“Come with me on this journey, this very ancient journey.
To experience the age-old story of a very modern foe. This foe is invisible; it is neither living nor dead. You cannot smell it, and you cannot taste it. While it is not alive, it can become alive, with a flick of the right kind of switch. While it is not dead, …
Coronavirus through a storytelling lens [PODCAST]
“It is no secret that we started off combating COVID-19 with disadvantages. Lately, news is rampant with coverage of the paucity of ventilators, hospital beds, and N95 masks. But it is important not to forget the deficits in our workforce. Last year, the American Medical Association estimated that our nation faces a projected shortage of up to 122,000 doctors in the …
Immigrant and minority physicians at the frontline of pandemics [PODCAST]
“The donation of hydroxychloroquine, in contrast to the accompanying donation of 1,000 ventilators, is unethical as either humanitarian aid or as a ‘research study.’ The United States has a moral responsibility for any human harm that results. We cannot simply send medications off to potentially vulnerable populations without regard for the lives that could be negatively affected. It is not enough …
Ethical dilemmas in the pandemic era [PODCAST]
In 2014, an emergency medicine resident opened a personal email and was shocked to see it briefly mention the death of another resident physician from a different training program. Unofficial group chats ensued amongst her co-residents, discussing the vague email. Suspicion arose that the resident has died of suicide. His particular death was never addressed outright in a formal or public manner at the hospital, department, or residency level. All …
We need improved mental health care for physicians
When it comes to health care, this election cycle has been different than previous ones. Either it is Medicare for all or public option in the ACA, democratic candidates have shown support for some version of universal health care. As the health care costs, including prescription drug prices, keep rising, many Americans have started to advocate for universal health care coverage. At the same time, others still believe in the …
It’s time for a comprehensive universal health care system in America
I have a major issue with MAC.
To be more specific, I have a major issue with how we communicate the concept of MAC to our patients, anesthesia care team members, and proceduralist colleagues.
MAC stands for “monitored anesthesia care,” and we tend to throw it around and use it interchangeably with a lot of other terms:
The fact is, these entities are not …
Why this anesthesiologist has a problem with monitored anesthesia care (MAC)
“Out of the blue, a new virus popped up, and ten weeks later, it is a pandemic. Within the last ten weeks, doctors have identified this new disease, figured out how it is transmitted, identified what body fluid we need to test to determine who has contracted the disease, developed a test for it, mass-produced that test, and distributed the tests …
How doctors can navigate the financial crisis [PODCAST]
We have all heard that real estate is the investment vehicle of the wealthy. However, not many physicians take advantage of this tremendous resource.
The reality is the average medical student graduates with close to $200,000 in debt and does not finish training until his/her late 20s/early 30s with no financial education. The current COVID-19 pandemic has shown us that no job is protected, and earning potential can decline at any …
Why physicians should invest in real estate
“Here we are again, mourning the death of another black person at the hands of the people that are supposed to protect and defend our rights. Another casualty in the 400+ year struggle that we have had in this country to be granted the same right to liberty, the same access to success and the same ability to live without fear, …
Don’t let the protests become last week’s news. It is our reality every day. [PODCAST]
“Some media outlets and public figures have heralded the ongoing pandemic as a great equalizer, referencing the pathogen’s indiscriminate spread and disregard for national borders and tax brackets.
The sobering mortality statistics, however, dispense any notion of an equal-opportunity crisis, revealing a familiar theme among public health challenges in America: significant racial disparities exist, and communities of color are disproportionately affected.”
The racial disparities of COVID-19 [PODCAST]
I am an ICU nurse. I love what I do; It’s not just a career: It’s who I am. No other job could offer me the intimate opportunity to support and guide a total stranger through the worst (and occasionally best) days of their life. Nowhere else would I leave feeling humbled by what I do every day. Nothing compares to that. Simply put: You don’t find that sense of …
I am an ICU nurse. We are drowning.
“As medical trainees, we will shape the rapidly changing health care environment in this country. We are fiercely advocating for our disadvantaged patients, debating the price of life-saving medications, and carefully considering how the upcoming elections will shape the health care system in which we both provide and receive care. All the while, we handle our responsibilities and prepare to care …
Why medical trainees need knowledge and education on health care systems and policy [PODCAST]
I’m exhausted. I don’t think I’ll be able to forget these sleepless nights with the sight and sound of protesters in the streets right outside of my apartment. I’ve lied awake until 2 a.m. watching videos on Twitter taken by protestors themselves, torturing myself with the displays of violence that are complex to understand, but shocking nonetheless.
As I watched police officers and protestors clash on the lightbox in my hands, …
A better way to screen police officers
Thank you for listening to the podcast. There were some audio difficulties, which I hope you can overlook. It certainly does not take away from Dr. Syed’s message and her wonderful interview.
“An essential part of daily living for many people is faith. No matter what faith you belong to, people practice their faith in different ways. Most people have faith intertwined …
During the pandemic, faith keeps us together [PODCAST]
I am a newly minted surgical specialist, less than one year into practice. Residency was no walk in the park, but the clinical experience, along with hours of studying, reading papers, and reviewing practice guidelines, undoubtedly gave me the tools to practice modern, evidence-based medicine. As residency came to a close and the light at the end of the tunnel grew bigger and brighter, my excitement to move on to …
We need to stop seeing patients as dollar signs
Invisible and unassuming, the radioactive spider slowly descends from the ceiling, and before he knows it, Peter Parker’s life has changed forever. With that one bite, he is transformed from a normal man into a reluctant superhero. Only, that infamous spider is COVID-19, and Peter Parker is a health care worker during these troubled times.
It may surprise you to know that many of us in health care are uncomfortable being …
Health care workers in the time of COVID: reluctant superheroes?
I want to start with a moment of silence to remember so many who have been stolen from their families and communities as a direct result of rampant white supremacy, anti-blackness, and police violence: George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Tony McDade, Breonna Taylor, and too many others.
George Floyd was murdered on May 25. Protests began the following day in Minneapolis and have catalyzed a swift wave of righteous anger and rebellion …
Anti-racism must be a priority for medical institutions
“In my lifetime, I have encountered those who have seemingly endured far greater states of human privation than I could ever imagine (though I try to eschew establishing comparative equivalencies [or non-equivalencies] among human suffering as much as possible because such an impossibly herculean task never ends well). And what I have come to realize is that the nexus of all …
How emotional antibodies can help recover from the impact of COVID-19 [PODCAST]
“Empathy is more than just loving an elderly loved one. It is more than simply making the decision we may feel is best for our loved one. Empathy is different from sympathy. Empathy means putting ourselves in someone else’s shoes and making an informed decision. Empathy is seeing through our loved ones’ eyes, hearing through her ears, feeling her emotions, and …
Empathy is a crucial component when working with older adults [PODCAST]
Let me start by saying that I am a diplomate (i.e., “board-certified”) by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology. I was completely in agreement that to display competence in my specialty after four years of residency, I should pass the oral and written exams required by the ABPN, further to prove I have maintained my skills, I have always found it …
How MOC is contributing to the demise of physicians
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