Author's posts
How can we encourage doctors to come home and serve well?
I write this from the Midwestern United States. My home. A generally underserved region. I’m a young doctor near the end of my training. My generation, I think it’s safe to say, has in large part bought into the general process of medical education, th…
The pandemic is bringing us home
It began last week in our neighborhood, between the locals, who, out for a breath of fresh air, and dutifully in line with the new social distancing rules, began to shout back and forth through the crisp March air. “Good morning! I hope you’re well!” “…
Riding the hospital common elevator
The elevator area on the ground floor of our hospital is split. As you enter, the common elevators are on the left, and to the right is a set of double doors, with a sign posted reading, “AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY.” And behind those doors are the emplo…
COVID-19 is teaching us the value of vocation
“Suppose we did our work like the snow, quietly, quietly, leaving nothing out.” -Wendell Berry Greetings from the hospital. It’s a ghost town around here. The roads are empty. Shops are shuttered. Churches won’t be meeting for m…
COVID-19 is exposing our broken health care system. Young physicians will help.
News trends come, and news trends go. The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic is a news topic that, for the time being, is here to stay. This pandemic has already revealed deeper issues within the culture of medicine here in the United States and f…
Proper endings like this feel right
He was a logical man. A northeast Ohio man. Who worked all his life and worked hard. I can see it in his hands. They are entirely calloused with traces of grease impervious even to pumice soap. A family man. His wife and sons and daughters are at bedsi…
Renewal is what we need during residency training
The need for a refreshed perspective on life and practice, a renewed sense of the concerns of our patients, and an appreciation for the subject matter: This is what so many of us need while in residency training. There are rare moments in the midst of …
