“Around the time of the coronavirus outbreak, 2019 also marked a full century since the death of Sir William Osler, who revolutionized medical training. Despite some lingering debate over whether Dr. Osler’s pneumonia-related death should be counted among the 50 million lost to the 1918 influenza pandemic, his notes suggest that he …
With the surge of information surrounding COVID-19 released in the news this year, an interesting concern arose regarding ibuprofen’s use in patients with COVID-19. In March of 2020, French authorities were the first to investigate anecdotal reports of severe COVID-19 infection in patients who had taken ibuprofen.
The initial concern involved the ACE-2 receptor. The theoretical concern was that NSAIDs (nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) such as ibuprofen might …
“Our country, and the world, is beyond exhausted by COVID-19 and the utter chaos and destruction of lives it has caused. All people, including physicians, are being pushed beyond capacity. What do we mean, collateral damage? Originally related to war: the unintended result of a terrible, unprecedented event or action. We …
“Antiracism requires action-oriented work and calls us to ask, how will we work to become antiracist? How will we change our institutional culture and systems to become antiracist? As Latina medical students, we have seen and experienced racism in many aspects of society and have felt the need to change our …
“In medicine, empiric therapy is treatment that is administered based on the probability of success because we don’t have all of the information. We make our ‘best guess.’ Actually, empiric decision-making exists in our everyday lives — running the garbage disposal when the sink is clogged, jiggling the key in the …
I recently met a student and aspiring surgeon who asked me if I was happy with anesthesiology and a career in medicine in general. I told him that aspiring to medicine is wonderful and that while I am indeed happy with my career choice, it does come with daily challenges, both professional and personal. This led to a discussion of work-life balance, particularly with regard to family life, in which …
“While there is a myriad of expert opinions on what long term effects this pandemic will have on our children and their physical and mental health, we must also remember the age-old idiom: this too shall pass. We must also be sensitive to not add to parents’ already full plates. Meditation …
With the rapid growth of modern medicine and awareness in lifestyle and environmental influences, individuals can live longer and healthier lives. Approximately 15.2 percent of the U.S. population consists of individuals 65 years and older. To make the added years of life expectancy fulfilling, older adults need to stay socially connected and involved. One key method is through the development of meaningful …
“Appreciation in the personal finance world has two different components to it:
These are both important, but the qualitative is the best predictor of increasing …
“While the rise in substance use disorders during COVID will become more apparent as the pandemic eventually ebbs, the silver lining is that this is not a novel problem. We understand substance use disorders far better than we understand COVID-19, and we also know that one of the largest obstacles to treatment is the shame associated with admitting that one has …
Doctors are often called “heroes” – a surprisingly uncomfortable label. Physicians are already tired of being held to a higher standard than the average person; raising the pedestal is problematic. While doctors are compassionate individuals who care about bettering lives and curing illnesses, we are also human. At the end of a standard workday, we would like to live normal lives. Unfortunately, the hours are longer, and we are never …
“We are social beings. Evolution has taught us that in order to survive, we must work together. Community trust (trusting your fellow citizen) is a very effective way to build community resilience when hardships strike. Studies have been done in the wake of natural disasters and have shown that social infrastructure and connections have equal, if not more, impact on the …
First of all, congratulations on making it this far in your journey towards becoming a physician. It truly is a privilege to be in the position of a third-year medical student because unlike the previous two years, we are now able to address the needs of actual patients, and in many cases, their family members and caregivers, whether they be emotional, mental, physical, or socioeconomic.
I admit that it sounds trite …
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An excerpt from Patients at Risk: The Rise of the Nurse Practitioner and Physician Assistant in Healthcare.
On a sunny Tuesday in March 2015, the steps of Capitol Hill were draped in white as nurse practitioners from across the United States descended on the nation’s capital. Their …
“Like 9/11, we have a new reference point touching everyone on the planet: life before COVID-19 and life after. Regardless if you get it or don’t, the unknowns and secondary consequences are scary. Life before COVID was scary, too, minus the urgency.
Before COVID, we sensed the weight of living on a sick planet. We felt powerless to change the tide of …
“The inflammatory response elicited by the novel coronavirus can do great damage to the essential function of lungs. People with underlying lung disease are more vulnerable to this coronavirus, including people with asthma, emphysema, lung fibrosis, and even people with high exposure to air pollution. Smoking and vaping are perfectly preventable forms of high-intensity air pollution. We strongly urge city, county, …
I remember reading a post recently on a Facebook physician group that involved a cardiologist who asked for help on how to manage her finances after a divorce.
The pertinent aspects of this situation involves the physician being left with essentially nothing in retirement savings. She is mid-career with children and wants an option to reduce her schedule eventually to spend time with her children during the weeks she has custody. …
The symptoms of systemic discrimination and sweeping organizational problems are ubiquitous in the news and health care literature. Yet, medical students’ curricula focus on codes of professionalism, setting these issues, and the historical forces that created them to the side. While professionalism is undoubtedly an important aspect of being a physician, it is simply not enough to give students the background they need to recognize the historical contextualization of ethical …
“Holding space means being physically, mentally, and emotionally present for someone. It means putting your focus on someone to support them as they feel their feelings. An important aspect of holding space is managing judgment while you are present.
Like when you tell a patient that they have stage IV pancreatic cancer and that it is nonsurgical and even with the best …
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