COVID-19 pandemic

COVID-19 highlights chronic oppressive job conditions [PODCAST]

December 2, 2020Dec 2, 2020

"In medicine, the guise of 'professionalism' is an example of how an oppressive system has led us to believe that we ought not to advocate for our rights. It would be 'unprofessional' to organize for a better health care system…

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“In medicine, the guise of ‘professionalism’ is an example of how an oppressive system has led us to believe that we ought not to advocate for our rights. It would be ‘unprofessional’ to organize for a better health care system for both patients and workers. To work towards personal liberation, Boal calls for a transformational process to bypass the censorship of …

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The coronavirus football double standard

Barbara Lazio, MD

December 2, 2020Dec 2, 20202

It is Thanksgiving and, while many are counting their blessings, others are mourning the loss of family time, routine, turkey, big family gatherings, and football. The Baltimore Ravens had to cancel their game today because of too many positive COVID-19 tests. My logical question as a surgeon was, “So I guess they reschedule for 14 days when they all come off quarantine and isolation?” My daughter, a college student, is …

Be grateful this holiday season

Christine Lau, MD

November 30, 2020Nov 30, 2020

The holiday season is when we would normally be celebrating with family and friends, all coming together to eat way too much food and watch loved ones open gifts. The reality is COVID-19 has caused us to alter our holiday plans, and this year’s holiday season may look quite a bit different. That being said, perhaps this is the year to appreciate the true meaning of the holidays – to …

Be grateful this holiday season

Heartland parenting complicated by COVID

Sarah Averill, MD

November 30, 2020Nov 30, 20205

Shimmying in his blinding white high-top Converse, the latest addition to his increasingly fashion-conscious wardrobe, Calvin, my 17-year-old son, bursts out, “I’m a good boy! I’m a good boy! I’m a good boy!” Puzzled by this uncharacteristic child-like repetition, I…

“What’s so hard?” I ask, wondering what temptation he’s averted this time and perhaps …

Empty chairs at the table this holiday season

Anjani Amladi, MD

November 29, 2020Nov 29, 2020

There’s nothing like the holidays and a new year around the corner to remind us that 2020 is almost over. This year let’s try to take nothing for granted. Especially since millions of Americans will soon sit down to a holiday meal with one or more loved ones missing. Those empty chairs are a reminder of what we have endured this year. Whether it be loved ones who are sick, …

Allan Grill, MD & Jerome A. Leis

What you need to know about cold and flu season in the time of COVID-19

November 29, 2020Nov 29, 2020

The cold and flu season looks very different this year with the COVID-19 pandemic. When a person has a fever, sore throat, aches, and chills, they need to consider when to self isolate, when to be tested for COVID-19, when…

Is it a common cold, the flu, a bacterial infection, or the novel coronavirus (COVID-19)?

In a recent article in the British …

A society that values evidence is more resilient in the face of health crises

Anca Matei, MD

November 28, 2020Nov 28, 20204

In a world of unprecedented access to information and incredible connectedness, everyone is an expert. Public health has been one of the many victims of this phenomenon, yet it is the single most important strategy for managing the global crisis…

The problem with public health is that it is not particularly likable. That has not always been so. Public health used to be really sexy. As the germ …

I am a critical care physician. These are the patients in the ICU.

Rizwana Khan, MD

November 27, 2020Nov 27, 2020

I am a critical care physician. I am at the frontlines of this pandemic, in a state of "war" against an unseen enemy that has brought unimaginable destruction in its path. I arrive at work at 7 a.m. for my…

I am a critical care physician. I am at the frontlines of this pandemic, in a state of “war” against an unseen enemy that has brought unimaginable destruction in its path.

I arrive at work at 7 a.m. for my shift. I am in a state of hypervigilance. It is a chilly fall day, but in my hospital issue scrubs, I feel warm. I am ready for what is to come.

I …

A physician waits in uncertainty

Ni-Cheng Liang, MD

November 27, 2020Nov 27, 2020

It started with diarrhea. Then fever before the patient sought care. The infiltrates were impressive. A dry cough with paroxysms that were sometimes uncontrollable. The rapid test came back negative, as did the send out PCR. The patient returned from international travel two days before admission. My index of suspicion was extremely high. Yes, please keep the patient on enhanced respiratory droplet precautions because her viral load in the nasopharynx …

A physician waits in uncertainty

COVID-19 is a war on two fronts [PODCAST]

November 26, 2020Nov 26, 2020

"I’m exhausted. As the pandemic rages on, the mental toll of dealing with COVID-19 has started to wear on me. As a practicing hospitalist in the Midwest impacted by one of the many hotspots caused by the meatpacking industry, I…

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“I’m exhausted. As the pandemic rages on, the mental toll of dealing with COVID-19 has started to wear on me. As a practicing hospitalist in the Midwest impacted by one of the many hotspots caused by the meatpacking industry, I have spent a fair bit of time with this virus on the frontline. Some aspects of practicing medicine in a pandemic …

Richard E. Anderson, MD & The Doctors Company

Life in the emergency department during COVID: a rural physician’s perspective

Andrew Tisser, DO

November 26, 2020Nov 26, 20202

“Do you think we should prepare a will?” I vividly remember saying these words to my wife, also a physician, as we drastically saw COVID cases rise in early March 2020. Just months ago, we heard about the novel coronavirus now known as SARS-CoV-2 but did not grasp the world-changing consequences it would have. Living in Western New York, we were not immediately hit with a surge of cases like …

Health technology

Artificial intelligence, COVID-19, and the future of pandemics

November 26, 2020Nov 26, 2020

Artificial intelligence (AI) has proven of value in the COVID-19 pandemic and shows promise for mitigating future health care crises. During the pandemic’s first wave in New York, for example, Mount Sinai Health System used an algorithm to help identify patients ready for discharge. Such systems can help overburdened hospitals manage personnel and the flow of supplies in a medical crisis so they can continue to …

Don’t let a negative COVID-19 test ruin your Thanksgiving

Russell Johnson, MD

November 25, 2020Nov 25, 20205

Mirroring the national surge of COVID-19 infections, this past week, I received a barrage of requests from patients seeking pre-travel COVID-19 tests. Despite urgent pleas from the CDC not to travel this holiday season, Americans seem hellbent on celebrating Thanksgiving the way we always do; around a table with family and friends. If COVID-19 is our mortal enemy, we are playing right into her hands. We are a stubborn nation …

Parenting in a pandemic: Making the best decisions for your family [PODCAST]

November 24, 2020Nov 24, 2020

"You have made difficult choices about your family’s health and safety already. Pediatricians help parents make these kinds of decisions all the time. The shared- decision model for practicing medicine encourages doctors like me to help provide information and counseling…

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“You have made difficult choices about your family’s health and safety already. Pediatricians help parents make these kinds of decisions all the time. The shared- decision model for practicing medicine encourages doctors like me to help provide information and counseling to empower you to make decisions.

You’ve already made decisions essential to your family’s health, whether about vaccination, safe sleep, or car …

Patient voices

An apology to frontline health care workers

Michele Luckenbaugh

November 24, 2020Nov 24, 2020

Our country seems to be spiraling out of control. The unending political discord post-election continues to divide our citizenry. The Presidential election is over, accept the results, and move on. There are much more serious issues to have our full attention and among them is the war against COVID-19. This deadly contagion has claimed over a quarter of a million lives in the United States and shows no signs of …

Catalina D. González Marqués, MD

A physician’s COVID role reversal

November 24, 2020Nov 24, 2020

I asked nurses, technicians and secretaries where it was: the iPad for patients who wanted to speak to their loved ones. COVID didn’t allow visitors. A few days into our peak, it was likely this patient had COVID. They were gasping for air, but could still speak, somewhat. I was hoping to save them an intubation. I told them I may need to put them on a ventilator but assured …

A physician’s COVID role reversal

Pay attention to science and medicine, or else you may be the next careless victim

Debbie Moore-Black, RN

November 23, 2020Nov 23, 2020

I enter the hospital to work again. I must work as I have three small children and a husband presently out of work because of COVID. He is “non-essential.” A violinist is playing at the employee entrance. I know they…

I enter the hospital to work again. I must work as I have three small children and a husband presently out of work because of COVID. He is “non-essential.”

A violinist is playing at the employee entrance. I know they do this to lift our spirits. But it’s a slow, sad string that reminds me of the titanic. And yes, every day I clock in, I feel as if it’s a …

Empty chairs this holiday season

Megan Davis, MD

November 23, 2020Nov 23, 2020

I was sitting in my kitchen this morning drinking coffee, as is my usual routine on a Saturday. On this particular morning, I was looking at the empty chairs around my dining room table. These antique dark pine Windsor chairs are well-loved and aged with a patina that includes many layers of memories from family gatherings in their previous life.

Acquired in a recent move, this was their first holiday season …