Category: Infectious disease

A resident physician’s reflections on COVID-19

As I change out of my scrubs in the resident lounge bathroom, I am exhausted and numb. I put on sweatpants and a T-shirt, taking care of folding my scrubs to avoid touching the dirty spots. I wipe my phone and keys with an antibacterial and antiviral h…

In the midst of a global health crisis, USMLE Step 1 needs to be made pass/fail now

Every aspect of life has been affected by COVID-19, including medical education. Since March 17, medical schools across the nation have suspended clinical rotations, per guidelines from the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC). The target en…

I put my role of doctor above my role of mom

Today, I put my role of doctor above my role of mom. Today, my physician husband and I made the difficult decision to send our daughter to live with my in-laws for the foreseeable future as we prepare to battle coronavirus in New York City. I am a pedi…

The doctors cry. The world applauds.

Two weeks ago, I wrote to describe our pandemic situation as a labor of love. Now, as a fourth-year medical student – the only word I can find is: fury. I am absolutely furious. I am furious that the country’s leading public health agency, …

We can’t build our way out of the ventilator shortage. But there is a solution.

“Hey buddy, can you spare some ventilators?” No, this is not an attempt at dark humor. This is the preamble of numerous calls that are going on across the nation right now. Whether the call is made to a ventilator manufacturer or to other medical cente…

The inspiring concern and connection between health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic

The current pandemic of COVID-19 has already brought out the best and the worst in people all over the world. These dark days have also brought out some deep-seeded feelings of fear, anger, selfishness, and, thankfully, selflessness. As a surgeon in a …

The inspiring concern and connection between health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic

The current pandemic of COVID-19 has already brought out the best and the worst in people all over the world. These dark days have also brought out some deep-seeded feelings of fear, anger, selfishness, and, thankfully, selflessness. As a surgeon in a …

Racially equitable decisions in the era of COVID-19

Several weeks ago, Americans physicians started receiving reports that our Italian colleagues were being forced to decide which of their patients would receive life-sustaining therapy for COVID-19. Across the United States, American physicians are on t…

False negative: COVID-19 testing’s catch-22

In a physician WhatsApp group, a doctor posted he had a fever of 101 degrees Fahrenheit and muscle ache, gently confessing that it felt like his typical “man flu” which heals with rest and scotch. He worried that he had coronavirus. When the reverse tr…

An emergency physician to President Trump

I am a practicing emergency medicine physician in Indianapolis, IN.  I work in a county hospital whose mission is to serve the underserved.  I, like you, was born into a life of privilege with white skin and parents with the means to provide all that w…