Multiple times a week, I get messages asking some variation of, “How are you holding up?” I am neither an anesthesiologist, critical care, or ER physician, so I’m not three inches away from exposure while intubating patients with coronaviru…
Category: Infectious disease
After the pandemic, would I choose medicine again?
Several weeks ago, after hearing that I plan to begin medical school this August, someone asked me if I still would have chosen to become a physician had I known about COVID-19. When I submitted my AMCAS application one year ago, I never imagined that …
Dr. Fauci is being used as a political pawn. It’s time for that to stop.
Dr. Anthony Fauci looks tired. His voice is raspy at times. He has become the face of resistance to the COVID-19 pandemic in the U.S. He is present at the daily White House briefings and various networks throughout the day, allaying people’s fears and …
The parallels between basketball and pandemic medicine
Michael Jordan. Kobe Bryant. Yao Ming. These are the biggest names in the basketball world, and all three were my superheroes growing up. Even though I’d never had the chance to meet them, to see how they carried themselves on and off the court-i…
8 reasons why people ignore and defy COVID-19 safeguards
If you’re amazed that people are still shaking hands, waltzing around mask-free in public, and rushing off to hair salons and beaches in some states, learn to think like a therapist. Understanding the underlying motivations of people who ignore and def…
Will social distancing turn into doctor distancing?
Across our country, Americans are under a stay at home order. People are toiling over the hardships of juggling so many things — childcare, homeschooling, working, or not working — all at once. The day that society can rejoin the public s…
To combat COVID-19, we endanger our doctors in training
American hospitals are quickly running out of resources during this devastating time. It’s not simply a lack of protective equipment and COVID-19 testing – health care workers are rapidly becoming exposed, which limits their ability to care for patient…
Public health requires a broader, longer-term assessment of the pandemic
Many government officials have begun to lift some restrictions on elective surgeries and procedures for hospitals. This means that some of those of us in medical professions not on the COVID-19 front lines will be returning to a workload closer to the …
Rising to the moment COVID demands: How to insure all Americans in pandemic times
The COVID-19 pandemic has led to unprecedented upheaval of the U.S. health care system. For decades the United States has stood out among peer nations as the only country with no universal health care system. And now we are learning just how problemati…
The unsettling result of a negative coronavirus test
As a psychologist, I have long been aware of some of the emotional impacts that illnesses like COVID-19 can have on individuals and families. I never imagined that I would experience some of these impacts directly. Furthermore, I never could have guess…
