Medical
I’m an infectious disease doctor and I’m in quarantine
Last week, I saw a patient who may have contracted COVID-19. The patient had come into the emergency department overnight due to respiratory distress and overseas travel history. While his clinical picture and history were cause for concern, due to limited testing reserved for “highly suspicious” cases, the initial decision was to hold on testing…
Read MoreA case for resident activism
In 2019, residents organized coast-to-coast to protest low pay, unsafe working conditions, and insufficient benefits. Residents at the University of Washington and UCLA walked out of the hospital in reaction to stalled contract negotiations. Residents at Yale interrupted a meeting to introduce a “Resident and Fellow Bill of Rights,” outlining basic rights such as a…
Read MoreHere’s what it’s really like to live in pain
I am a retired union plumber with the state of Illinois. I’ve had laparoscopic surgery on both knees, a lower back surgery that required two stainless rods, and I’m not sure how many screws, and three cervical fusions. I now suffer from neuropathy (nerve dysfunction) in my feet. They’re painfully numb: A shoe could come…
Read MoreCOVID-19: Don’t listen to the political spin of either side
The U.S. response to coronavirus reminds me of recent disasters when official facts were at odds with the reality I encountered. Governments have a long history of lying to their people about the risks of illness, either as a way to minimize political damage or to drum up hatred for “the other.” China was accused…
Read MoreIs a Cane a Medical Device?
Is a cane, a medical device? According to the FDA: “When [a cane] is intended to affect the structure or a function of the body of man…and which does not achieve its primary intended purposes through chemical action within or on the body of man…” it may meet the criteria for being a medical device. …
Read MoreNSL Delivers Materials Testing for Pharmaceutical Industry
Products for Which we Rely on Materials Testing: Pharmaceuticals Today, a crushing headache drove me to the cabinet where our aspirin and other pain relievers are stored. Once the throbbing subsided, I realized that ingredients for pills and other pharmaceuticals must be materials tested. When products tablets, capsules or biotech products are being developed, as…
Read MoreThe idiot’s guide to coronavirus from an emergency physician
1. Take it easy. The worst part of all this is the fear. More people die from the flu, car accidents, or guns. As of Saturday, March 7th, 19 Americans had died from COVID-19, compared to 1,177 every week from the flu, 746 from car crashes, and 294 from gunshots. 2. Wash your hands like…
Read MoreA critical moment that resulted in a permanent, devastating consequence
An excerpt from Looking Within: Understanding Ourselves through Human Imaging. It started as a routine weekend shift, reading studies on patients in the hospital and the emergency department, when the phone rang. Jessie, the nuclear medicine technologist, spoke on the telephone, his matter-of-fact tone slightly colored by the ominous nature of the information conveyed. “Doc,…
Read MoreCan empathy be taught, or is it innate?
In medical school, I was taught to sit down at eye-level when speaking to a patient, ask them how they’d prefer to be addressed, make sure to ask questions in an open-ended manner to allow patients to express themselves, and interject with “that must be really difficult for you” or “I can only imagine how…
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