In September, the American Nurses Association asked the Department of Health and Human Services to declare the national nursing shortage as a national crisis. At the same time, the American Association of Critical Care Nurses found 66 percent of ICU nu…
Recently, while visiting with a colleague in our doctor’s lounge, I blurted out, “I’m tired of the dying.” He looked at me quizzically, “But you’re the hospice doctor.” True, death comes with my work, but the recent volume of and the loss of younger pa…
Below is a story a patient shared with me about how he went from being against mask-wearing to wearing one every day. *** Last year, my mom died from stage 4 lung cancer. Before she passed, she received her transplant at this hospital, but it was too l…
There was a time, not long ago, when COVID-19 was one of the scariest things on earth. In the summer of 2020, scientists were stunned as infections climbed and deaths spiked. They couldn’t say (exactly) how the virus spread, how deadly it was or how to…
Covaxin, an inactivated SARS-CoV-2 vaccine and the only vaccine to have been proven effective against all variants including the Delta variant in a Phase III clinical study, deserves to be tested in clinical trials in the U.S. for potential CDC/FDA app…
A hundred years ago, women lived one year longer than men, but now they live five years longer than men. And things are getting worse. Currently, the lifespan of men in the U.S. is declining due to alcohol, opioids, and suicide. These trends need to ch…
It is a seasonally cold fall evening in Long Island, NY, and I am standing in a field in the middle of what should be a darkened park. Still, I am truly amazed by how bright it is lit up by lanterns with different colors demarcating patients, families,…
Black men need to be comfortable saying that we can be scared sometimes, and to share our emotions without guilt or shame. I say this as a Black man who has experienced vulnerability both as a family physician and as a patient. Over the last year, I’v…
The word vulnerable is derived from the Latin, “vulnerare,” to wound. Vulnerable literally means “able to be wounded.” In common usage, we refer to being vulnerable when we’re feeling weak, fragile, and emotionally worn do…
Colder weather is upon us again – and so is cold and flu season. Nearly two years into the fight against COVID-19, we welcome children returning to schools, daycare, and sports. But with the loosening of restrictions and increased social contacts, we a…
