Medical

The journey in medicine is a journey of goal setting.  Doctors set goals all the time. We set the goal to become a doctor then strive to achieve it. Once we decide the chosen specialty, we set the goal for the residency training program we hope to match into, and we strive to achieve that. …

A case study seemed to confirm the presence of asymptomatic transmission within China, where a woman was afebrile with no chest CT abnormalities or laboratory abnormalities. She did not develop the virus, while five of her relatives did. An earlier report out of Germany found a woman traveling to Germany from China with vague symptoms resulting in a cluster…

A medical diagnostic company recently posted the following tweet: “The best way to beat cancer is early detection. A full-body scan will provide you with a look inside your body and peace of mind.” I wanted to type a reply, but I like to tell stories, and Twitter will only allow 280 characters. *** A…

About three months ago, something awful happened. The oncology nurse practitioner (NP) whom I trained for the past two years in my subspecialty decided to seek employment elsewhere in order to have a more flexible work schedule. My team and I lamented we had a going-away dinner to say thank you for her work. And…

Squid and other cephalopods have the amazing ability to change the color of their skin. In an instant, they can blend into their environment, matching the landscape perfectly to avoid detection. In contrast, they can turn a bright iridescent hue to warn predators or, in some circumstances, to attract a mate. They do this in…

My dearest daughter, Life is unpredictable. In case I won’t be around one day, here are things I learned from being a doctor and a mother that can guide you always. 1. New level. New devil! There will never be a time outside of death that life will stand still. Embrace change and know that…

If you or a loved one has ever been hospitalized, by day two or three of your hospital stay, you likely remember the doctor visiting you every day but not staying more than seven or eight minutes or 10 to 15 minutes max. It may have felt like he or she was just “dropping by…

It all began on Valentine’s Day when I arrived at my office and listened to my messages from the afternoon before. There was only one from a nurse at the state mental hospital. She had just seen, she said, a Mr. Lonnie M. and was calling to alert me (there is a law to this…

I believe in the practice of medicine and enjoy teaching others this amazing art.  However, after experiencing nine months of interactions through medicine as the daughter of a sick patient, I struggle with my pride in the profession and fear of the health care system. My mother would proudly tell all her physicians that her…