Everyone knows someone today who’s dealing with dementia. And as a geriatrician — that means a lot of questions come my way. Questions about parents who recently had cognitive testing, about the role of assisted living, about prevention — you nam…
Category: Conditions
The questions surgeons need to ask their seniors before surgery
The decision seemed straightforward. Bob McHenry’s heart was failing, and doctors recommended two high-risk surgeries to restore blood flow. Without the procedures, McHenry, 82, would die. The surgeon at a Boston teaching hospital ticked off the possib…
Perfect nurse. Perfect manager. Perfect puppet.
Perfect nurse. Perfect manager. Perfect puppet. An ICU physician once told me: Nurse managers have a life cycle of a mosquito. Fast and furious And then gone. Deleted until the next one shows up. It was the perfect ICU. Twenty-five beds. Dynamic intens…
The last massage of his life
Clutching my duffel bag under my rain jacket, I dash from my truck toward a house that was built by Frankie, the man I’m here to give the last massage of his life. I’ve been massaging people since I was five and have been a professional mas…
Dear emergency department clinicians: a letter from administration
Dear emergency department clinicians: We at the top of the administrative and regulatory chain understand that you deal with enormously complicated mental health and substance abuse patients all the time. Your resources are limited, and the demands pla…
Dear emergency department clinicians: a letter from administration
Dear emergency department clinicians: We at the top of the administrative and regulatory chain understand that you deal with enormously complicated mental health and substance abuse patients all the time. Your resources are limited, and the demands pla…
What are patients’ responsibilities for their health?
I expect my patients to develop or sense responsibility in connection to their health because I believe personal responsibility creates the basis for a constructive, therapeutic relationship and healing process. My experiences as a patient have made me…
What are patients’ responsibilities for their health?
I expect my patients to develop or sense responsibility in connection to their health because I believe personal responsibility creates the basis for a constructive, therapeutic relationship and healing process. My experiences as a patient have made me…
Toy magnets need to be banned for good
Over the course of little more than a month, we removed 54 tiny toy magnets from the digestive systems of four children. They were lucky: Despite invasive procedures and operations to repair holes in their intestines, their injuries were treated in tim…
The truth about body weight and infertility
A recent New York Times article entitled, “When You’re Told You’re Too Fat to Get Pregnant” discussed a woman’s journey to having a child, which involved being counseled against undergoing fertility treatment due to her hi…
