Author's posts
COVID vaccination: If not for yourself, then for the rest of us
“It’s my right not to be vaccinated. It’s my body.” So goes the argument for the COVID anti-vaxxers, emphasizing personal freedom taking precedence over everything else. Unfortunately, and perhaps unfairly, we health care provid…
Why dog poop is a metaphor for challenge, controversy, and change
I run outside, barefoot, and encounter natural phenomena along the way. One of these is dog poop. Ironically, there’s been recent chatter about dog poop on our community Facebook page. It’s a topic worthy of multiple posts and the impetus for the ra…
What ever happened to forgiveness?
“I used to shoot people like you,” the patient said to me. He was one scary Vietnam vet, and I was one scared second-year resident. Though not Vietnamese, I figured correcting him wouldn’t matter. As an Asian American (Chinese on my dad’s side, Japan…
When intolerance is another form of hatred
As an Asian male, I grew up with my share of racist encounters, some very ugly and downright scary. Yet I refuse to blame an entire segment of the population for the misdeeds of a few. I refuse to allow circumstances to shape me as a person or my att…
Avoid the stigma: money advice for young doctors
Whenever I discuss matters of money and business with medical students and residents, I‘m surprised by the responses: “Zilch, nothing,” or “Are you kidding?” Sadly, our doctors-in-training still receive little to no education in this arena. There’s a …
A rare case solved by listening to your patient. And your mother.
History is important. “The farther back you look, the farther forward you will see,” Winston Churchill once said. Particular to our profession as doctors, William Osler’s famous adage: “Listen to your patient, he is telling you the diagnosis,” rings tr…
