Category: Infectious disease

COVID-19 is an opportunity to change the culture of death

The doom, gloom, and uncertainty surrounding the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic can be overwhelming, even for an emergency department physician such as myself. The heaviness of the situation largely stems from the deadly nature of the virus, our relatively …

Are COVID-19 lockdowns legal or not?

The COVID-19 pandemic has raised many questions about how to constitutionally handle a public health crisis on both the state and national levels. Many wonder if a national lockdown can be put in place — a new dilemma that has little legal precedent to…

A day in the life of a physician during the pandemic

Alarm clock. Wake up. Groggy. Haven’t slept well in weeks. Work out. Pilates. Run. Meditate. Routine. I think it helps. Coffee. Shower. Eat something. Peanut butter on an English muffin. Get dressed. Old clothes, the same clothes. Laundry is done every…

Preventing COVID-19 transmission and the art and science of barriers

“Good fences make good neighbors” is a memorable and salient line from Robert Frost’s poem, “Mending Walls.” While the context of its meaning is a plea for the importance of privacy, it is a useful phrase for the COVID-19 …

The bittersweet post-COVID life for this physician

This week, I opened my planner and came across a list of my goals for Spring that I’d written back in early January: attend a Latin dance festival; get my blue belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu; travel. These sorts of activities open my mind, allowing me to …

When an army has insufficient personal protective equipment, they don’t go in the line of fire

The work of health care workers is not luxurious in the best of times. It is always risky and physically and mentally demanding. In a pandemic, it is outright dangerous. Our front liners during COVID-19 will suffer unimaginable physical and mental harm…

Does joy in work matter during a pandemic?

At a time when health care professionals across the globe are working around the clock against COVID-19, it may seem tone-deaf at best to think about joy in work. We all agree that the top priority for health care leaders now is to focus on expanding t…

The immense kindness and humanity surfacing from the pandemic

It’s been a whirlwind of emotions during the last few weeks. I started in the hospital when our cases were starting to creep up. The fear. The anguish. The uncertainty. The anger. The sadness. The crazy dreams. The donning. The doffing. The decontamina…

The hidden ventilators in America

Your town has more than enough ventilators if you know where to find them. Tens to hundreds of vents are sitting in almost every neighborhood in America, but are being utilized incorrectly.  Throughout the nation, there are facilities known as LTACs, w…

Is asking for hazard pay “not becoming of a compassionate and caring physician”?

New York University residents are seeking compensation for the increased risk they face as they are called to the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic, but leadership has declined their request for hazard pay and now stands accused on social media of ga…