I love being a doctor. But I almost walked away from medicine entirely—not because I did not care, but because it almost killed me.
I am a neurodivergent, African-American woman who grew up poor and beat the odds to wear a white coat. But nothing in my medical training prepared me for the business of medicine. In fact, I would argue the system was designed to keep me from learning it.
We …
If you’ve ever published or read scientific research, you’ve likely encountered the phrase non solus — subtly attached to over 720,000 research articles in 2024 alone. It’s Latin for “not alone.” In 1620, a Dutchman named Isaac Elzevir believed this phrase reflected the symbiotic relationship between authors and publishers — neither could succeed without the other. He incorporated non solus into his family’s publishing logo, alongside an image of a …
I grew up in Pickens, South Carolina—a small, poor Appalachian town burdened by health struggles.
In school, I saw food insecurity long before I had the vocabulary for it. Classmates ate honey buns and chips for breakfast, and lunch trays held processed food, pre-packaged meat, and syrupy fruit. For many, it was their only meal of the day.
Years later, while shadowing physicians in nursing homes and hospitals, I began to hear …
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Internal medicine physician Edward Hoffer discusses his article, “Can rural health care be saved?” He outlines the significant health care disparities facing rural communities, including higher death rates from major diseases, increased …
Driving through South Dakota after visiting the Badlands, I entered the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. As a medical student at GCSOM in Scranton, PA, I rarely see Native American communities. I was shocked by the poverty and neglect. How had I never heard of Pine Ridge?
Pine Ridge Reservation was established as a prison camp before a deadly massacre.
Pine Ridge Reservation was established in 1889 as Camp 334 for …
This beautiful Saturday morning began like many other mornings with a heart full of love and hope. Gentle rays of sunlight filtered through the windows. Their warm glow whispered hope and promise of another good day. This morning, like many others, I woke up early. But little did I know the day would bring a flood of emotions for which I was unprepared. Indeed, as the morning unfolded, my spirit …
So much of the world is centered around looking out for ourselves. We get caught up in our own problems, our own routines, and sometimes, we forget to stop and think about what someone else might be going through. It’s easy to do—we’re all busy, all trying to figure things out. But when we step outside of our own lives, even just for a moment, we start to see the …
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Health care attorney Dennis Hursh discusses his article, “What every physician should know before buying into a medical practice.” He emphasizes that while receiving an offer to buy into a practice is …
I’ve been listening to Viola Davis’s memoir, Finding Me, and it’s been sitting heavy on my mind. She vividly describes how being both Black and poor isn’t just a struggle—it’s a one-two punch that shaped every aspect of her life. It’s not just about lacking resources; it’s about being trapped in a system that was never designed to let you win.
That message keeps hitting me because I’ve …
One of my friends from school studied with me in 9th grade. She was exceptionally pretty, the kind of beauty that stood out. She was the only daughter and had a younger brother. She got married at a relatively young age and had one son. After her marriage, she moved to another city. She lived in a joint family and had many responsibilities, managing a lot of issues on her …
Current studies identify the negative impacts of failing to diagnose and treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), which contributes to well-described impairment, morbidity, and mortality. Timely diagnosis, acceptance, and treatment do, in fact, improve outcomes. Benefits include a decrease in negative impacts on self-esteem, depression and other mood disorders, substance use disorders, suicidality, motor vehicle crashes, and criminality. These consequences result from easy distractibility and impulsiveness, which can be damaging …
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Child psychiatrist and entrepreneur Marissa Caudill discusses her article, “How a customer relationship management tool (CRM) can help physicians regain control and beat burnout.” She argues that a significant driver of physician …
I’m a family medicine-trained doctor working in a rural ER. I drive 90 minutes to get there, and I do it because if I don’t, no one will. The county I serve has seen its nearest hospital close. The OB unit is long gone. Specialist referrals are hit or miss. And the patients? They’re sick. Sicker than they should be. Because when access to health care disappears, what follows is …
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Verdicts in excess of $10 million, or even $25 million, are no longer rare occurrences in medical malpractice litigation. Though most of these awards are handed down by empathetic juries concerned for an injured plaintiff, 40 percent of the award or more may go to pay attorney fees and other investors in the lawsuit. Third-party litigation funding (TPLF), …
Childhood obesity is not just about kids outgrowing their clothes faster than their parents can buy them— it’s a growing public health crisis. If we don’t step in now, the next generation might need bigger coats and even bigger health care budgets. Today, approximately one in five children and adolescents in the U.S. have obesity. The annual medical expenses related to childhood obesity in the U.S. is estimated …
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Physician assistant David Olson discusses his article, “Taking a break from medicine: a journey to rediscover joy and purpose.” He describes feeling trapped in an unhealthy, borderline abusive relationship with medicine, citing …
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In a clinic in India, I once watched a young mother wait for hours to be seen, clutching her child and a paper folder filled with years of handwritten notes. There was no digital health record, no streamlined triage system—just patience, resilience, and the unspoken expectation that care would eventually come.
That moment has stayed with me—not because it was unique, but because it was far too common. It reminded me …
Since my training days in the Combined Internal Medicine and Pediatrics Residency at Ohio State University Medical Center and Columbus Children’s Hospital (1996–2000), to my days in private practice (2000–2008), to my days practicing as a hospitalist physician (2008–present), I’ve had the great fortune of working with, collaborating with, learning from, and befriending many nurses who roam this Earth and, especially, my surrounding community. With those thoughts in mind, I …
An excerpt from Narrative Medicine: New and Selected Essays.
One of my adult daughters recently reminded me of a cherished memory. When she was about four years old, we spent a few hours together at a small, independently owned bookstore. I selected books straight off the shelves and read to her, and later we joined a circle of children and parents to …
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Poisoned puppies, rats on cocaine, transgender mice: these might sound like the beginning of a bizarre joke, but they’re at the center of growing political attacks on medical and scientific research. Senator Ted Cruz calls it the “woke nonsense” of the Biden administration’s “far-left ideology,” and Donald Trump has amplified the message, using a primetime congressional address to claim researchers are attempting to turn mice transgender. In a House committee …
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