Cities across the country, including Chicago and New York, have announced reopening — Broadway will be full capacity soon. This is at the same time as the pause on the Johnson & Johnson vaccine has lifted, walk-in vaccines are available around the …
Category: Conditions
Give health care workers a break. Get a vaccine!
Cities across the country, including Chicago and New York, have announced reopening — Broadway will be full capacity soon. This is at the same time as the pause on the Johnson & Johnson vaccine has lifted, walk-in vaccines are available around the …
Can people really change?
An excerpt from Connect: Building Exceptional Relationships with Family, Friends, and Colleagues. We believe that people can change. We couldn’t have stayed in the business we’re in for this many decades if we hadn’t seen it happen repeatedly. People m…
Desperate for cancer relief
Pain was simply the biggest discomfort he had during those last few days I cared for him. I had just transitioned onto the inpatient wards service, taking over the patient list from one of my colleagues. I received sign-out from her saying a patient ha…
Suspect a stroke? Act F.A.S.T.
If you suspect that you or a loved one is having a stroke, call 911. It’s a call that can mean the difference between life or death. Unfortunately, during the pandemic, it is a call that too few made. Across the nation, stroke death rates increased as …
The COVID-19 pandemic vowels: adaptability, empathy, innovation, optimism, unity
It feels like the days when I could go to all-you-can-eat buffets, when I could actually catch a smile from a patient and when I could hug someone after a successful chemotherapy round were written in history books long ago. In some ways, I have spent …
Trying to bury trauma does not work
Rationale: Sometimes it helps to talk about trauma; sometimes it helps to just listen. Having a safe, supportive, confidential, affirming environment to do both or either is important. Background: I have been offering workshops on “managing stress and …
How a Zoom nursing interview killed my self-worth
I have dedicated 35 years of my life as a nurse: in the ICU for 33 years and behavioral health/intensive management for the last two. I thought it would be time to take a break from ICU nursing. Surely behavioral health would be a lot easier — kind of …
Not gone, but nearly forgotten: HIV in youths during COVID
When I was in college three decades ago, someone close to me was diagnosed with HIV. He was in his early 20s. The only drug available was the controversial AZT, an expensive drug originally designed to treat cancer. I thought my friend would die. Since…
The disparity no one talks about: COVID vaccines and men
As an epidemiologist and former public health official, I’ve noticed a lot of coverage in the news about COVID vaccine hesitancy issues in BIPOC communities, and I, like many other clinicians, am working hard to address those issues. But there is one…
