The euphoria of becoming a physician did not last long. My scrubs did not even lose the fresh scent, and I was already under attack by the administrators. Over the next few years, I was injured, morally hurt, not able to fight back, sad, and dishearten…
A few weeks ago, I met Mr. T, a 96-year-old man admitted to the hospital from a nursing home. With numerous chronic medical problems and another hospitalization preceding his nursing home stay, Mr. T had been clear about his wishes. After spending a fe…
Ten years from now, the internist stands in the emergency department. Doctors run past him as he stares at the number of gurneys pushed against the wall with struggling patients who all need assistance. There are not enough gowns for him, and his colle…
The doom, gloom, and uncertainty surrounding the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic can be overwhelming, even for an emergency department physician such as myself. The heaviness of the situation largely stems from the deadly nature of the virus, our relatively …
The COVID-19 pandemic has raised many questions about how to constitutionally handle a public health crisis on both the state and national levels. Many wonder if a national lockdown can be put in place — a new dilemma that has little legal precedent to…
Alarm clock. Wake up. Groggy. Haven’t slept well in weeks. Work out. Pilates. Run. Meditate. Routine. I think it helps. Coffee. Shower. Eat something. Peanut butter on an English muffin. Get dressed. Old clothes, the same clothes. Laundry is done every…
“Good fences make good neighbors” is a memorable and salient line from Robert Frost’s poem, “Mending Walls.” While the context of its meaning is a plea for the importance of privacy, it is a useful phrase for the COVID-19 …
The work of health care workers is not luxurious in the best of times. It is always risky and physically and mentally demanding. In a pandemic, it is outright dangerous. Our front liners during COVID-19 will suffer unimaginable physical and mental harm…
At a time when health care professionals across the globe are working around the clock against COVID-19, it may seem tone-deaf at best to think about joy in work. We all agree that the top priority for health care leaders now is to focus on expanding t…
It’s been a whirlwind of emotions during the last few weeks. I started in the hospital when our cases were starting to creep up. The fear. The anguish. The uncertainty. The anger. The sadness. The crazy dreams. The donning. The doffing. The decontamina…
