Most doctors well into their tenure of medical already have a general idea about how other specialists spend their days (except for radiation oncologists, where no one else knows what they do). However, as a medical student, I had incredibly…
Most doctors well into their tenure of medical already have a general idea about how other specialists spend their days (except for radiation oncologists, where no one else knows what they do). However, as a medical student, I had incredibly limited insight into the variety of means to practice medicine. Even as an attending physician, I am still discovering how creative some medical specialties allow one to be. For instance, …
Heart health starts in childhood to avoid cardiovascular disease, hypertension, obesity, and diabetes. Kids today have developed so many bad health habits that they are facing heart attacks in their 30s. Many experts predict they will be the first generation…
Heart health starts in childhood to avoid cardiovascular disease, hypertension, obesity, and diabetes. Kids today have developed so many bad health habits that they are facing heart attacks in their 30s. Many experts predict they will be the first generation to have a lower life expectancy than their parents. But it doesn’t need to be this way. Parents like you have a significant influence over your kid’s habits. By modeling …
You may have noticed your child seems to be bored of their bag lunch and most of it being brought back home or dumped in the garbage. Lunch is an important meal to get kids the energy they need to…
You may have noticed your child seems to be bored of their bag lunch and most of it being brought back home or dumped in the garbage. Lunch is an important meal to get kids the energy they need to get through the second half of the school day. Strive to include some protein, fruits, veggies and healthy sources of fats. Now, you don’t have to buy gourmet or even …
I lost my sense of empathy when I worked as a pediatrician in a pediatric emergency department caring primarily for low-acuity patients. I worked there for ten years, but it only took about three years before I realized that while…
I lost my sense of empathy when I worked as a pediatrician in a pediatric emergency department caring primarily for low-acuity patients. I worked there for ten years, but it only took about three years before I realized that while I could help kids with their symptoms, I couldn’t do anything about the reasons they were in the ED at 3 a.m. These kids don’t have reliable transportation to get …
My story makes even the hardened among us cringe ... but I am not here to tell you that story. My real story begins after. In order to stand up for my values, I recently walked away from a booming…
My story makes even the hardened among us cringe … but I am not here to tell you that story. My real story begins after.
In order to stand up for my values, I recently walked away from a booming practice. What I had built felt sacred to me, almost miraculous. As a pediatrician, I realize it is no small matter that parents entrust me with the care of their children. …
My husband recently found a bag of breast milk in the freezer as he scrounged for dinner ingredients. This milk was pumped over four years ago for my third baby who turns five next week. Just like I did for…
My husband recently found a bag of breast milk in the freezer as he scrounged for dinner ingredients. This milk was pumped over four years ago for my third baby who turns five next week. Just like I did for her older siblings, I religiously pumped breast milk at work until her first birthday. On the day that she turned one, I stopped lugging my pump bag to work, stopped …
Do you feel like you’re always saying “no” to your child and not getting the response from them that you are looking for? Do you end up repeating yourself over and over, so frustrated you begin to yell or just…
Do you feel like you’re always saying “no” to your child and not getting the response from them that you are looking for? Do you end up repeating yourself over and over, so frustrated you begin to yell or just given in to your toddler’s demands? Unfortunately, I hear this way too often from moms, so I wanted to give some tips on the art of saying “no” that will …
It’s no secret that in today’s health care market, insurance companies are calling the shots. As a pediatrician in private practice for almost two decades, I’ve seen insurance companies transform into perhaps the single most powerful player in today’s health…
It’s no secret that in today’s health care market, insurance companies are calling the shots. As a pediatrician in private practice for almost two decades, I’ve seen insurance companies transform into perhaps the single most powerful player in today’s health care landscape — final arbiters whose decisions about which procedures or medications to authorize effectively end up determining the course of patient care.
Decisions made by insurers, such as MassHealth, have …
Chances are that if you have kids, you’ve had at least one unplanned visit to the hospital. Taking care of children in the emergency department (ED) is a special challenge for many reasons including the fact that the child’s parents…
Chances are that if you have kids, you’ve had at least one unplanned visit to the hospital. Taking care of children in the emergency department (ED) is a special challenge for many reasons including the fact that the child’s parents don’t choose to see me specifically, they are usually meeting me for the first time, and they’re meeting me under very stressful circumstances.
When I started practicing medicine 20 years ago, …
A rapidly escalating measles outbreak near Portland, OR has led local health officials to declare a public health emergency, with 44 confirmed cases, almost all in unimmunized children. Meanwhile, New York and New Jersey have been facing a similar crisis…
I found his obituary today. Kids do not always have obituaries. I am not sure why. Perhaps it is because children are not supposed to die and no one quite knows what to say. Still, I always look for them.…
I found his obituary today. Kids do not always have obituaries. I am not sure why. Perhaps it is because children are not supposed to die and no one quite knows what to say. Still, I always look for them.
He loved the color green.
His death was so unexpected. I have never seen a child become so sick so fast. I was the pediatrician covering the hospital ward that night. He …
I entered residency self-assured, if not in my scholarly achievements, at least in who I am as a person. I left slightly broken. Something happens to you in residency, and you don’t realize the transformation as it occurs. It may…
I entered residency self-assured, if not in my scholarly achievements, at least in who I am as a person.
I left slightly broken.
Something happens to you in residency, and you don’t realize the transformation as it occurs. It may be the loss of a patient who died on your watch, or the realization that you have not changed the world. It could be the constant fear of failure or punishment by …
Peanut allergies can be a serious problem, and many exposures happen when our kids are at school. On average, there are probably about 5 peanut-allergic children in each of our nation’s 100,000 school buildings. What’s the best policy for schools…
Peanut allergies can be a serious problem, and many exposures happen when our kids are at school. On average, there are probably about 5 peanut-allergic children in each of our nation’s 100,000 school buildings. What’s the best policy for schools to use to help protect these kids from potentially fatal reactions?
Different schools have taken different approaches, and as far as I can tell there is no authoritative national guideline …
The over-the-counter sale of probiotics is a huge industry. They are heavily promoted on social media as a cure-all for a wide variety of ills. Probiotics are live cultures of what are often called “good bacteria,” and there are solid…
The over-the-counter sale of probiotics is a huge industry. They are heavily promoted on social media as a cure-all for a wide variety of ills. Probiotics are live cultures of what are often called “good bacteria,” and there are solid physiological reasons for recommending them. But, and this is a huge but, actual clinical data demonstrating their usefulness behind some well-defined disorders is pretty scant. Their potential usefulness in many …
About two months ago, a 15-year-old Native American male was riding around in a stolen car on the reservation. “M” and the driver were drinking. And somehow, after he exited the vehicle at 4 a.m., the car struck him. Hours…
About two months ago, a 15-year-old Native American male was riding around in a stolen car on the reservation. “M” and the driver were drinking. And somehow, after he exited the vehicle at 4 a.m., the car struck him. Hours later, it became clear that something was wrong. M was transferred to our pediatric hospital as a trauma and was found to have an unstable vertebral fracture. Conservative treatment with …
Yes, med-peds is a real residency! It is a real specialty! And it is a practicing profession by many physicians today! It can open doors for so many wonderful professional opportunities. It is a discipline that can provide patients and…
Yes, med-peds is a real residency! It is a real specialty! And it is a practicing profession by many physicians today! It can open doors for so many wonderful professional opportunities. It is a discipline that can provide patients and communities extremely comprehensive medical care. People need to know more about this unique and sometimes under-recognized field. And here is why:
Like many people today, I didn’t even know what med-peds …
Stefania was a 17-year-old Russian girl who presented herself to a port of entry in the United States seeking asylum. Stefania’s journey to this point was an unimaginable one. In her home country of Russia, she was a happy high…
Stefania was a 17-year-old Russian girl who presented herself to a port of entry in the United States seeking asylum. Stefania’s journey to this point was an unimaginable one. In her home country of Russia, she was a happy high school student living with her mother. Her father died of a heart attack six months prior. Then one day on her way home from school, she was kidnapped by the …
“You’re going to fall in love with her,” the nurse warned me, as I stood outside my eleven-year-old patient’s room ready to wake her up for surgery pre-rounds at 5:30 a.m. I offered back a tired smile and knocked on…
“You’re going to fall in love with her,” the nurse warned me, as I stood outside my eleven-year-old patient’s room ready to wake her up for surgery pre-rounds at 5:30 a.m.
I offered back a tired smile and knocked on the door timidly. “Naomi?” I whispered.
To my surprise, I was greeted with a chirpy “Good morning!” and entered the room to find a bright-eyed eleven-year-old sitting up in her bed with …
November 2017. I was on my pediatrics rotation at a local community clinic. My attending asked me if I could see Johnathan (identifying information and event details altered to protect confidentiality), an eight-year-old boy who has been increasingly fatigued since…
November 2017. I was on my pediatrics rotation at a local community clinic. My attending asked me if I could see Johnathan (identifying information and event details altered to protect confidentiality), an eight-year-old boy who has been increasingly fatigued since the start of the school year. I walked down the hallway laden with paintings of Amazon animals and knocked on room #13.
“Good afternoon, Ms. Sanders. My name’s T.J., and I’m …
“If only there was just one more creative way to increase my child’s sugar intake,” said no parent ever. As a pediatric cardiologist, I spend much of my day counseling parents of children with obesity, hypertension, and hyperlipidemia. I tell…
“If only there was just one more creative way to increase my child’s sugar intake,” said no parent ever.
As a pediatric cardiologist, I spend much of my day counseling parents of children with obesity, hypertension, and hyperlipidemia. I tell them to increase their physical activity. Remove all junk food from the house. Join a sports team. Cut back on refined sugars. And of course, I am always thrilled when a …
