Was everyone in medical school as young, innocent, and wildly stupid as we were? The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine required superlatives: most, best, fastest … dumbest? Before each test, my friend Frank and I would scroll through ou…
Category: Infectious disease
A primer for those new to the world of telemedicine
I have previously written an article on telemedicine regarding its benefits and its potential value as a component of a successful patient practice. Given the current climate in the medical community due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this seemed to be an a…
This is a time for national unity, not sensationalism
We are at war with an invisible enemy: COVID-19. This enemy is only 0.125 microns in size but has infected more than 463,000 people and killed more than 20,000 people worldwide. Physicians, nurses, and allied health care providers are all on the front …
The coronavirus pandemic is truly like a war
Maybe this sounds dramatic, but the coronavirus is like a war. The soldiers are health care workers. The enemy is the virus. The battlefield is the hospitals. We are finding out that life can turn on a dime. I found that out 30 years ago in August 19…
A message from an Ebola veteran to all health care workers
In health care, we are all feeling overwhelmed right now. We are overwhelmed by the number of patients, the vast unknown about COVID-19, and the lack of appropriate equipment to do our jobs properly. Yes, right now, we don’t have the tools to adequatel…
Medical residents are left out in the fight against coronavirus
New York City medical residents who were out on research for the year are being reassigned from their research jobs …. to more research. Despite having spent all of last year managing ICU patients, a PGY-3 resident in New York City, received notice his…
After the pandemic, can we stop vilifying doctors?
So can we talk about something? Something that may be unpopular or seem callous at this time? New York is the epicenter of this pandemic in our nation. They are now asking, nay pleading, for doctors to come help them. They’re drowning and do not have t…
Anticipatory grief during the COVID-19 pandemic
I woke up today wearing the lead suit of grief. I was tired, irritable, and tearful. I was angry at the lack of PPE and the risk that this poses to my colleagues. I was sad, anticipating the loss of my colleagues who are still alive and well. I was …
COVID-19: Time is the one thing we can never get back
When I look at his big blue-gray eyes, I see fear, sadness, resignation, and what only I can recognize as an attempt to reassure me. I can faintly make out small areas of moisture at the corners of his crinkled eyes, while I see him struggling for both…
I am an ER doctor on the front lines of the COVID-19 fight but I am counting my blessings
What a time to be alive. What a time to be a new emergency room doctor. Ten months into a hopefully long career and already facing the healthcare battle of my life. I’m in my early 30s. Not exactly the highest risk age group when it comes to the novel …
