Medical

After nine months of death, despair, and fear, the one-two victory of Pfizer and Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine approvals is a major turning point for everyone in health care. Social media timelines suddenly sprang to life with vaccine selfies as besieged health care workers got their first doses. It is truly a turning point in this…

Drip. Drip. Drip. It’s 8:00 p.m. I’m staring at the IV tubing. We forgot to stop the fluids. I’m standing in the resuscitation room alongside the naked, broken body of a teenage male. Unable to break my gaze on that dripping IV line, thinking, We’re going to flood him. But it doesn’t really matter. Somewhere…

I read somewhere that 30 percent of nurses were reluctant to get the COVID vaccine, but I didn’t think I would know any of that 30 percent. I was at work the other night when I realized that I was wrong. Newly vaccinated, I was talking to some of my nurses about their vaccine experiences.…

“In the midst of a COVID-19 pandemic, getting a flu shot has never been more important. Many people are staying indoors, wearing a mask, and washing their hands frequently. In this environment, patients ask me, “With all this social distancing, do I really need a flu shot this year?” The answer is unequivocally, “Yes!” Even…

On Friday evenings, my family usually listens to my husband DJ music in the basement, streaming online on Twitch, and dancing along. During one of these nights, I went upstairs to check on my two girls and remembered to check online for my routine COVID-19 screen results that I’d done the day before. Since the…

Governor Cuomo showed New York and the world the importance of leadership and communication during a crisis. Ignoring this standard makes the information void surrounding the COVID vaccine roll-out even more upsetting. I represent 150 dedicated pediatric clinicians and over 300 committed nurses, medical assistants, medical receptionists, and support staff who are incredibly disheartened by…

“How can we, as physicians, convince Black patients to take the COVID-19 vaccine?” my residency interviewer asked me, a Black fourth-year Johns Hopkins medical student. I paused. I couldn’t help but wonder if the interviewer had asked all of the other applicants this question, or just me, the sole Black applicant interviewing amongst eight other…

I’m of Irish heritage and we love to tell stories. This story feels like it needs to be shouted from the rooftops. I grew up in Texas, where football is king. Here’s my story so parents can make a more fully “informed consent” when deciding if their children should play football. My dad played offensive…

In some people, COVID-19 causes mild or no symptoms at all. In others, it can cause significant respiratory distress that can lead to death. Once infected with COVID-19, is there anything that someone can do to foster a less severe infection?  The answer is likely “yes,” avoid the use of outpatient steroids. The risk factors…