When I was 18, I decided I wanted to be a doctor. I wanted to help people. I wanted to make things better for others. So, I studied hard in college. I couldn’t afford to pay for test prep classes for the medical school entrance exam, so I studied o…
Category: Infectious disease
Should physicians shy away from accepting their mortalities?
In between snippets of conversation exchanged with my husband about how the first day of remote learning went for our 9 year old and whether the latest nanny was likely to quit given health risks associated with working in a two-physician frontline wor…
Are Boston hospitals prioritizing money over the safety of their employees and patients?
Growing evidence suggests that the novel COVID-19 virus can be aerosolized. To adequately protect employees, providers require not just “droplet,” but “airborne” precautions and the appropriate healthcare worker personal protective equipment (PPE). Ap…
We are not being too alarmist about COVID-19
I’ve been reading a lot of posts expressing disappointment with the way that COVID-19 has been covered in the media and worry about the economic consequences of prolonged social distancing. This is long, and you might not care, but here’s my perspectiv…
Giving birth during the COVID-19 pandemic: an obstetric anesthesiologist’s perspective
“It’s a strange time to be having a baby,” my patient said as she sat alone in her labor room. The state order to shelter-in-place in California had left her family with few options as her husband had to stay home to take care of their toddler. She is …
Try social loving instead of social distancing
Social distancing. It is a mantra that seemed to have been plucked straight out of obscurity for those who had never heard of it before just as the coronavirus pandemic dug its ugly claws into the fabric of American life. And since then, it has been pe…
How are we doing? The short answer is that we’re OK. The real answer is much longer.
My friends ask me how I’m doing. The short answer is always, “We’re OK.” But the real answer is much longer. I feel a lot of anxiety these days. It’s always there, sometimes with more intensity than others. But a constant, ever-present,…
The hospital doesn’t care: Physicians must advocate for themselves
On Doctors’ Day, my hospital celebrated our work by giving us each a pair of cheap headphones, and also announced the death of an attending. Though the personal risk to each of us was highlighted by the recent death, the administration did not gi…
The hospital doesn’t care: Physicians must advocate for themselves
On Doctors’ Day, my hospital celebrated our work by giving us each a pair of cheap headphones, and also announced the death of an attending. Though the personal risk to each of us was highlighted by the recent death, the administration did not gi…
The fragile economics of America’s emergency departments
On the front lines, America’s emergency departments (ED) are currently in at the center of a crisis treating patients with COVID-19. Emergency physicians and other clinicians are placing themselves and their families at risk. Yet, there is also …
