Anupama Verma is a nephrologist and can be reached on Twitter @anuvmd.

#ThisIsOurShot to end the pandemic

Conditions and Diseases
January 2, 2021

If 2020 was the year of the coronavirus pandemic, 2021 has got to be the year of vaccinations. The miracle of modern science, generous funding, and expedited research have led to us having at least three available vaccines to fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. Pfizer/ BioNtech, Moderna, and most recently, AstraZeneca have produced vaccines that are up to 94 to 95 percent effective at preventing SARS-CoV-2 virus infections or reducing …

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#ThisIsOurShot to end the pandemic

The 5 “P’s” of a pandemic

Conditions and Diseases
November 21, 2020

Math was never my favorite subject. However, I was lucky to have good teachers who took the time to help me navigate through high school math and graduate with a final A grade. As I struggled with numbers and equations, calculus and fractions, I was told by one particular teacher to remember the five Ps of math: pen, pencil, paper, patience, and practice.

As of writing this, more than 11 million …

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The 5 “P’s” of a pandemic

Are Americans really the worst patients?

Physician
November 22, 2019

A recent article was published in the Atlantic about Americans being the worst patients.

Americans are part of a broken and dysfunctional health care system with exorbitant costs, a maelstrom of bureaucratic red tape, and insurance coverage that barely covers what most people need.

But are they contributing to this system by being such bad patients?

The article in the Atlantic seems to imply that this is the case. The …

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Are Americans really the worst patients?

Medicine is a calling and being on call is medicine

Physician
October 26, 2018

Late one Friday night while walking the long and lonely hallways of my hospital, my mind wandered back several years. I recalled my first weekend call as an eager, newly minted nephrology attending. I had met one of my colleagues earlier that morning in the doctors’ lounge, whereupon I had been handed a clunky, black weekend pager. “Welcome to being on call every fourth weekend for the rest of your …

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Medicine is a calling and being on call is medicine