Author's posts
How the pandemic affects the residency match
Ours is a medium-sized pediatrics residency program. Each year, we receive hundreds of applications. Less than a quarter of the applicants are chosen to interview. Less than two percent of the applicants will be chosen to be our new interns. It is not …
COVID and schools: Our only certainty is uncertainty
Amidst the tangle of mail consisting of grocery ads and a retirement fund quarterly report and the membership renewal form for the botanical gardens, I spot a small manilla envelope emblazoned with the return address of my children’s school. This is wh…
4 resolutions for a new academic year
With a flip of a calendar page, the new academic year is upon us. For much of the workforce, July 1st signifies the halfway point of the fiscal year, and most Americans would say that each new year starts on January 1st. However, those of us in academi…
Family and medicine: a day in the life during the pandemic
Sunlight creeps through the living room blinds. We have taken to sleeping here now on the giant sectional sofa. Most days, there is no reason to set an alarm. The dog stirs, moves from where he was nestled against one child to stretch out alongside ano…
Coronavirus has slowly but surely made its way to Middle America
Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has slowly but surely made its way to Middle America, stowing away on well-meaning citizens who have traveled to the coasts or overseas for one reason or another. It has sneakily hitchhiked its way into Creighton Universi…
Why Les Miserables should resonate with every physician
“I dreamed a dream my life would be … so different from this hell I’m living.” Twenty years ago, I would pull out my Les Miserables piano book and pound out “I Dreamed a Dream” while my fellow medical student/roommat…
Physician mom hands off to civilian dad before her swing shift
It’s been liberating and eye-opening and sometimes a pain to have all three of my kids in grade school. The benefits of one drop off and not paying for daycare do outweigh the downside of figuring out what to do with the kids when they have days off. U…
A physician who has her name butchered on a daily basis
“S as in Sam, I, E, C as in Charlie, Z as in zebra, K, O, W, S as in Sam, K, I.” “A, O, W?” “No. K, as in kite. K, O, W.” “Is that your married name?” “Nope. This is my maiden name. I kept it.” “What is that? Polish?” “Yes. Yes, it […]
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Words of wisdom to a residency’s graduating class
To my residency class: The clock is ticking, its hands spinning around its face faster and faster until I feel dizzy and disoriented. The remainder of the academic year can be measured in days, even hours for some. The carousel is slowing down to let s…
5 parenting mistakes I make as a pediatrician-mom
I have been a medical doctor for 19 years, a pediatrician for 16 years and a mom for 11 years. Being a mom is — hands down — the hardest but also enhances my work as a physician (though I would not admit this before I had my own children). My work at w…
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