Infectious disease physicians and clinicians writing on KevinMD about outbreaks, antimicrobial resistance, vaccines, and the ongoing challenge of preventing and treating infection. Contributors include the physicians who treat infectious disease and the public health physicians who track it. For a maintained record of what physicians have said about vaccines and vaccine refusal since 2004, see Vaccines: what physicians say, in their own words. For what clinicians wrote during the COVID-19 pandemic as it happened, see COVID-19: what physicians wrote as it happened.
When the pandemic hit New York, I was lucky to have enough PPE to prepare myself, and my staff, for what was to come. After the 2014 Ebola scare, I stocked up on N95 masks, gowns, gloves, and face shields; I knew that should anything with even the slightest semblance to that crisis occur once more, I needed to be prepared. When the owner of Acutis Labs informed me that …
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How small acts of kindness can inspire others during the pandemic
Introduction
We are doctors. We were trained to heal, to bring relief, and on occasion, to guide patients and families through end-of-life challenges. Unfortunately, with the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic, places such as Italy have had to suffer from needing to make life-and-death decisions for patients simply due to insufficient resources. In Los Angeles, it seems that we are on-track with preparation for the COVID-19 surge …
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A Los Angeles response to the pandemic
Real physician voices, twice a week
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The coronavirus has certainly served to manifest our shared humanity and vulnerability. As parents, many of us are facing substantial challenges in providing for our families, as we struggle to help our children with their schoolwork, all the while hoping we can return to some semblance of normalcy soon. To continue to provide the security and love our children need in order to thrive in our homes, we must also …
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A pediatrician’s tips to help you and your family during the coronavirus pandemic
The pandemic has revised the triple aim framework of health care. The simultaneous triple pursuit of improving the patient experience of care, improving the health of populations, and reducing the per capita cost of health care is currently not possible. With widespread forced lockdowns, we are unable to provide the optimal patient care experience, the health of the population is declining (limited access, postponed procedures, delayed vaccinations, etc.). And while …
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The triple aim revised: financial shock, burnout, and imposter syndrome
In the coronavirus era, I go most days to our neighborhood McDonald’s, where I purchase a cup of coffee and take it outside to a patio area where I sit and eat peanut butter crackers which I carry with me.
Today as I stood in a short line inside the facility, with persons standing the approved distance from one another, of course, an older man came up behind me and tapped …
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Going to McDonald’s in the coronavirus era
As most of America approaches the one-month mark since shelter-in-place orders began, there is increasing talk of “plateauing” and debate of strategies for resuming “normal” life. Unfortunately, we continue to find ourselves without a clear path out of this unprecedented pandemic. Now more than ever, in the setting of an infectious disease crisis, health care providers must be at the forefront to advocate for those most at risk of a …
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How cell phones can help lead us out of the COVID-19 pandemic
I see you.
Studying. Reading the updated guidelines for patients with COVID-19, reviewing differentials, and management algorithms for common chief complaints during this time of restricted direct patient contact. Embracing online boot camps. Completing residency paperwork. Thank you for preparing.
Relaxing. Trying out a new yoga video. Watching Netflix by the hour. Reading a new book. Going for a run or walk. Thank you for re-charging your batteries so you can serve …
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An open letter to graduating medical students
As many of the spring MCAT dates have been canceled due to the onset of COVID-19, pre-med students across the country will be faced with daunting decisions on when to test and how to prepare for arguably the most definitive examination of their careers thus far. Students’ strategies surrounding the MCAT can affect anything from their academic schedule to the cycle in which they will matriculate. Throw the tremendous costs …
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COVID-19 and the MCAT: What should premedical students do?
I recited the Hippocratic Oath many years ago as I donned my new white coat and made a commitment to serve humanity through the practice of medicine. That zeal to help others continued through a vigorous residency and fellowship. As life was put on hold to pursue that dream of becoming a doctor, the brakes were lifted after training as I got married and had two children. Soon, instead of …
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The Hippocratic Oath versus my oath as a mother
Webster’s Dictionary defines trauma as a “disordered psychic or behavioral state resulting from severe emotional stress.”
An article in MarketWatch describes the reality of a doctor after being on the frontlines in Wuhan for two months:
Li is mentally and psychologically at a loss for what to do next. He can’t sleep or eat, he often feels dazed, and sometimes, seemingly out of nowhere, he weeps.
Nurses have described …
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What happens to health care workers after the coronavirus?
It was the middle of March when I came back to my work shift. I got the news my floor would be COVID-19 floor that meant all patients coming to the ER with COVID-19 symptoms would be placed solely under my supervision.
I was all ready for it — at least I knew the challenges I was going to face.
The number of patients getting admitted to rule out COVID-19 kept on …
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What it’s like to be a frontline physician with COVID-19 patient
As resident physicians, now is not the time to be quiet. We must stand up for ourselves in the face of this life-threatening virus. Our health is vital to preserving the standards set before us in providing exceptional medical care to future generations. In the wake of the tragic deaths of a few of our colleagues – now it is more important than ever to speak your voice and demand …
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As resident physicians, now is not the time to be quiet
As we face this pandemic head-on, there is another problem we cannot afford to lose sight of, the problem of overweight and obesity. Nearly 70 percent of the people in the USA suffer from either overweight or obesity. The stress this pandemic is putting on us as individuals and as a society is unprecedented.
While people are grappling with the current threat of coronavirus, the constant fear of getting infected exponentially …
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The weight of COVID-19
Mindfulness can help you not make the stress of COVID-19 worse.
I’ll start with the easiest way to practice mindfulness; you need not even be meditating. Stop whatever you’re doing and shift your attention to the physical sensation of three or four breaths as they come in and go out of your body.
That’s basic mindfulness practice.
For me, the most valuable aspect of doing this is that pausing to follow my breath …
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2 mindfulness practices to help cope with COVID-19
With the coronavirus pandemic, many cities across the country have shut down. While some people are working from home, many others have been furloughed or lost their jobs altogether. With this rapid decrease in economic activity, the stock market has taken a huge hit. Many people who had a big chunk of their network in stocks, have seen a sharp decline in the overall value of their investments. In the …
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5 reasons I’m still investing in the stock market during the coronavirus
I am hiding out in our lovely spacious house in the woods with my husband, hoping that COVID-19 will not find us. Both of us are in the “at-risk” category as we are both in our 70s. We are both New Yorkers, but we are upstate because our 50-year-old daughter lives in a community here.
Our daughter has a rare genetic condition that has severely limited her …
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Persons with intellectual disabilities forgotten in the COVID-19 pandemic
If you are ever lucky enough to find yourself jam-packed like a sardine to the point of being unable to take in a deep breath on a train in Tokyo during peak rush-hour traffic, a truly fascinating sight to behold awaits you.
Inside, not only would you be privy to a homogenous landscape of salarymen sporting natty business attire and clutching shiny briefcases, and countless women all decked-out with the latest …
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Unmasked: The untold story behind 1,000+ train rides in Japan and face masks
