It can be difficult for patients with substance use disorders, depression, anxiety, or obsessive-compulsive disorder to seek care and commit to a regular schedule of behavioral health care visits. However, telehealth and telepsychiatry have vastly enab…
As emergency physicians, my husband and I were determined to protect ourselves, our teenagers, and society at-large with the latest, monovalent COVID vaccine, which the CDC recently recommended for every American 6 months and older. I realized, though,…
In Daniel Goleman’s model of emotional intelligence (EQ), there are two main competencies: Personal competency, which includes self-awareness, self-regulation, and motivation; and social competency, which includes social skills and empathy. We ca…
In traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), health is perceived as a holistic concept that encompasses not only the physical aspects of our bodies but also the emotional and spiritual dimensions. Traditional Chinese medicine practitioners have long held the…
An excerpt from Beautiful Monster: A Becoming. The day of the surgery we show up early to the small clinic. After a brief wait we are taken into the back, where the doctor draws a map of my body-to-be on my now-body, detailing the road to my new life. …
No matter your politics or judgment on the COVID-19 vaccine, we can agree that the visuals of the world’s number one tennis player being detained and treated like a criminal when he went to the Australian Open last year were unsettling, and the A…
In today’s corporate health care world, physicians are exposed to high levels of stress in the course of carrying out the duties of their profession, making them susceptible to experiencing burnout. Burnout has far-reaching implications not only …
I write widely as a subject matter expert on U.S. policy for the regulation of prescription opioid pain relievers and of clinicians who employ them in managing their patients’ chronic pain. Because I am a patient advocate and the spouse of a chro…
25 years ago, at the age of 42, I had my first mammogram, which was part of my routine checkup. I had no symptoms at the time. I was devastated when the radiologist discovered a shadow in my left breast. To confirm this, a biopsy was scheduled, and ind…
I have wanted to work in medicine ever since my eleven-year-old cousin passed out during my uncle’s birthday party. He suddenly fainted when we were supposed to cut the cake. We rushed to the emergency room. Doctors diagnosed him with blood cance…
