You sigh as you see the name on the next chart. “Good grief, this poor woman,” you think as you place your hand on the doorknob.
“Doctor, I really tried. I really tried this time!” she sobs.
“Cheryl, I know you did. But you’ve got a disease, and you need treatment.”
“Doc, I can’t go back there again. I can’t. I can’t. I can’t. I’m going to lose my job. I can barely …
Recently, I heard a news report regarding several state attorneys general suing the federal government to eliminate the requirement that health care providers be immunized against COVID. They argued that as fully immunized individuals still contract COVID, and that allowing unimmunized people to be rehired would relieve provider shortage, the regulation was unhelpful.
Initially, I agreed, as rehiring these individuals would generate some relief for those staff members who have worked …
I finally found time after retirement to clean out my nurse’s book bag. It contained items such as a stethoscope, extra playing cards for patients, highlighters, various pens, a penlight, a notebook with important phone numbers throughout the health care system, tourniquets for IVs, and a plastic whistle.
This health care system, which has a revenue of $5 billion per year and spans throughout America, is quite complex. Let me explain.
The …
A long inglorious history of medical racism and mistreatment has dire health consequences. Consider the atrocities associated with experimentation on African Americans without informed consent during the Tuskegee Syphilis Study (1932-1972), which eroded the trust in the medical profession and medical research, and undermined the nation’s ability to achieve health equity.
Medical mistrust continues to worsen due to the negative health care experiences African Americans still endure today. For …
In the words of the late soccer great Pelé spoofed on Saturday Night Live, women’s health has been “very, very good” for drug makers. In 2002, 61 million prescriptions were written for women in the U.S. for hormones to treat the so-called “disease” of menopause (which was once treated with electroshock therapy—yes, ECT).
Until the government-sponsored Women’s Health Initiative (WHI) found in 2002 that hormone replacement therapy (HRT) …
Adapted from Finding the Words: Working Through Profound Loss with Hope and Purpose.
I am glad I got to watch my kids die. To be clear, I’m not glad they died. I am heartbroken and devastated, and there is a never-ending hole of aching and pain in my heart. My teenage …
“Even a room with flammable gas will not explode unless someone strikes a match.”
– Dr. Bob Wachter
Case 1:
On March 27, 1977, two 747s collided on the runway at Tenerife in the Canary Islands, killing 583 people. On a foggy morning, the KLM 747 was waiting for clearance to take off. Captain Van Zanten was a well-known pilot with excellent safety records. The KLM crew spotted a Pan Am 747 taxiing …
I have been overweight or obese since I hit puberty. I have gained and lost the same 60 pounds half a dozen times in my adult life. I’ve never been one to try a fad diet – I research the data and follow a scientifically sound plan. I understand that the only way to lose a pound is to have a 3,500-calorie deficit. Losing weight is actually quite simple. But …
As nurses in behavioral health, we were not well-versed in the field. After 33 years in ICU nursing, I left the unit expecting behavioral health to be an easier transition. However, the comparison between the two was like comparing apples to oranges. There was no real comparison between the two.
One day, we admitted a 33-year-old female patient who was constantly angry and had outbursts, hitting patients and staff members without …
Imagine you have a busy full-time job. You get married at age 31. You and your new partner travel to Italy, Ireland, and Hawaii before settling with the kids. You both make pretty good money, so you buy a house. Of course, it needs furniture. And you have to have the new I-phone that just came out. You’re finally ready to get pregnant, but after two years, it hasn’t happened. …
Theodore Geisel, known by his pen name Dr. Seuss, wrote hundreds of children’s stories that continue to shape young children’s development to this day. Dr. Seuss was a lifelong Democrat and favored many of FDR’s New Deal policies. However, an NPR article notes his widow mentioned that she did not like it when his characters were used to push particular political points of view. The book …
The first seizure I remember was like a wave in the ocean. Over my head, sudden dizziness, ready to go over the crest, then down into the dark. The dark was just not there. Or anywhere. Coming up was like being thrown out into the flotsam and jetsam, not knowing which way was up—seeing but not. A slow coming to the shore, a slow return. I knew I was there, …
We are a grassroots advocacy organization of medical students across the country, focused on making health care more equitable for patients in larger bodies. We join the physicians, eating disorder professionals, and community members who raise concerns regarding the AAP’s most recent clinical guidelines, “Clinical Practice Guideline for the Evaluation and Treatment of Children and Adolescents with Obesity.”
The new AAP guidelines are based on science that grossly misrepresents the …
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“Trauma is perhaps the most avoided, ignored, belittled, denied, misunderstood and untreated cause of human suffering.”
– Peter Levine, PhD, Developer of Somatic Experiencing Therapy
One frequent cause of treatment-resistant chronic pain is unresolved trauma, yet few health care providers and patients are aware of the connection, and, as a result, it is rarely addressed. This leads to considerable unnecessary suffering and misguided attempts at pain treatment that often do more harm …
For over 14 years, the last day of February, a month known for its rare number of days, has been recognized by organizations across the globe as Rare Disease Day. With over 300 million patients worldwide impacted by 7,000+ rare diseases, the day serves as an international campaign to raise awareness around rare diseases and advocate for improved care for rare disease patients.
An often overlooked aspect of the rare …
My personal doctor and two of my cherished mentors died within the past several years, each “after a long illness,” according to their obituaries. Rock legend David Crosby (The Byrds and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young) recently died “after a long illness,” as stated by his wife, Jan Dance.
David Crosby’s co-musicians were perplexed that his widow would attribute his death to a long illness. Crosby certainly …
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I’m starting to see this trend of podcasts and articles that seem to be raising the white flag against childhood obesity. We should all agree with physicians that these conversations should be approached carefully and thoughtfully. We should agree that there are clear reasons to promote regular exercise and a healthy diet. We should agree with the clear health benefits of maintaining a healthy weight. There are clear mental health …
At her first visit, still lightly jaundiced, Jennie wanted to talk about a liver transplant.
I told her that she had to be sober for six months before they would consider putting her on the list. She told me proudly that she had been sober for three weeks.
“How are you doing without alcohol?”
“Going without alcohol would be very hard for me,” she said, “I have just one glass of wine each …
My story began in the early morning of November 17, 2021, and resulted in a re-birthing of who I am and what I’m becoming. I had a massive stroke that caused paralysis of my right side and left me unable to speak. I was life-flighted to the hospital where I work, and suddenly, I became the patient, not the caregiver. I received thrombolytics, then went to the neuro-interventional suite, where …
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An excerpt from Fifty Years a Doctor: The Journey of Sickness and Health, Four Plagues and the Pandemic.
I went to medical school for four years.
I was a medical intern for one year and a surgical resident for one year. And finally, an otolaryngology resident for three years.
My medical license permits …
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