Go to the store, support small businesses … But my children are not vaccinated.
Go out to eat; buy local … But my children are not vaccinated.
Go back to work; go travel… But my children are not vaccinated.
Come celebrate, please enjoy … But my children are not vaccinated.
Kids need people; they need play … But my children are not vaccinated.
Kids need sports and activities … But my children are not vaccinated.
Kids …
But my children are not vaccinated
I’m a doctor passionate about public health and public policy born and raised in Wisconsin and educated at the Medical College of Wisconsin (the same institute that bestowed Mr. Rodgers an honorary degree in 2018). I’m also a Packers shareholder, as is my father, a practicing physician in the state. I cheered you on for your 2011 Super Bowl win from my college dorm freshman year and even had an …
To Aaron Rodgers, from a physician and Packers fan
“At the hospital, the nurse is the one who is at the patient’s bedside around the clock. When the patient has to go to the bathroom or needs help to sit up in a chair, he or she calls the nurse. The nurse is the one who is changing the …
A physician’s tribute to nurses [PODCAST]
The day just felt weird.
I had this feeling of impending doom over me that morning as I sat in bed studying, waiting to get dressed for afternoon clinic.
Once I got there, I was cramping, and I knew things were not OK.
It was so intense throughout that afternoon that I would bend over while seeing patients or collapse into a chair out of necessity.
I went to the bathroom between patients to …
We’re not OK, but we know you are
The holiday season is rapidly approaching, and it is not uncommon for us to gain up to 10 pounds between Thanksgiving and Valentine’s Day. But what if we do not want to put on some insulation? What can we do? I specialize in medical weight loss, and my first recommendation would simply be to be aware of the food around us and recognize that seeing food in itself can be …
Don’t let the holidays sabotage your weight loss goals
“Many patients, doctors, nurses, and health care administrators appear to have a seat on the blimp with little concept of how the game has evolved over the years and is being played now. They may have attended the game in the past, but they likely haven’t seen the action …
Getting messy in the game of health care [PODCAST]
My mother died 18 years ago today. It has probably taken me that long to be able to talk about it because, as survivors of suicide, our culture teaches us to live in shame.
However, as I grow older, I have learned to let go of that shame. If you mention your experience with suicide to others, you will usually always find that they were affected by a similar loss in …
How I learned to let go of perfectionism: a lesson from my mother’s suicide
I tend to size people up pretty quickly. Adult ADHD? I can diagnose it in about two minutes. Borderline personality disorder? About one minute. Bad actors on the Dr. Phil show? About 30 seconds (with the benefit of Dr. Phil’s preamble). I can’t help it. I attribute my habit of analyzing people to my training and practice in psychiatry. After a 40-year career in medicine, I can no longer delineate …
I did not realize I was a perfectionist. I was far from perfect. It was not until I listened to a master class on perfectionism from a physician coach that I had my “aha moment.” I am now working extremely hard on training my brain to be an imperfectionist. To …
A Black physician’s perfectionism [PODCAST]
An excerpt from Love Your Child More Than You Hate Your Ex: What Every Divorced Parent Needs to Know.
As an experienced clinical child psychologist, I believe the ultimate goal of any parent is to rear an independent, responsible child. While at first glance this may appear obvious yet if we observe most parents in action on a day-to-day basis, it …
5 sure ways to raise a responsible child
Working day after day, year after year, in a busy high acuity ICU, we all have become a “second family.”
The public doesn’t hear much about respiratory therapists, especially during this COVID nightmare. But they have been the unsung heroes.
So who are the respiratory therapists, and what do they do?
Respiratory therapists are specialized health care professionals trained in critical care and cardio-pulmonary medicine. They work therapeutically with people suffering from acute …
The unsung heroes: respiratory therapists
My introduction to health insurance companies was very abrupt and simple.
I received my medical training in the U.S. Navy and served three years after that. Then, I was finally discharged. I had treated thousands of patients as a Navy doctor, but I had never charged one, nor did I even know how to charge for services.
My partner in the civilian practice I joined made the transition easy: “Sign this contract …
The toxic doctor-insurer relationship
“We have observed that delays in screenings and intervention for patients with certain common chronic conditions can contribute to claims. Now, clinicians have the opportunity to identify patients whose conditions merit priority contact, such as those with cardiac conditions, those on blood pressure medication, or those with diabetes, and …
Mitigating risks from care during COVID-19 [PODCAST]
One recent afternoon in the GI endoscopy suite (not my favorite place to work, but that’s a topic for another day), I walked up to the bedside of my next patient and introduced myself as I always do.
“Hi,” I said, holding up my name badge for the patient and his wife to see. “I’m Dr. Sibert. I’m with the anesthesiology department and I’ll be looking after you today.”
The patient was …
You’re a doctor when you’re not giving anesthesia?
Norman Grant was a new patient. He had chronic back pain, not helped by surgery or a dozen injections after that. It all started with an industrial accident in 2001. He had settled his case and was on chronic OxyContin, which far from kept him functional. But as of January 1, his insurance was no longer covering that drug. He only had two weeks left of it.
He told me he …
The art of asking where it hurts
When I was young, my father told me that baseball is a metaphor for life. As a lifelong fan, I’ve found professional inspiration and valuable lessons in this game, time after time after time.
This year was no different. Throughout the 2021 MLB playoffs, and amid an exciting World Series between the Houston …
The troubling similarities between primary care physicians and MLB relief pitchers
“The diagnosis is well-established. A cure is within our reach, and the wisest among our practitioners of the healing arts are offering valuable counsel. When the U.S. government and science, in its most principled form, work together, insulated from a culture of insidious and invidious profiteering, they can put a …
Diagnosis: malformation of a health care system [PODCAST]
As resident physicians, many of us are overworked, underpaid, and trying our best to make it through. While this time has its ups and downs, we can’t lose sight of the bigger picture. One of the best things we can do during residency is laying the foundation for the life and career we desire. This means doing a few things during our time in training to set ourselves up well …
A nurse innovator is a nurse who specializes in bringing forth positive change in health care quality and equity by addressing the unmet needs of a target population through new products, processes, and services. Innovators have existed throughout the history of nursing which dates to the 19th century. Yet, the formalization of a ‘nurse innovator’ role has only begun to emerge within health care organizations across the U.S. over the …
What does it mean to be a nurse innovator?
“After much searching, I was fortunate to find a fellowship that though inexperienced in LGBTQ health recognized an opportunity. Faculty and mentors worked from a growth mindset rooted in finding what I needed to succeed rather than what they knew they had to offer at that moment. With their and …
Professional gay: Charting a career in LGBTQ health [PODCAST]
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