Category: Conditions

How the pandemic affects children and teens with headaches and migraines

Children and teens with headaches and migraines have been affected in a variety of ways by these pandemic times. Thinking back, there has been a difference between last spring and this fall and the effect on my patients, particularly in the school envi…

COVID-19 is a time of coming to terms with meaning in our lives and tolerating uncertainty

Initially, after completing my master’s degree, I felt a bit lost. Being very busy, juggling different roles, focusing on areas of interest to the exclusion of other areas of life has long been my comfort zone. The stillness of having completed an inte…

All intensivists are not created equal

I’d like to preface this story by saying that the majority of the intensivists I have worked with have been exceptional, caring, and professional. We had all established a good camaraderie, and we had mutual respect for each other. We worked well toget…

Is COVID a turning point for sustainability in hospital supply chains? 

Scarcity has, in many ways, defined the COVID-19 experience in the U.S., from shortages in personal protective equipment to ICU ventilators and hospital capacity, to COVID test kits, to drugs like Remdesivir in hard-hit states. These shortages have add…

Reflections on caregiving from a nursing school dropout

My first—and last—clinical rotation was at a newly built nursing home attached to a community hospital near school. I didn’t have a car on campus, and hitched rides from classmates who were typically commuters with night jobs. They were a tougher, more…

The importance of rehabilitation in COVID-19 patients

COVID-19, first diagnosed in China in December 2019, has since spread across the world and affected over 37 million individuals. While most people infected with COVID-19 experience mild to moderate illness and recovery without the need for hospitalizat…

The inconvenient truth: We need to learn how to live with COVID-19 and here’s how

Since the small cluster of cases broke out in Wuhan, China nine months ago, the world has profoundly changed. With each passing moment, there seems to be a new COVID-19 milestone. 1 million deaths worldwide. 215,000 deaths in the United States. A White…

What are the limitations of COVID-19 testing?

COVID-19, first identified in December 2019 and declared a global pandemic in March 2020, has taken a toll on everyone around the world. After months of varying levels of lockdown and quarantine, people are developing pandemic fatigue, and craving huma…

Uninsured and undocumented: a resident perspective

A middle-aged man lies on a gurney. Anxious. Work boots. Blue jeans.  Stained white shirt. Rough hands. “Hi! I’m your doctor. What brings you to the emergency room?” The patient looks at me, puzzled. He’s Spanish speaking. It’s the mi…

COVID-19 will kill 500,000 Americans. Here’s why.

Among the questions I’m asked most often as host of the podcast Coronavirus: The Truth are: “How have other nations effectively contained the pandemic?” and “Why can’t the United States copy their success?” For months, health experts have answered thes…