Elizabeth Rubin Ribak is an emergency medicine physician.

A physician’s running list of microaffirmations

Physician
January 30, 2022

Microaffirmations are the antidote to microaggressions. Microaggressions are the little insidious comments or acts of barely perceptible injustice and bias that bite and nip and slowly erode our confidence in our belonging, worth, and power. As I continued the medical training journey, I continually searched for the antidote. Mere protection against the daily barbs and arrows was not enough. I needed more than protection- I needed an offensive strategy as …

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A physician’s running list of microaffirmations

There is always that one patient

Physician
December 2, 2019

There is always that one patient. The one with the over-attentive, aggressive family member, who writes a complaint. The one you tried to help, but no matter what, the wait was too long, the nurse too unfriendly, you didn’t sit enough, you didn’t reassure enough, pain meds took too long, you didn’t make them feel important. That one patient who has the time, negative energy, and physical health to write …

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There is always that one patient

To my mentor: Thank you. I didn’t know how much I needed you.

Physician
January 23, 2019

I never really had a true mentor. Or role model. I wasn’t sure if they were the same thing, or what the difference was, so I gave up. Sometime in middle school, I remember a teacher encouraging us to find someone we looked up to and develop a mentor relationship. I was 12, looked at my teachers who I thought were old, and ignored that advice.

In high school, I thought …

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To my mentor: Thank you. I didn’t know how much I needed you.

What my dog taught me about my patients’ feelings

Physician
December 14, 2018

My puppy looked sick. Not just any sick but “get an attending, two large bore IVs, start fluids, get her on a monitor, move her to the resuscitation bay” sick. And I was scared. “You have to take her to the vet!” I pleaded with my husband as I sprinted down the street to get home to get the keys to the car.

As I sat at home waiting for updates …

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What my dog taught me about my patients’ feelings