COVID-19 pandemic

To better take care of patients, we need to take care of ourselves

Manju Mahajan, MD

August 22, 2020Aug 22, 2020

We all know by now that the COVID-19 pandemic has changed our world altogether. There is no question that stressors in our lives are more than ever before. This year's Fall will be the most dangerous of Falls. So what…

We all know by now that the COVID-19 pandemic has changed our world altogether. There is no question that stressors in our lives are more than ever before. This year’s Fall will be the most dangerous of Falls. So what does it mean for the physicians? How do we keep ourselves going when all we feel is a sense of isolation and burn out? And what about childcare? Who gets …

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Is the FDA too slow to handle the pandemic?

Peter Ubel, MD

August 21, 2020Aug 21, 2020

The FDA plays a critical role in our nation’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. It helps decide which medicines are safe and effective to treat the disease. It evaluates the accuracy and reliability of laboratory tests. And it will play…

But will the FDA bureaucracy move with the kind of speed necessary to deal with such a crisis? Some critics are concerned it will …

How a professional lacrosse league created a COVID-free tournament

Catherine A. Logan

August 21, 2020Aug 21, 2020

In 2019, the Premier Lacrosse League (PLL) entered the world’s stage, taking with it more than 100 of the greatest pro lacrosse players in the world from the Major League Lacrosse. The new league launched a tour-based model, offered higher…

In the months prior to the inaugural game at Gillette Stadium, I was brought on as the …

Masks are an effigy of American technocratic incompetence

Dr. Saurabh Jha

August 20, 2020Aug 20, 2020

Seven weeks before President Trump declared COVID-19 a federal emergency heralding the economic lockdown, Jesse's customers began cutting their orders. Jesse sells garments and cotton, imported predominantly from India, to wholesalers and retailers, big and small, in malls across the…

Seven weeks before President Trump declared COVID-19 a federal emergency heralding the economic lockdown, Jesse’s customers began cutting their orders. Jesse sells garments and cotton, imported predominantly from India, to wholesalers and retailers, big and small, in malls across the North East corridor. His business had a good January. December was like any December. But February was different. His customers, reassuring him that it wasn’t personal, were predicting …

How masks are like your underwear

How masks are like your underwear

Rada Jones, MD

August 20, 2020Aug 20, 20203

1. Both masks and underwear exist to contain badness. Neither works 100 percent, but they’ll curb the worst of the spill.
2. Don’t borrow someone else’s, no matter how cool they look.
3. Keep them on around strangers, unless you’ve both been tested.
4. Cotton breathes better than polyester.
5. If they don’t fit well, you’ll be chaffing.
6. Wear them both when you visit grandma.
7. They stink at the end of the day. They …

Read more…

A COVID-19 vaccine: 5 things that could go wrong

Robert Pearl, MD

August 19, 2020Aug 19, 2020

According to Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert, a coronavirus vaccine could be ready for distribution within months. “We feel cautiously optimistic that we will have a vaccine by the end of this year, and as we…

According to Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert, a coronavirus vaccine could be ready for distribution within months.

“We feel cautiously optimistic that we will have a vaccine by the end of this year, and as we go into 2021,” he told lawmakers on July 31, adding, “the plans …

Medical education

COVID-19, medical education, and the role of medical students around the world

Ayumi S. Tomishige & Clarissa C. Ren & Masato Fumoto & Matthew A. Crane & Sara K. Hurley

August 19, 2020Aug 19, 2020

As the world becomes more interconnected, one of the upsides is the ability to share our journey as medical students with other medical students across the world. The International Medical School Conference on COVID-19 held by the International Medical Association of Keio University School of Medicine was attended by medical students from the United States, Japan, Brazil, China, Italy, Korea, and Thailand. Through presentations by representatives from each country and …

Incremental risk amid COVID-19 re-openings: What do we value most?

Sara L. Merwin, MPH

August 19, 2020Aug 19, 2020

Julian (his real name) has been extremely careful for many months, working from home, foregoing seeing friends, and avoiding stores. But his new puppy Rufus requires “socialization,” so by his own admission, he is being less careful as he/the dog…

In a completely anecdotal and unscientific manner (and in definitive contrast to the methodology of my training), I have been polling friends, family members, and …

Could antigen testing be the key to safely reopening the nation?

Christine Lau, MD

August 18, 2020Aug 18, 2020

COVID-19 has wreaked havoc on every aspect of life. With over 5 million cases and 167 thousand deaths in the United States, COVID-19 has caused the nation to shut down. During the pandemic, social distancing and masks have been crucial in controlling the spread of virus. However, with the reopening of the states, social distancing and masks are not the only factors to consider, especially with talks about children going …

The COVID-19 pandemic is changing end-of-life care. We’re not ready.

Lochan Shah, MD

August 18, 2020Aug 18, 2020

The last thing Jessica said to John, her fiancé of 10 years, was, “I love you” before he drove to work. Hours later, after suddenly experiencing a cardiac arrest at the office, he was in an ICU bed attached to a ventilator. He was pale and unresponsive, on multiple medications to artificially augment his blood pressure, hooked up to a machine that did the work of his kidneys, and cooled …

Juliet B. Ugarte Hopkins, MD

A no visitors policy at your facility? Here are 4 crucial tips.

August 17, 2020Aug 17, 20203

One of the most harrowing challenges of COVID-19 has been the "no visitors" policy virtually all institutions were forced to implement. In order to protect our patients, our staff, our communities, we've had to put these visitor limitations into place…

One of the most harrowing challenges of COVID-19 has been the “no visitors” policy virtually all institutions were forced to implement. In order to protect our patients, our staff, our communities, we’ve had to put these visitor limitations into place until the tide turns.

Not too long ago, I woke to my husband lying stiffly on his back, declaring, “I think I need to go to the emergency room.” He’d mentioned …

With COVID-19, a need to deregulate buprenorphine prescriptions [PODCAST]

Megana Dwarakanath, MD

August 15, 2020Aug 15, 2020

"With COVID-19, we have both the unique opportunity and need to deregulate buprenorphine prescriptions. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAHMSA) recently updated guidelines for buprenorphine prescriptions. There are new provisions for telephonic initiation of buprenorphine and scripts…

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“With COVID-19, we have both the unique opportunity and need to deregulate buprenorphine prescriptions. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAHMSA) recently updated guidelines for buprenorphine prescriptions. There are new provisions for telephonic initiation of buprenorphine and scripts up to 28 days for stable patients. Unfortunately, this does not circumvent the major issue: redeployed providers will not be able …

Why are COVID antibody tests of questionable relevance being marketed to the public?

Michelle Finkel, MD

August 15, 2020Aug 15, 2020

It started mid-March with the sensation that I had cut one of my knuckles. Within two weeks, several fingers were swollen like sausages, and my fingertips had developed painful, burning spots. Soon thereafter, my husband noted one red, swollen toe. We are both emergency physicians, but we could not understand what was causing the symptoms, and it was not until a month later that we started to see

…

Medical education and engaging children in wearing masks [PODCAST]

August 14, 2020Aug 14, 2020

"Children are being encouraged to take on the superhero persona and help protect others. They do this in true average-person-as-the-superhero style by wearing a facemask alone, without any superhero powers or words. Just as wearing a facemask in public has…

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“Children are being encouraged to take on the superhero persona and help protect others. They do this in true average-person-as-the-superhero style by wearing a facemask alone, without any superhero powers or words. Just as wearing a facemask in public has been the norm for years in many Asian countries, it may become the norm worldwide. For this to happen, we need …

Elizabeth J. Berger, APBCC

Why spiritual health is so important for medical students

August 14, 2020Aug 14, 2020

A tale of two pandemics: Around the time of the coronavirus outbreak, 2019 also marked a full century since the death of Sir William Osler, who revolutionized medical training. Despite some lingering debate over whether Dr. Osler’s pneumonia-related death should be counted among the 50 million lost to the 1918 influenza pandemic, his notes suggest that he believed the flu precipitated his demise.

As a chaplain who teaches medical humanities and …

Palliative care during the pandemic [PODCAST]

August 13, 2020Aug 13, 2020

"We are health care workers. We are doctors, advanced care practitioners, nurses, pharmacists, social workers, and so much more. We are on the frontlines. We are our parents’ children, and we are parents to our young children. For the first…

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“We are health care workers. We are doctors, advanced care practitioners, nurses, pharmacists, social workers, and so much more. We are on the frontlines. We are our parents’ children, and we are parents to our young children. For the first time, we are at an extremely high risk of being quarantined by the same beast we are trying to conquer. We …

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

Kelly Fradin, MD

August 13, 2020Aug 13, 20202

An excerpt from Parenting in a Pandemic: How to help your family through COVID-19. When my husband and I made the decision to purchase a house outside of New York City, the prior owners left behind a trampoline. The trampoline…

An excerpt from Parenting in a Pandemic: How to help your family through COVID-19.

When my husband and I made the decision to purchase a house outside of New York City, the prior owners left behind a trampoline. The trampoline is big, above ground, and in fair condition at best. We had a decision to make — should we have it removed or let the kids play?

As …