Conditions and Diseases

Physicians writing on KevinMD about the diseases they treat and the people who have them: cancer and its screening arguments, pain and the drugs that treat it, diabetes and the obesity argument, mental illness and who gets treated for it, and the decisions at the end of a life. Five maintained records draw on this archive: Cancer: what physicians say, in their own words, Opioids: what physicians and pain patients say, in their own words, End of life: what physicians say, in their own words, Diabetes and obesity: what physicians say, in their own words, and Mental health: what psychiatrists and physicians say, in their own words.

COVID-19 is teaching us the value of vocation

Anonymous

March 17, 2020

“Suppose we did our work
like the snow, quietly, quietly,
leaving nothing out.”
-Wendell Berry

Greetings from the hospital. It’s a ghost town around here. The roads are empty. Shops are shuttered. Churches won’t be meeting for months.

Yet the medical staff parking garage is actually rather full. We trickle into the hospital, through the deafening silence. No one talks. The air is blue and crisp. Gulls from Lake Erie call to each other, uninterrupted.

A …

Spare older anesthesiologists COVID-19 coronavirus risk

Becky Wong, MD

Conditions and Diseases

March 17, 2020

The COVID-19 pandemic has gripped modern medicine in unprecedented ways. As a young anesthesiologist, I am not as likely to suffer complications or die from COVID-19 compared to my older colleagues. Data from China and Korea report a 15 to 18 fold greater risk of mortality from COVID-19 in people aged 60-69 compared to age 30-39 years old. Some anesthesiologists are thinking …

Coronavirus: The simple infographic guide to protect you and your community

Kevin Nguyen, DO

Conditions and Diseases

March 17, 2020

Please print or share these graphics that can help educate the public on the do’s and don’ts of COVID-19 coronavirus. Courtesy of family physician Kevin Nguyen.

(Please click to enlarge.)

Coronavirus: The simple infographic guide to protect you and your community

As society shuts down, hospital workers continue to fight the pandemic

Anonymous

Conditions and Diseases

March 17, 2020

Collectively across our country, as society shuts down, physicians, along with our brave co-workers in the hospital, will be going to work to combat the largest pandemic we have seen in our lifetimes. While such a crisis frightens us all, it has also served as a soul-renewing time for medicine. Over the next several months, our tribe worldwide will be risking their health and lives to serve and treat patients …

COVID-19 social distancing is like bedrest

Vi Thuy Nguyen, MD

Conditions and Diseases

March 17, 2020

Did the picture above catch your attention? The large Pokemon bean bag belongs to my children. The other object is a plastic bag I made from plastic scraps. I know it’s weird, but I have embraced my off-kilter personality as Dr. Plastic Picker. Our children consume enormous amounts of clementines. Clementines come in orange plastic mesh bags. I am now master …

He couldn’t let his wife go peacefully. Even after death.

Debbie Moore-Black, RN

Conditions and Diseases

March 17, 2020

No break for 12 hours.

We beg to go to the bathroom just for a nano-second. You know, in between not skipping a beat to hang life-saving IV drips, assisting with central line insertions and arterial lines and intubations of the sickest.

We pretty much just go door to door literally saving lives.

Code blues, and chest compressions and emergent intubations and rapid response team screams out overhead, as we are responsible for …

5 things doctors can do in the midst of coronavirus

Altelisha Taylor, MD, MPH

Conditions and Diseases

March 17, 2020

1. Stay up to date on recommendations. Information on the coronavirus changes daily. Last week we were only screening patients with travel history. This week, we’ve realized travel history no longer matters. At first, we assumed those infected would have fever, cough, and shortness of breath. Now we know that younger people could present with a mild cold. In the midst of ever-changing recommendations, it’s imperative that we stay up …

An emergency physician’s spiritual toolkit to battle COVID-19

Rose Zacharias, MD

Conditions and Diseases

March 17, 2020

These are unprecedented times. As a mid-career ER physician and mom of four kids, COVID-19 has changed everything. Schools are closed, all public events canceled, and the United States has declared a national emergency. There is a heightened sense of urgency at work. Scenarios that seemed absurd 24 hours ago are now a frightening reality. Things are going to get worse. Are you ready?

We are bringing physicians back from retirement …

This pediatrician says no coronavirus break playdates

Steve Silvestro, MD

Conditions and Diseases

March 16, 2020

Strange times right now, huh?

The spread of COVID-19 is expected to be massive because the virus is sneaky

I live in Maryland, and our schools are shut down statewide due to coronavirus (COVID-19).

That means that since I’m a pediatrician, I’ve been peppered with questions from patients, family, and friends wondering what they’re going to do with the kids for at least two weeks (and, realistically, probably four or more).

They’re all asking …

A pathologist’s message to the public

Michelle C. Hure, MD

Conditions and Diseases

March 16, 2020

14 years ago, I recited the Hippocratic Oath, and two sections have always stuck with me:

“Into whatsoever houses I enter, I will enter to help the sick” and “I will use treatment to help the sick according to my ability and judgment.”

The events over the last couple of weeks have affected me deeply. Of course, I’m concerned about a novel virus that is infecting and killing people. But, I’m more …

Read more…

A pathologist’s message to the public

It’s time to pay people to self-quarantine

Erik Messamore, MD, PhD

Conditions and Diseases

March 16, 2020

It’s a devastating fact: More than a million Americans could die from the novel coronavirus. But we can prevent this catastrophe through simple measures like sleeve sneezing, washing our hands, and staying home when we’re sick.

The problem is, nearly everyone goes to work when they’re sick.

We need to fix that.

Consider this scenario.

Monica is a certified nursing …

I thought COVID-19 was overblown. I was wrong.

Jenny Hartsock, MD

Conditions and Diseases

March 16, 2020

I’ll admit that a month ago, I thought COVID-19 was going to be another overblown SARS or MERS or even H1N1. I talked about it with my friends in the medical field, and we had a bit of a “been there, done that” attitude. But I was wrong, and in the time since, I’ve educated myself as much as possible. This strain of coronavirus is more contagious than the flu, …

America’s hubris in the face of COVID-19

Anonymous

Conditions and Diseases

March 16, 2020

COVID-19 has changed the way we live our lives for at least the foreseeable future. What hasn’t changed in America is the complacency of our people. Living in our self proclaimed “greatest country in the world” comes with many benefits, one of which is feeling fairly removed from the daily strife of life, especially if you’re in the middle class or …

A psychiatrist’s mental health advice during a pandemic

Katherine Gantz Pannel, DO

Conditions and Diseases

March 16, 2020

Every Saturday is my “self-care Saturday.” As a psychiatrist, I believe that self-care is critical to good mental health. However, as I started my long run on an empty University trail where college students typically abound, my motivation for running lessened. I did not feel like I had the energy for a run. It was at that moment that I realized that the coronavirus, while not affecting me physically, was, …

A COVID-19 physician pep talk

Sujani G. Surakanti, MD

Conditions and Diseases

March 16, 2020

All hands on deck! No one sits this one out. We are all MD/DOs. We all took the same oath, and in unison. Year after year, we graduate as our parents and grandparents shed tears of joy. In those years of sleep-depriving, relationship-straining, self-confidence-trying medical school and residency: We dissected everything. The human body, the human heart (the non-anatomical one), and even what it means to follow that damn oath. …

Read more…

A COVID-19 physician pep talk

In times of crisis, physicians will always come together to take care of you

Clarissa Barnes, MD

Conditions and Diseases

March 16, 2020

COVID-19 is here. As the numbers of cases continue to grow, my fellow physicians have to evaluate how we will respond when the number of ills outnumbers our current capacity. Older physicians, younger pregnant physicians, physicians with young children at home, no matter their personal circumstances, the response is the same: “If we’re needed, we will be here.” There is no hesitation to do what we’re trained to do. For …

A call to clear misinformation in the era of COVID-19

Vibhu Krishna

Conditions and Diseases

March 16, 2020

The rumor mill has been churning. Media sources—even reputable ones—are using inflammatory headlines as clickbait, capitalizing on the anxiety of their readerships. Misinformation is being passed along through various channels, not the least of which comes from people in positions of power. The break-room in the hospital is abuzz with worried team-members, news of a new patient in the ED who tested positive, worries of exposure for oneself and loved …

Loneliness in the time of COVID-19

Michael Feldmeier, MD

Conditions and Diseases

March 15, 2020

Recently, I have been recommending that my friends, colleagues, and loved ones limit their time watching the news and scrolling through social media. There seems to be another contagion besides COVID-19. A contagion created from equal parts fear, greed, self-protection, and isolation. Now, there is a very real danger now that the world is a state of pandemic, but that danger appears to be overshadowed in media by some of …

Read more…

Loneliness in the time of COVID-19

There are not enough nurses to care for the coronavirus pandemic

Susan Shannon, RN

Conditions and Diseases

March 15, 2020

It’s a cliché but the horse is out of the barn. There is no doubt that coronavirus is widespread in the United States and the situation is getting worse. No one — not the government, not hospitals — are addressing the elephant in the room. There are not enough nurses to care for a worsening coronavirus outbreak in the U.S.

With decreased reimbursement, hospitals run a tight ship. Hospitals don’t even …

There has never been a greater need for telemedicine than now

Patricia Pechter, MD

Conditions and Diseases

March 15, 2020

I left the U.S. just in time. During my vacation in Australia, I was relieved I would dodge some of the angst and uncertainty in the midst of the COVID-19 epidemic. As it turns out, even this getaway on the opposite side of the world was no escape. Within the span of a day, the markets dropped 10 percent, the remainder of the NBA season was canceled, and the …

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