Over the past few months, my 6-year-old daughter and 3-year-old son have been confined almost entirely to our house and backyard to shelter them from the coronavirus pandemic. They know that “the virus” is dangerous and invisible. However, like super…
With COVID-19 continuing to spread, some might assume that the one place to avoid is a hospital emergency room. After all, the space is filled with health care providers who work in close contact with sick people. This assumption could be harmful to a …
Barriers. Barriers of yellow tape and plastic mark our makeshift rooms. Red zippers define the “ENTER” and “EXIT.” In the middle is a window of still clearer plastic, partially obscured by taped ECGs. Barriers are put up to keep us safe, but they can d…
After 20 years of working at a hospital, I was ready to try something new. I had provided primary and specialty care to adults living with HIV or viral hepatitis for two decades, taught scores of students, residents, and fellows, successfully led our h…
Slow. Sluggish. Feet dragging. Legs heavy. The run was not the effortless morning wake-up I had envisioned when I sat on front steps tying the shoes. The gazelle I had envisioned, gently bouncing over the trails, had turned into more of a hippo waddlin…
2020 has presented us with unprecedented challenges. We’re six months into a pandemic that was only officially recognized half as long ago. This crisis was ignored, discredited, and camouflaged, unnecessarily worsening today’s chaos. ItR…
“We desperately want to be part of it. For most of us, this pandemic has tapped at a foundational, altruistic urge to do our part. Our friends and loved ones are on the frontlines, their faces creased by masks worn all day, their eyes bloodshot, …
“When the director of my general surgery program asked for a report on how the pandemic was affecting the residents, I queried my colleagues, promising anonymity to encourage candor. I received a wide variety of responses and reactions. Some are …
“Few physicians feel properly prepared to face the fear caused by this pandemic. I certainly did not. However, we continue to show up every day for our colleagues and our patients. We continue to focus on our jobs and the things that we can do to…
In April, I lost my dad to COVID-19, and this Father’s Day is going to be very difficult. As I was thinking about this, it occurred to me that there are many people out there suffering the same fate. Each death is not just a statistic. Each number r…
