The World Health Organization (WHO) first declared the COVID-19 outbreak a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC) on January 30, 2020, when, outside of China, there were fewer than 100 cases, and there were no deaths. This formal decl…
An excerpt from Justice in the Age of Judgment: From Amanda Knox to Kyle Rittenhouse and the Battle for Due Process in the Digital Age. In the early 1970s, a group of researchers at Stanford University placed advertisements in a newspaper offering two …
You sigh as you see the name on the next chart. “Good grief, this poor woman,” you think as you place your hand on the doorknob. “Doctor, I really tried. I really tried this time!” she sobs. “Cheryl, I know you did. But yo…
Recently, I heard a news report regarding several state attorneys general suing the federal government to eliminate the requirement that health care providers be immunized against COVID. They argued that as fully immunized individuals still contract CO…
I finally found time after retirement to clean out my nurse’s book bag. It contained items such as a stethoscope, extra playing cards for patients, highlighters, various pens, a penlight, a notebook with important phone numbers throughout the hea…
A long inglorious history of medical racism and mistreatment has dire health consequences. Consider the atrocities associated with experimentation on African Americans without informed consent during the Tuskegee Syphilis Study (1932-1972), which erode…
In the words of the late soccer great Pelé spoofed on Saturday Night Live, women’s health has been “very, very good” for drug makers. In 2002, 61 million prescriptions were written for women in the U.S. for hormones to treat the so-ca…
Adapted from Finding the Words: Working Through Profound Loss with Hope and Purpose. I am glad I got to watch my kids die. To be clear, I’m not glad they died. I am heartbroken and devastated, and there is a never-ending hole of aching and pain i…
“Even a room with flammable gas will not explode unless someone strikes a match.” – Dr. Bob Wachter Case 1: On March 27, 1977, two 747s collided on the runway at Tenerife in the Canary Islands, killing 583 people. On a foggy morning, the KL…
I have been overweight or obese since I hit puberty. I have gained and lost the same 60 pounds half a dozen times in my adult life. I’ve never been one to try a fad diet – I research the data and follow a scientifically sound plan. I understand t…
