For practicing physicians, inclusivity proves critical. Not because of HR mandates. Not because it’s a good thing to do. Inclusivity improves your patients’ care. It enables you to be a better doctor. Rising complexity, rapid change, and tr…
Category: Conditions
Stunning new medical conditions overlooked!
This article is satire. The DSM-5-TR came out in March with some shocking omissions. Here submitted are a few new conditions the next version might include: Animaculism: the state of joy that comes from the care and companionship of nonverbal creature…
If we better manage diabetes, can we better manage COVID?
Over their lifetimes, adults in the United States have a 40% chance of developing type 2 diabetes. And the likelihood for Latino adults is 25% higher. Even worse, Latinos develop type 2 diabetes when younger, and experience more severe complications an…
Will Smith’s slap is a trauma response
This is what the result of unresolved trauma looks like. What we witnessed Will Smith do in assaulting Chris Rock during the Academy Award ceremony was a trauma response. While I am in no way condoning violence, this is a very public and important oppo…
Death of a nurse: a soliloquy
It’s not what you think. It’s not my actual mortality. It’s that emotional death. Of being a nurse. If you’ve never been a nurse. Then you will never know. It’s that’s giving of yourself: heart and soul. Constantly a…
Food allergies are a growing public health concern, not a joke
I was truly gutted when watching the recent Saturday Night Live that joked about nut allergies. My son Joshua, who is 16 years old, has an anaphylactic peanut allergy. I found the segment to be insensitive to the millions of people globally who live ea…
We are not defined by what we eat
Throughout history, ancient tribes practiced cannibalism with the intent of bolstering their own courage or energy by consuming their defeated enemies. They wanted to be what they ate: full of courage and vigor. They would even eat their enemies to van…
Human beings are more than their genes
An excerpt from The Empathy Academy. It might be tempting to choose an easier path, Monty thought, but amid the stress, pain, and tragedy, there were also triumphs: A patient’s seizures stop. A CT scan is clear. He remembered resuscitating Mrs. C…
The invisibility of mental illness
While the mental illness patient is afflicted by very real and painful feelings, these feelings are internal and not visible to others. The indications of the condition then, whether those of depression, anxiety, or even hallucinations, can be said to …
Strategies to help women advocate for themselves and avoid misdiagnosis
While everyone faces some risk of experiencing a delayed diagnosis or misdiagnosis, some studies have found that the problem is more common for women. Women are 50 percent more likely than men to receive an incorrect diagnosis when they’re having a hea…
