Nina Shapiro, MD
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Latest articles
Conditions and diseases
U.S. COVID deaths have surpassed U.S. war deaths from World War II, Vietnam, and Korea. The unvaccinated are a fifth column that has ushered in a wave of nasty COVID variant infections in the United States, with their attendant deaths,…
U.S. COVID deaths have surpassed U.S. war deaths from World War II, Vietnam, and Korea. The unvaccinated are a fifth column that has ushered in a wave of nasty COVID variant infections in the United States, with their attendant deaths, costs, and disruptions to society. We need to stop debating the tone in which we address the unvaccinated and label their sabotage for what it is. We need to start …
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The fifth column brings a fifth wave
Conditions and diseases
As the challenges to get an appointment for a COVID-19 vaccine get harder and not easier, and as the pressure for schools to open their doors for in-person learning, as long as teachers will get vaccinated, rises, the question remains:…
As the challenges to get an appointment for a COVID-19 vaccine get harder and not easier, and as the pressure for schools to open their doors for in-person learning, as long as teachers will get vaccinated, rises, the question remains: What about those who choose not to?
In the midst of so many individuals clamoring to get vaccinated, there remain many who will not get vaccinated. Not this week, not next …
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How do we treat the unvaccinated? And how can they treat us?
Physician voices
During these early weeks of COVID-19 vaccine distribution, the response across the country has been, well, odd. Unlike any other vaccine that’s been administered, the reactions to this one have ranged from elation to envy to fear to anger. On…
During these early weeks of COVID-19 vaccine distribution, the response across the country has been, well, odd. Unlike any other vaccine that’s been administered, the reactions to this one have ranged from elation to envy to fear to anger.
On December 14, 2020, Sandra Lindsey, a nurse in a hospital in Queens, New York, was the first American to receive the vaccine. At least for a day or two, she became …
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COVID vaccine battles are as strange as the disease
Conditions and diseases
My husband and I have always relished being in the thick of it, "in the trenches," we would say, at our hospital. He is a head and neck cancer surgeon, and I am a pediatric otolaryngologist (ear, nose, and throat…
My husband and I have always relished being in the thick of it, “in the trenches,” we would say, at our hospital. He is a head and neck cancer surgeon, and I am a pediatric otolaryngologist (ear, nose, and throat specialist for children). Working at an academic tertiary/quaternary care center in a major city, with over five decades of experience combined under our belts, we feel as though we’ve nearly …
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Every time you congregate with someone from outside of your home, you are potentially responsible for deaths
Conditions and diseases
The current pandemic of COVID-19 has already brought out the best and the worst in people all over the world. These dark days have also brought out some deep-seeded feelings of fear, anger, selfishness, and, thankfully, selflessness. As a surgeon…
The current pandemic of COVID-19 has already brought out the best and the worst in people all over the world. These dark days have also brought out some deep-seeded feelings of fear, anger, selfishness, and, thankfully, selflessness. As a surgeon in a busy tertiary care center, and as a human living in tony Los Angeles, I see the best and the worst in humanity in a matter of minutes each …
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The inspiring concern and connection between health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic
Physician voices
A recent excellent piece by Dr. Karen Sibert, an experienced anesthesiologist at my institution, raised some critical issues regarding how physicians are thought of by non-physicians, and how misguided that thought process is. Indeed, our stress levels associated with the…
A recent excellent piece by Dr. Karen Sibert, an experienced anesthesiologist at my institution, raised some critical issues regarding how physicians are thought of by non-physicians, and how misguided that thought process is. Indeed, our stress levels associated with the moves we make and the decisions we contemplate, some of which are made and done in milliseconds, do not come with a price tag, but do …
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There is no such thing as medical swag
Physician voices
Now more than ever, it seems that medicine, politics, social justice, and societal mores have become intertwined. There are so many "lanes" that the 405 to the 10 freeway splits seem like country roads in comparison. Perhaps we have social…
Now more than ever, it seems that medicine, politics, social justice, and societal mores have become intertwined. There are so many “lanes” that the 405 to the 10 freeway splits seem like country roads in comparison. Perhaps we have social media to thank for this multitude of lanes. Or maybe it’s to blame.
When doctors were publicly berated (on social media, primarily) soon after we became outspoken about the issue of …
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Should physicians stay in their lane on abortion?
Physician voices
I've thought long and hard about writing this, so here goes: I am a female surgical subspecialist. I trained at a Harvard program back in the 1990s, and was one of a handful of women to have completed residency training…
I’ve thought long and hard about writing this, so here goes: I am a female surgical subspecialist. I trained at a Harvard program back in the 1990s, and was one of a handful of women to have completed residency training at a stodgy 125-year-old program. The eighth, to be exact. During that time, I was treated as an inferior, sexually abused verbally, routinely given the bottom of the barrel when …
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Not me: the story of a female surgical subspecialist
Physician voices
Americans believe in experts. We look to CPAs to complete our tax returns, lawyers to handle our disputes, plumbers to fix our pipes. So it baffles me that an astounding number of us turn to movie stars and other celebrities…
Americans believe in experts. We look to CPAs to complete our tax returns, lawyers to handle our disputes, plumbers to fix our pipes. So it baffles me that an astounding number of us turn to movie stars and other celebrities for health advice.
Take a recent article in Parents magazine: “Where 13 Celebrity Parents Stand …
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Why do patients turn to celebrities for health advice?
Physician voices
Having been surgically trained and surgically-minded, I've had expression ingrained in my psyche such as "a chance to cut is a chance to cure," "when in doubt, cut it out" and "nothing can heal like cold, hard steel." Indeed, as…
Having been surgically trained and surgically-minded, I’ve had expression ingrained in my psyche such as “a chance to cut is a chance to cure,” “when in doubt, cut it out” and “nothing can heal like cold, hard steel.” Indeed, as a surgeon, I see patients in my office and in the hospital with the specific question of whether or not surgery is indicated, what type of surgery and how urgently …
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Sometimes not doing surgery makes you a better surgeon
Physician voices
On January 21, 2017, the day after the 45th President of the United States was inaugurated, hundreds of thousands of women and men marched in thousands of cities across this country and others to stand up for rights of women,…
On January 21, 2017, the day after the 45th President of the United States was inaugurated, hundreds of thousands of women and men marched in thousands of cities across this country and others to stand up for rights of women, men, and countless groups that have been ostracized or are at risk for losing rights, representation, or critical funding. I watched my Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram feeds throughout the day. …
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I march for my daughter and son everyday
Physician voices
The other day, I was operating on a little girl with a congenital ear abnormality. Not life and death stuff, but delicate surgery nonetheless. My surgical scrub technician was someone with whom I hadn't worked before, and I asked him…
The other day, I was operating on a little girl with a congenital ear abnormality. Not life and death stuff, but delicate surgery nonetheless. My surgical scrub technician was someone with whom I hadn’t worked before, and I asked him if he was enrolled in the operating room nurse training program, as many of the new folks are.
“No, I’m just a tech.”
I stopped what I was doing and replied: “You …
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Not just a tech: Everyone’s important in the OR
Conditions and diseases
Recently, new dietary guidelines were released, recommending reducing sugar intake overall, and reducing meat intake in growing boys. Last year, as we remain in the throes of a nationwide obesity epidemic, the FDA changed the nutritional labels we’ve become all-too-familiar…
Recently, new dietary guidelines were released, recommending reducing sugar intake overall, and reducing meat intake in growing boys. Last year, as we remain in the throes of a nationwide obesity epidemic, the FDA changed the nutritional labels we’ve become all-too-familiar with. The emphasis is now on calorie count of an “appropriate” serving size. So much for my pretending that the “appropriately served” pint of ice cream I just downed had 350 …
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Childhood aspiration on food is a public health issue
Physician voices
In September 2010, a seasoned pediatric intensive care unit nurse administered an accidental overdose to a critically ill baby, giving ten times the amount of calcium that was prescribed. Five days later, this baby, with an already tenuous heart condition,…
In September 2010, a seasoned pediatric intensive care unit nurse administered an accidental overdose to a critically ill baby, giving ten times the amount of calcium that was prescribed. Five days later, this baby, with an already tenuous heart condition, died. The nurse recognized her mistake immediately, informed her superior, and also told the family and physicians. She was, however, escorted out of the hospital, put on administrative leave, and …
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Doctors and nurses need better support when they make errors
Drugs and prescribing
The other day, the mother of a nine-week-old baby girl called my office in a panic. Her daughter was having terrible breathing trouble, with coughing and wheezing. She asked to been seen that day, and of course I said yes.…
The other day, the mother of a nine-week-old baby girl called my office in a panic. Her daughter was having terrible breathing trouble, with coughing and wheezing. She asked to been seen that day, and of course I said yes. I asked mom how the baby had been doing overall, and she said that she’d had some noisy breathing as a newborn, but all was well until the past few …
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Others can be harmed when patients lie
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