I’m a medical doctor. Day to day, I focus on the practice of emergency medicine. I’ve never considered myself an alarmist. Actually, I’ve been trained to be calm in the face of tragedy. Many of my friends in business are concerned tha…
Category: Hospital-Based Medicine
A message to administrators from physicians: Lead, follow, or get out of the way
We represent the front lines in this ongoing crisis, and we are disheartened by not only the lack of support but overwhelming greed from just about all of you. We have kept our mouths shut and practiced medicine, providing excellent patient care, while…
What’s going to happen? What’s going on? I wish someone could tell me.
The waiting room is empty, and I take signout on five patients. The patients that typically line the hallways waiting for beds, for stress tests, for MRIs all stayed home. The familiar drunks still get their blister-packed turkey sandwiches. There’s a …
Thoughts from the COVID-19 front lines
I am an internal medicine physician directly taking care of patients admitted to the hospital who are COVID-19 positive or those who are being tested for COVID-19. Last week, my hospital created a special team dedicated to taking care of these patients…
The pandemic is bringing us home
It began last week in our neighborhood, between the locals, who, out for a breath of fresh air, and dutifully in line with the new social distancing rules, began to shout back and forth through the crisp March air. “Good morning! I hope you’re well!” “…
Health care workers are heroes
I spent the last week working in a large community hospital in a state with a soaring number of coronavirus cases. I previously had a few days off while this whole situation was escalating, and heard from colleagues that our hospital was taking huge me…
Don’t underestimate patients’ emotions
There’s a saying in medicine that: “If you’re holding a hammer, everything looks like a nail.” It’s our way of acknowledging that we all suffer from a particular set of blinders unique to our own specialties. Usually, our …
This doctor was called a bitch at work. Here’s what she did next.
As I hug my younger daughter’s little head at school drop-off, the calming aroma of her hair fills me with peace. She scurries across the schoolyard toward her 2nd-grade classroom, her big backpack bouncing up and down, seemingly with its own age…
Be the physician who supports other doctors
Medicine is a difficult calling. You already know the sacrifices. As an undergraduate, you gave up time with friends and family so you could be accepted into medical school — where you worked even harder. You understand that the practice of medicine re…
Riding the hospital common elevator
The elevator area on the ground floor of our hospital is split. As you enter, the common elevators are on the left, and to the right is a set of double doors, with a sign posted reading, “AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY.” And behind those doors are the emplo…
