across the…
Read MoreIndependent practice and the lost art of touch
I am a geriatric psychiatrist and am an osteopathic physician. The art of touch is a major part of my practice. I am the medical director of an inpatient geriatric facility. The patients that I see on the unit are typically suffering from dementia with behavioral disturbance. They are often agitated and anxious. For me,…
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