Medical
The blunt truth on why stopping COVID is impossible
COVID-19 has turned the world on its head. A major problem we have faced since the beginning is that it had already been spreading like wildfire for a few months since the end of 2019 — before most of the world realized that it was time to take action against this respiratory virus. We’ve therefore…
Read MoreIs there hope for COVID with home visits?
Health care has been hanging by a thread for some time — in our community and across the nation. The COVID-19 pandemic exposed weaknesses inherent in an underfunded public health system, a monopolized hospital, and a fractured medical supply chain. At the beginning of this pandemic, I wrote, “Our lives will not be saved by…
Read MorePhysician burnout during COVID: Bringing ancient practices to modern medicine
Back in January of 2020, the average physician burnout rate was a staggering 42 percent. However, as COVID cases continue to surge, that statistic is now undoubtedly larger. Physicians are exhausted, both physically and mentally. They’ve watched colleagues suffer extensively or even die as a result of contracting COVID from infected patients. There is not…
Read MoreBottles and pacifiers: advice from a Latinx pediatrician [PODCAST]
“Growing up in Puerto Rico, ‘babas’ (bottles: biberón/botellas) and ‘bobos’ (pacifiers: chupetes/chupón) were very common among the families and children of the island. I still remember our Abuelita giving us milk in our “babas,” so my younger sister and I were sure to fall asleep better. From the time of our births, to when my…
Read MoreCan we do better when delivering bad news in trauma?
On a recent trauma call, we had a busy night, culminating in a horrific motorcycle trauma that came in early in the morning. The patient had devastating injuries and ended up dying. The detectives finally tracked down the patient’s family. I cleaned myself up, put on my white coat and had the family sit down…
Read MoreBe careful when using preprint servers for medical research reports
The coronavirus pandemic posed unprecedented challenges and forced a shift towards an accelerated digital transformation. The COVID-19 public health emergency focused attention on timely dissemination and reporting of research findings, resulting in the rapid growth of preprint platforms. Preprint servers like medRxiv, bioRxiv, ChemRxiv, arXiv, and ResearchSquare received attention for sharing preliminary research during the…
Read MoreCreativity in medical school and beyond
On those brisk walks across the hospital, I briefly look over at the instillations from local artists. Those pieces ignite a chain reaction of creative empathy and even critique from both patient and provider alike. In the briefest moment, we mentally collide into the artist’s creation, catching glimpses of their point of view. The result…
Read MoreHealth care organizations: Clean up your house first, then you can tackle racism in patient care
The new American Medical Association policy recognizing racism as a public health threat and providing an anti-racist approach to equitable care will have no effectiveness unless health care organizations get their own houses in order and actively do anti-racism work in their own institutions. Although I’m not a health care provider, as a health care communicator whose…
Read MoreThe COVID-19 vaccine won’t solve major substance use disorder treatment gaps
As if COVID-19 weren’t bad enough during the pandemic, another public health crisis – substance use disorder (SUD) – has gone from bad to worse, while access to behavioral health services is shrinking. As of September, more than half (52%) of community behavioral health organizations have seen an increase in demand for services, and half…
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