Ton La, Jr. is a physician and can be reached on LinkedIn.
My first patient of residency was Mr. John. He endured life-threatening injuries that left him without speech or the ability to move his limbs. Every day had obstacles, and I met most of his family over time. Mr. John was a family man who looked after others first before himself. A self-made man. He was a man who was physically strong and dedicated to every project and goal he set …
With medical school graduation on the horizon, I wanted to share my pearls for success for any clinical rotation.
1. Integrate yourself into your team and be engaged in all patient care.
2. Ask questions and be motivated to learn.
3. Follow up on patients without being asked.
4. Be the “extra” pair of hands to help the team.
5. Be proactive in picking up new patients.
6. Come up with solid differentials and plans before …
Let’s take a pediatrics patient as an example. She has a rare genetic disorder, heart problems, is G-tube dependent, and home-bound. The child is also on countless medications and requires 24-hour nursing. The family is rich and pays 100 percent of the child’s medical care.
Parents want what’s best for their children, right? I mean, their child’s care is 100 percent …
Below is a story a patient shared with me about how he went from being against mask-wearing to wearing one every day.
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Last year, my mom died from stage 4 lung cancer. Before she passed, she received her transplant at this hospital, but it was too late for her.
Now, I am fighting cancer. Lymphoma. Stage 2 verging on Stage 3.
Before my diagnosis last summer, I never wore a mask. I walked …
“When will I go home?” asked the patient.
“Hopefully, by the end of the week, if everything goes well,” said the doctor.
“What do you mean by ‘if’?”
Uncertainty. It’s the one thing that is common among all hospital patients.
When is my discharge date?
How is my diagnosis affected by the other things I have going on?
How in the world will I pay my medical bills?
Why am I taking this many medications? What do …
According to the WHO, 10 to 20 percent of COVID-19 patients experience lingering symptoms for several months following infection. What we know as long COVID is now termed post-COVID condition as of October 6. Post COVID-19 condition occurs in individuals with a history of probable or confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection, usually three months from the onset of COVID-19, with symptoms that last for at least two months and cannot be …
If you’ve ever been in a serious accident or traumatic event leaving you with one or multiple injuries, you’ve probably met the rehab doctors a few times. Physical medicine and rehabilitation (PM&R, also called physiatry) is a branch of medicine geared towards helping people heal and adapt to new circumstances after their diagnosis using medications and rehab.
Here, I want to share three ways a physiatrist can be your advocate after …
Medicine is very much like driving. As an emergency physician, when you see a patient, you ask the same questions, “What brought you in today? What’s bothering you?” and go through the normal flow of the history and physical. You order the same labs and imaging reflexively. When you’re driving to a location that you’ve been to many times before, when you get into your car again and turn the …
I was an ICU nurse for 17 years, and it was during my last two years of my career when I was diagnosed with lung cancer.
Going into and out of the hospital for my chemo sessions. Going into and out of the clinic for my follow-up appointments with my oncologist was the most harrowing times of my life.
At this moment, I realized that my own health insurance refused to pay …
Three years ago, I met Dr. Boyce Fish*, the ER physician revived after suicide. I also met Rachel Dawson, wife of Dr. Chris Dawson who killed himself and his two children.
We all sat in red ballroom chairs in a room with nothing in it, but it felt full. All the lights were dim, and I was privy to the darkest innermost thoughts …
Coronavirus. Doctors. Nurses. PPE. Social distancing.
Sound familiar? Our entire conversation about the COVID-19 pandemic surrounds those words and phrases. We see celebrities, companies, coworkers, family members, and friends donating PPE and money to organizations and local hospitals, trying to do some good. No one wants our front-line health care workers to get sick. If that happens, the public will be at even greater risk.
For the past several weeks, all that …
The hurricane made landfall during the early morning hours. When I woke up, all I saw was devastation. Highway 288 transformed into a lake. The bayou running underneath was completely flooded with water spilling into the roads. The park, a place where I find solace in every day, was unrecognizable. People had abandoned their vehicles. I could see them all submerged. The garage floor was underwater, and the roads that …
I was in medical school when the world saw the news of the Zika and Ebola viruses, but never have I seen mass hysteria to this level for COVID-19. No longer is coronavirus what is depicted in a copy of First Aid for the USMLE Step 1, where it says coronavirus is a cause for the common cold. Intense coverage of the virus has been sensationalized to the point where …
Michael Jordan. Kobe Bryant. Yao Ming. These are the biggest names in the basketball world, and all three were my superheroes growing up. Even though I’d never had the chance to meet them, to see how they carried themselves on and off the court-inspired me to push myself, to find out what my limits were physically and mentally, and to constantly create new goals for myself after accomplishing what I …
ICE is requesting bids for 45,000 N95 masks
Why is ICE soliciting for masks when our frontline health care workers need them? There is no social distancing during detention and deportation, and what ICE is doing puts the public at risk. We should immediately suspend detention and deportation for the time being!
Health care workers forcing to take PTO to self-quarantine
When PPE (personal protective equipment, e.g., face masks and gowns) are in …
As I saw the fellow purposely manipulate her fractured ankle, I knew I was wrong in not stopping him.
Three hours earlier, Mr. Sanchez*, a past boxer, and soccer player, came in with a broken pinky. He was moving from Atlanta to Houston, and in the process of moving boxes, a rock smashed his finger against something. Odd story, but he was the nicest patient I ever talked to up to …
“Are you serious! What are you doing to my son! How can you have him tied to the bed like this!”
Michael’s* mother was irate and yelling at my resident as I stood at the back of the room. Michael had HIV/AIDS with a CD4 count of 20. Hours before, he had bit his mom on the hand, leaving visible bite marks. As his mom continued to scold my resident, my …
As a rising fourth-year med student, these are my words of wisdom for all students who are on their clinical rotations.
Your mental health is paramount; do not neglect how you are feeling!
There is not one med student that I know of who hasn’t felt anxiety, paranoia, or depression. Some of your peers may even be diagnosed with psychiatric disorders and take medications. And that is OK! As a mentor of …
I am frequently asked: “Why are you pursuing a dual MD/JD?” Neither profession is a family business; no one in my family is a doctor or a lawyer — but I’ve always dreamt big. I always wanted to get the most possible out of my education. Beginning in elementary school, I knew I wanted to be a doctor, but it was not until college that I …
Every day, 100 Americans are killed with guns. Forty-four percent of American adults report knowing someone who has been shot.
As a society, we have come to accept gun violence as commonplace and not something to take immediate action on. We hear about a new mass shooting on the television, on social media, on the radio or from a friend. We shake our heads in disbelief, ponder on how this is …
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