Prior to working as a nurse practitioner, I worked as a psychiatric registered nurse in an inpatient behavioral health setting, caring for individuals with severe mental illness (SMI). Individuals with SMI die ten to twenty years earlier than the gener…
In one of my favorite movies, Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, the original crew of the Enterprise has traveled through time, back to the, to them ancient, city of San Francisco circa the 1980s. It’s all about Earth whales and alien cetaceans being…
Schizophrenia is a serious mental illness that is commonly misunderstood. A lack of understanding about the disease can cause people to draw inaccurate conclusions based on stereotypical portrayals in movies or television. Unfortunately, movie characte…
Genetic testing is now the standard of care for common diseases such as cancer and heart disease, predicting risk and enabling earlier and more effective patient care. It’s an exciting revolution in patient care that has far-reaching potential an…
I wouldn’t trust my Uber driver to drive me after they’ve been awake for over 24 hours. Why would I trust my doctor? Since starting medical school and hearing about the dreadful 24-hour shifts, I’ve constantly wondered why they are st…
Many aspects of health care-associated infections are unseen. The bacteria that cause infections like C. difficile or catheter-associated urinary tract infections are invisible to the naked eye. Beyond the financial burdens of additional treatment and …
Women of color, particularly Black women, encounter distinct challenges during pregnancy and childbirth. This results in disproportionately adverse outcomes such as invasive treatments, infant mortality, severe complications, and even death experienced…
The racial and ethnic divide within health care remains largely unaddressed. One aspect I wish to highlight is the impact of mortality rates after childbirth, particularly among African American women. They face the highest mortality rates postpartum, …
The racial and ethnic divide within health care remains largely unaddressed. One aspect I wish to highlight is the impact of mortality rates after childbirth, particularly among African American women. They face the highest mortality rates postpartum, …
At the beginning of a career – sometimes when viewed through rose-colored glasses not yet spoiled by reality – you hope to be able to lose loss to stay away. Somehow you feel like if you just try hard enough – practice psychiatry in the best way …
