Category: COVID-19 / coronavirus

When medicine is the virus that ails you

I knew this day would come, when my survival would depend on my ability to reframe a covenant once made. Medicine, the knight in shining armor that has given me livelihood and legacy has taken so much. I willingly surrendered for the title of physician…

How COVID-19 strained the relationship between patients and health care workers

At its core, medicine is about a relationship between patients and health care workers. This bond between the sick and those who care for them transcends conventional boundaries and restrictions. Health care workers often witness the most profoundly in…

The United States earns a D+ on the vaccine effort

The United States has, so far, earned a solid D+ on the vaccine effort. The high mark is not an F because people are actually being vaccinated. There are a multitude of factors that are making this already incredibly complex situation unnecessarily con…

Nursing home workers at catastrophic levels of burnout and trauma

It’s been almost a year since nursing home workers began fighting on the front lines of COVID-19. They’ve witnessed and experienced extreme trauma. They’ve seen seniors they care for suffer in fear and loneliness during prolonged and repeated lockdowns…

The pandemic has reminded me of the physician-patient relationship’s precious nature

“How is she? What happened?” – a family member asks me anxiously over the phone. I pause and proceed cautiously. “What is your understanding – “ I am cut off. “Just tell me what happened.” Again, I pause. “I am very sorry sir, and I am sad to say that …

A dose of positivity? Just what the doctor ordered.

We have dealt with the COVID-19 pandemic, and its disruptions to our lives, for a year. And all the news reports, the dire warnings, and the messages of doom and gloom reinforce a feeling of despair as we face yet another week of virtual school, along …

My heart as a physician has been weighted with the pain I have witnessed

There is such beauty that arises when we simply smile at our children’s faces. Their roaring belly laughs, their absolute delight in catching snowflakes on their tongues on an early February afternoon, and their joyful playground adventures just …

In the midst of our COVID crisis, we must learn to take care of ourselves. And each other.

Applause every evening, volunteers sewing masks, personal phone calls, and check-ins – these are a few examples of the support that helped us get through the initial, brutal onslaught of COVID in New York City last spring. A year later, many hospitals …

COVID vaccine battles are as strange as the disease

During these early weeks of COVID-19 vaccine distribution, the response across the country has been, well, odd. Unlike any other vaccine that’s been administered, the reactions to this one have ranged from elation to envy to fear to anger. On December …

Vaccination and trust in science and patience is the only way out of this pandemic

A COVID-free future is within our reach – a future where it’s safe to hug again and where our smiles no longer need to be hidden behind a mask. To get there, we will need a robust vaccination drive. We will need Canadians to roll up their sleeves…