“It is OK to be scared, but it is not OK to let our own anxieties harm our patients. As we tackle the numerous crises created by the COVID-19 pandemic, let’s acknowledge our fear and draw on the logic and clinical reasoning that we have spent yea…
Category: Hospital-Based Medicine
Doctors shouldn’t feel ashamed for wanting to protect themselves or their family [PODCAST]
“Although I personally hope to continue to be at or near the frontlines, I understand those that are in a compromised position, and they shouldn’t feel ashamed for wanting to protect themselves or their family. There is no portion of the Hippocra…
A code in the time of COVID-19
The first time I had ever been present when a patient was in cardiac arrest, I was a medical student, spending a night in the emergency department of a small local hospital. An old woman was rushed in from home after she had fallen over at the dinner t…
Something’s rotten in America’s health care
My friend, the hospitalist, was livid as he came from meeting the administration. “They said doctors cost too much!” he sputtered. “We’re an expense. An expense the hospital can no longer support. We are an expense!” He turned purple. Nice color. Like …
Wife swap: a physician’s toxic work environment
“It’s not my fault that you chose to have children.” Years after leaving my job, I still hear my boss’s words in my head. He did not want to get married and or have children. He made that clear during my interview. He was also …
Our patients matter, but at what cost to our families?
oIs it possible to have it all? Can you have a job that you love, helping people and using your brain and hands all at the same time; plus, a family, with a spouse and children, that you are always there for? Is it possible to have a balance between …
Making time for patient advocacy is more important now than ever
“Time is generally the best doctor,” according to the Roman poet Ovid. But these days, in the middle of the pandemic, what doctor has time? Health care professionals already have 29-hour days. In many places, hospitals are at or near capacity because o…
Why COVID-19 is a threat to hospital medicine
As hospitals everywhere have been using every health care provider available to them in response to COVID-19, the specialty of hospital medicine has shown itself to be uniquely suited for coordinating the effort, to be the front of the frontline respon…
What happens when patient capacity and autonomy diverge?
“I can’t take this, doc. It’s gonna kill me. I can’t. I just can’t,” exclaims my patient with persistent refusal of his medication. My frustration is met with my patient care team’s hesitation to give him the m…
The emotional side of being a doctor during the COVID-19 pandemic
It was a Thursday. It was supposed to be one of those “regular” evening shifts. Then, at 6:15 p.m., my first page went off: Bed 11, Mrs. R., Dr. H. needs to talk to you. The page came from the COVID section of the emergency department. I immediately ca…
