Emily Watters is a physician who explains the side effects of the mRNA (Pfizer and Moderna) and viral-vector (Johnson & Johnson) vaccines (click to enlarge): Emily Watters is a psychiatrist and can be reached at The Cartoon Shrink. Image credits: E…
Category: Conditions
Partners of health care workers deserve to be vaccinated
As a general surgeon, being called into the emergency room to perform a bedside procedure is par for the course. After gathering the standard list of supplies, I ran through another checklist before entering the room of a recent patient. N95, surgical …
COVID-19 is a crucial part of our individual medical career stories
In early 2020 the COVID-19 virus descended upon all of us in the U.S. No longer something we would anxiously read about in the news from outside our shores, this new public health dilemma had touched down close to home. Before long, the WHO would proc…
COVID-19 is a crucial part of our individual medical career stories
In early 2020 the COVID-19 virus descended upon all of us in the U.S. No longer something we would anxiously read about in the news from outside our shores, this new public health dilemma had touched down close to home. Before long, the WHO would proc…
At-home delivery of physical therapy is changing rehab for the better
As an orthopedic surgeon, I perform about 900 hip and knee replacements each year. In an era of rapid discharge and outpatient surgery, patient education is of paramount importance. Nonetheless, besides the surgery itself, one of the most common areas…
COVID-19 recovery? My long-haul experience with infectious illness suggests disability.
People who say, “I’ve recovered from COVID-19, what’s the big deal?” are wrong. I have lived with long-term disability stemming from acute infectious illnesses like COVID-19 and polio. One winter when I was 17, I was struck with a relentless flu. I “re…
With Lynch Syndrome, knowledge alone isn’t power
“The blood test shows a genetic mutation at MLH1. You have Lynch.” The words were spoken by my genetic counselor the minute I sat in my chair should have hit me harder, but I only felt numb. I glanced at my closest friend, the person they h…
Doctor, am I going to make it?
Never have I ever had to rely on my communication skills as much as I have as a physician in the pandemic of 2020. My eyes, however, were not taught those skills. There are pillars in medicine, communication guidelines, and lessons in empathy — a…
Does pain change your brain?
I consult on many patients because they are suffering from pain. In fact, their pain is so severe that they are considering spinal surgery. More than 100,000 Americans decide to undergo surgery, and millions more have invasive procedures for low back p…
The overlooked factors driving weight gain in the pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic represents the single most disruptive health crisis of the past 100 years. It has disrupted basic, taken-for-granted societal routines, which subsequently has prompted dynamic changes in our behavior. The ramifications of these di…
