It has long been said that Alzheimer’s disease or a related dementia (ADRD), like some other conditions, is a disease of the family. The ramifications of the disease extend well beyond the periphery of the person with cognitive decline to other f…
Category: Conditions
Antimicrobial resistance needs a publicist
The mass layoffs at federal health agencies, combined with the recent flurry of federal government announcements—paused communications, stop-work orders, and canceled meetings—have the health care and life sciences communities on edge. One announcement…
The unspoken weight of words: reflections on a Vietnamese patient’s final choices
When the patient arrived by ambulance, he was frail, elderly, and alone in a hospital that spoke a language he could not understand. He had been transferred from a neighboring hospital across state lines due to concerns of malnutrition and pain. The in…
I almost left health care: my nurse practitioner burnout story
My journey in nursing has led me to experiences and insights I will carry with me for the rest of my life. I declared nursing as my major because I was passionate about making a difference in patients’ lives. I envisioned sitting by patients̵…
A retired ICU nurse’s brunch conversation sparks a life-changing moment
We were a team. Always had been. Always would be. We defended each other, protected each other—from management, from nurse bullies, from the cruel ICU doctors who thought they ruled the world. Back in the day, we had our own kind of “therapy sess…
Cancer treatment and sexual health: the conversation we need to have
When we think of cancer treatment, we often focus on the immediate goals: Shrinking tumors, stopping the spread of the disease, and ultimately aiming for a cure. What doesn’t get as much attention, but is just as important, is how cancer treatmen…
Medicine’s mental health crisis: Why the system is failing us
An excerpt from Has Medicine Lost Its Mind?: Why Our Mental Health System Is Failing Us and What Should Be Done to Cure It. One of society’s great issues is who decides what science does—the public or science. For example, the populace has taken …
Through the lens of COVID: a radiologic technologist’s story
I’ve been an X-ray and CT technologist for almost ten years, and I’ve always taken pride in my work. But nothing could have prepared me—or any of us—for what the COVID-19 pandemic brought. It wasn’t just the virus itself; it was the w…
The cost of presence: a lesson in listening
Last week, a mother of six children—four of whom have disabilities—made the trek to the health care campus where I’m a faculty member to share her story. She’s making this trip weekly on Thursdays to give the same presentation twice in succ…
The unexpected truth behind these misdiagnosed medical cases
I worked in rural health in Kentucky for twenty years, then in urgent treatment centers in Denver. All sorts of patients pop up in primary care and in UTCs. Most have easily identified complaints: UTI, sinusitis, flu. Others are there for regular refil…
