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…
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…
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…
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…
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 …
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…
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 …
I had been waiting for a FaceTime call back for a few weeks now, excited to share with my friend that I had decided which specialty I would pursue. It was when COVID-19 cast the darkness over New York City that I knew he would no longer be interested i…
I am a physician, and I am scared. I am scared for my patients, my friends, my family, and most of all, I am scared for my colleagues. As an oncologist, I am not someone yet on the frontlines treating patients acutely diagnosed with COVID-19, although …
Many of us are learning and refreshing our knowledge of critical care and vent management, but how about acknowledging that one of the most meaningful aspects of the art of medicine is simply to bear witness to, and ease the suffering of our fellow hum…
