Post Author: Sarah Poggi, MD

Stop bashing the VA: The culture of respect at our VA

Physician
January 31, 2017

Bashing the Veterans Administration (VA) health care system has become a familiar pursuit following the 2014 expose regarding concealed wait times and concerns for substandard care.  In the aftermath of the ensuing national scandal, Congress passed reformative legislation, and President Obama appointed Robert McDonald Secretary of the VA. A 2016 report from the Harvard Business School indicates that the Secretary has “made impressive progress over the past year.” Numerous veterans …

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Embracing the sick role and not so sick: Ann Romney and multiple sclerosis

Conditions
November 13, 2015

In her new book In This Together: My Story, the former First Lady of Massachusetts, Ann Romney, describes receiving in her mid-40s a diagnosis of multiple sclerosis (MS). She offers vignettes of a “life upended”: her abandonment of therapeutic swimming because it made her hair “look bad” and the need to revise plans for her Park City home to include an elevator.

In her case, MS is invisible, characterized by fatigue, …

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Marissa Mayer sends a mixed message to working women with high-risk pregnancies

Conditions
October 8, 2015

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Marissa Mayer, the CEO of Yahoo, recently announced that at age forty she is pregnant with identical twins.

Much of the current media attention has focused on how Ms. Mayer will run a $35 billion multinational technology company and care for three young children.  Such concern makes a major assumption: that she will deliver two healthy babies at full term.  From my perspective as a specialist who cares for …

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The Elizabeth Sedway case: In defense of Alaska Airlines

Physician
April 24, 2015

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Elizabeth Sedway, a 51-year-old undergoing treatment for multiple myeloma, was outraged to be removed from a Hawaii-San Jose flight due to concerns about her health.  Wearing a mask to prevent infection as her immune system was compromised from chemotherapy, she requested handicapped seating and told an airline employee she felt “weak.”  The employee consulted with an airline doctor who was concerned …

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