“Frontline workers may have temporarily experienced a heightened sense of personal success and gratification, but I doubt many of us are still able to feel satisfied at this point, after all the repeated moral injuries and losing so many patients…
Category: Hospital-Based Medicine
Uncertainty in medicine: the patient’s and doctor’s roles
“When will I go home?” asked the patient. “Hopefully, by the end of the week, if everything goes well,” said the doctor. “What do you mean by ‘if’?” Uncertainty. It’s the one thing that is common am…
I’ve broken free from time, and I am a better doctor for it
How many minutes have you given yourself to read this post? There was a time when none of us could tell time. Imagine not knowing what the ever-moving hands of a clock are trying to reveal. My memories skew, but in that era before I could tell time, al…
Why it’s important to take charge of your own health
Little did I know that after October 2, 2020, my life would completely change forever. I want to start by saying I am a pharmacist by profession, and I now finally understand the saying, “take charge of your health.” My brother and I had taken my dad t…
When the family wants to speak to the doctor
Being a doctor is often more about talking to people and communicating than it is about the scientific practice of medicine. This is something that is unfortunately not taught enough in medical school, and it’s left to newly qualified doctors to realiz…
Honor your oath. Set boundaries. Demand respect.
This morning, while scrolling through social media, I encountered a resounding theme. Multiple physicians posting about being challenged, disrespected, and made to feel worthless by the very people they were trying to help: their patients. Being brough…
A nurse’s story of health care workplace violence [PODCAST]
“I can imagine the horror of watching a colleague being attacked. I worry about the coworker who Lynne protected that day, since being a survivor can be so bittersweet. I can feel the shock of how quickly the violence escalated, tasting the bitte…
Unyielding physicians. My congregation. Hold me up.
While I lack certainty in my faith, a church has always been a sanctuary. And while I land in church rarely, and even less in this pandemic, when I’m in one, in any country across the globe, a certain feeling comes to me. My favorites are old, gothic,…
“Call the family. Let them know she passed away.”
She was an ICU downgrade. Hospice care is what they told me. We added her name to our list, and my senior resident told me she was now my patient. I did not have a clear story. Sepsis? Complications? The ICU note was lengthy. Rounds were coming up, and…
Is COVID a turning point for sustainability in hospital supply chains? [PODCAST]
“Scarcity has, in many ways, defined the COVID-19 experience in the U.S., from shortages in personal protective equipment to ICU ventilators and hospital capacity, to COVID test kits, to drugs like Remdesivir in hard-hit states. These shortages h…
