I was busy running around the ER on a particularly busy shift when my phone buzzed, and a text message from Jane’s ex-boyfriend David popped up on the screen. I was surprised since I had not talked to him in over three years; therefore, I ignored it until I had a moment to myself an hour later and finally opened the message.
The first line of his message got straight to …
My first physician colleague who died by suicide
Being a specialist in infectious diseases right now is an interesting experience. Added to the usual challenges of our everyday practice — caring for people receiving transplants or chemotherapy, those with HIV, surgical infections, tropical diseases, and others — we now must manage a deluge of coronavirus-related questions from friends, family, and colleagues.
Here are a few recent examples in bold, along with my responses.
Frequently asked questions
My baby …
An infectious disease doctor answers your COVID-19 and coronavirus questions
“Are you my doctor?” Mary* asked me, as I, a resident physician, approached her bed.
“Yes, I am one of the primary medical doctors taking care of you here,” I confirmed with my standard, pre-scripted introduction — with little appreciation of the implications of these words.
Mary was a 30-something-year-old woman who transferred to our hospital due to worsening alcohol-related liver disease. She had struggled with anxiety and depression since her teenage …
6 months of probation: Taking care of someone with alcohol-related liver disease
Corpses.
A sea of corpses.
The smell of death was unmistakable. Its pungent odor snaked around corridors and made its way to the basement, where we stood in line to go up to the anatomy lab for the first time. My heart was racing. All along the walls were jars of human remains—brains, fetuses, organs. As we made our way through the anatomy library and finally came up to the second floor, …
The physician and the sacred art of medicine
Is it time to rethink how we determine the capacity of our patients who are addicted to drugs? I recently began debating this question after I took care of a young woman with endocarditis. She had a long history of IV drug abuse that had led to the development of endocarditis. She had been admitted one week earlier and was being prepared for surgery, but she left against medical advice …
Do patients addicted to drugs truly have capacity?
I work as the medical director for a non-profit agency that serves people who are currently or formerly homeless. I am trained as a psychiatrist and have previously worked in local government. I live in the county in Washington State, where people have died from COVID-19.
Here are my recommendations for other physician leaders in other regions, particularly those who work in outpatient, non-profit settings. I hope this information can help …
A doctor’s COVID-19 advice to physician leaders
I’m here today to let you in on a little secret. It’s not something that I’m particularly proud of, and it’s work that I’m always trying to improve upon. But it’s true. And today you’re about to find out something I’m desperately trying to hide.
So here it is. Yes, I’m a doctor. And yes, I’d like to think that I’m pretty good at my job. But you know what? There …
Doctors: It’s OK to sometimes suck
Seattle is at risk for explosive coronavirus growth
An excerpt from The Invention of Surgery: A History of Modern Medicine: From the Renaissance to the Implant Revolution.
Johns Hopkins University was unlike anything ever built. Armed with an enormous endowment from a wealthy industrialist, the hospital (and its associated medical school) would be patterned after …
Surgery is nothing short of a stupendous magic act
We watched as the new viral outbreak happened in a remote place in China, wondering if this would be a quick flameout or if Mother Nature would again exert her majesty on us mortals.
My associate, Madilyn, and I watched with more interest, knowing that her sister was in South Korea teaching English. She was due to return in late February, …
A physician’s chilling COVID-19 diagnostic journey
The spread of the new coronavirus, which has infected over 80,000 people worldwide and resulted in the death of more than 3,000, has raised alarms around the world.
At the same time, the seasonal influenza, known as the flu, causes severe illness in between 3 million and 5 million people, with hundreds of thousands of deaths every year worldwide.
With …
More worried about the coronavirus than the seasonal flu? Here’s why you should be.
An outbreak of coronavirus disease in a nursing home near Seattle is prompting urgent calls for precautionary tactics at America’s elder care facilities, where residents are at heightened risk of serious complications from the illness because of the dual threat of age and close living conditions.
As of Monday afternoon, the emergence of the novel contagious illness at the Life Care Center of Kirkland, Washington, had left four residents dead and …
The alarming risk of COVID-19 in nursing homes
It has been nearly three months since the first cases of a new coronavirus pneumonia appeared in Wuhan, China, and it is now a global outbreak. And yet, despite nearly 90,000 infections worldwide (most of them in China), the world still doesn’t have a clear picture of some basic information about this outbreak.
In recent weeks, a smattering of scientific papers and government statements have begun to sketch the …
How many people have coronavirus? We don’t really know.
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Recently the Wall Street Journal reported on how many young people are now seeking “accommodations” at work for their anxiety, PTSD, depression, and other mental conditions.
The article provoked a lively discussion split largely on age lines. While older people accuse Gen Z members of being “emotional hemophiliacs,” Gen Z members often say they have real, palpable “mental illnesses” and need extra time to complete their …
Why does Generation Z require so many workplace accommodations?
An excerpt from Tough Decisions In Care Of Elderly Loved Ones (A guide for caregivers).
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 …
Empathy is a crucial component when working with older adults
As a child, when I first read The Little Prince and saw the picture of the boa constrictor swallowing an elephant, I would often ponder what it felt like to be the elephant. Later in seventh-grade science class, when I learned of amoebae and how they surround and digest neighboring life forms for their sustenance, the same wonder followed. Enlightenment to what it feels like to be subsumed came to …
When physician leaders get acquired and squeezed
Recently, Congressman Jimmy Gomez, D-California, questioned HHS Secretary Alex Azar about improper preparation of health care workers before and during their interactions with Americans repatriated from Wuhan, China. A whistleblower reported to the California congressman that while assisting evacuees housed at Travis Air Force Base, federal health employees were not given personal protective equipment or briefed on protocols to avoid exposure and spread of the novel virus COVID-19.
More shocking than …
During the coronarvirus outbreak: A failure to recognize physicians’ worth
I work for a hospital network with the world’s slowest computers. I timed it: Last shift, it took me fifteen minutes to log on. The first computer obtained didn’t function at all. It had been worked on the day before by information technology services (IT).
Efficiency and time management appear to be amongst top priorities in medicine. “Did they get their aspirin 24 hours after getting their clot-busting drug after cleared …
IT deficits are eating hospital profits. CEOs need to wake up.
Last week, Lais and Yuri, our five-year-old twins, were volunteers at the school of medicine, for students to learn how to examine children.
Full disclosure: Volunteers do get a gift card. Therefore, I asked them if they wanted to “work and get some money,” and I also told them what they would have to do during that afternoon. They both said yes, and they were truly excited about the opportunity.
When I saw …
How 5-year-olds brought out the joy of learning in medical students
An excerpt from The Physician Inventor: The Doctor’s Handbook to Patenting Medical Devices and Methods.
“I love my employees, even though I hit one of you with my car.”
– Michael Scott
When you are offered a position at a hospital or practice group, you will typically negotiate a …
Intellectual property provisions in physician employment agreements
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