This breath is a gift … This moment is a gift … This life is a gift … As with every other person, I am struggling to comprehend the staggering effects that COVID-19 has had on our society in such a short time. Gone are the carefree sm…
Category: Infectious disease
Please protect all health care workers: Make PPE a priority
For most of us, we have never experienced a pandemic as unique and widespread as COVID-19 during our lifetimes. There is ample data suggesting that the novel coronavirus is not only more infectious (R-naught 2-3) but also associated with increased seve…
The importance of staying humble in a pandemic
In a time where everyone is looking for answers, I see a lot of health care workers, pundits, sports figures, and talking heads presenting a lot of in-flux data as immutable fact. I’ve seen phrases like “If you go outside, you’ll kill your grandma,” an…
It’s scary as hell to be a doctor right now
I’m not gonna lie. It’s scary as hell to be a doctor right now. In Italy, which is our projected immediate future, up to 10 percent of infected people are health care workers. Health care workers are also more likely to experience severe and critical d…
How a pandemic may kill the handshake
My grandfather was a dedicated physician. To me, he was the caring, attentive doctor depicted in the classic Norman Rockwell paintings. He was a brilliant and religious man of few but powerful words who didn’t greet his patients with a handshake, but…
On the front lines of a COVID-19 assessment clinic
March 15, 2020. The luke-warm water burns my hands for a few seconds; maybe this is how a snowman feels as it disintegrates on the first day of spring. Soon, my fingers loosen, but the sensation is fleeting. I dry my hands, put on another pair of glove…
COVID-19: You may be bored, but others are scared
Earlier this morning, I received an email regarding a “quarantine party.” The event description read: “We are young people who don’t take this BS quarantine seriously. Let’s crowd in this condo and have a good time. I promise, you won’t get sick.” I am…
How to avoid COVID-19 Infection at work: tips from an infectious disease physician
The physician workforce is one of the most valuable resources of any hospital, and in the midst of the COVID-19 outbreak, we need to do everything possible to ensure that physicians stay healthy. Like other hospital epidemiologists, I spend a lot of ti…
The COVID-19 breakthroughs are coming
An excerpt from The Physician Inventor: The Doctor’s Handbook to Patenting Medical Devices and Methods. Recent New York Times articles document the growing concern that the United States will not have enough ventilators to fight the coronavirus pandemi…
A letter to President Trump from an emergency physician
Dear Mr. President, I write to you now to congratulate you. You are at the cusp of a moment that historians will note catapulted you into one of the great chapters of the American story. Your name will forever be listed among the great men of the ages….
