Christine King, CRNA

Christine King is a certified registered nurse anesthetist (CRNA) with 20 years of experience in a field that demands precision, empathy, and a deep understanding of health care. Her clinical background informs a holistic perspective she brings to life's challenges, whether in the operating room or in everyday life.

Now focused on writing, she draws on two decades of practice to explore the human side of medicine. Her work has appeared on KevinMD, and she writes at The Best Third and on Medium. She shares updates on LinkedIn.

The Pennsylvania measles outbreak and the cost of forgetting

Conditions and Diseases
September 17, 2026

On Saturday, August 29, 2026, a headline in my local paper caught my eye. There were 460 confirmed measles cases in Pennsylvania as of Friday, August 28, according to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. As of Wednesday, September 16, there are 731 cases in 38 of Pennsylvania’s 67 counties, and over 120 hospitalizations.

A brief search of the CDC website shows that since 1991, the number of measles cases nationwide has been in …

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The Pennsylvania measles outbreak and the cost of forgetting

The mass shooting aftermath health care workers rarely name

Health Policy
August 13, 2026

As mass shootings become more and more common around the country, communities are having to face the aftermath of these horrific events at an ever-increasing rate. Hospital-based health care workers are often faced with treating patients in what is known as a mass casualty event, which we train for, but hope to never see. In the last eight years, I have worked in two separate communities and witnessed mass shooting …

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The mass shooting aftermath health care workers rarely name

Why I left health care after almost 20 years

Conditions and Diseases
July 9, 2026

When people ask me why I left health care, I tell them it was for personal reasons. I tell them that it was to support my daughter and her family. That was one reason, but there are others.

Back when I was a RN I shadowed a CRNA at the hospital where I worked. I spent the day with other CRNAs and students and I had the opportunity to observe and …

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Why I left health care after almost 20 years

The assumptions in medicine that put patients at risk

Conditions and Diseases
June 12, 2026

We all make assumptions based on beliefs that may or may not be true. We all have made the mistake of judging books by their cover and been wrong. Making assumptions is not always intentional or inherently bad. Our human brain uses these mental shortcuts to classify things in this large, ever-changing world we live in. We learn very early to classify things by color and shape, and this system …

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The assumptions in medicine that put patients at risk

The heartbreaking pandemic story I will never forget

Conditions and Diseases
April 22, 2025

The COVID-19 pandemic hit the world five years ago, and the world seems to be contemplating that history lately. Numerous articles reflect on that time now that we are passing that first major milestone. In many ways, we are still struggling with the fallout and will be for the foreseeable future.

In mid-2021, things started returning to “normal” in the health care setting. The absolute jubilation of having a vaccine available …

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The heartbreaking pandemic story I will never forget

How abortion laws turned our family vacation into a life-or-death dilemma

Conditions and Diseases
November 5, 2024

This past summer, we planned a family vacation with our two adult daughters and their significant others to the Outer Banks of North Carolina. The trip was scheduled for July 6. After we planned our vacation, our older daughter announced her pregnancy, and to our surprise and delight, she was expecting twins! She consulted with her OB/GYN and was permitted to go on the trip under the condition that she …

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How abortion laws turned our family vacation into a life-or-death dilemma

COVID-19 and the cruel death of my mother

Conditions and Diseases
December 8, 2020

I am very happy to hear that the CDC decided to prioritize health care workers and long-term care residents to be the first to receive the vaccine for the COVID-19 vaccine.  It is very personal to me as a health care worker and a daughter.

My mom was admitted to an assisted living/personal care home as the lockdown was hitting this past March.

Her health had been declining since September of 2019 …

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COVID-19 and the cruel death of my mother