Category: Infectious disease

Science and faith in the time of COVID-19

During the COVID-19 pandemic, a glaring trend has emerged, one that has long helped forge the American religious cultural landscape, but has now blossomed in full force, particularly within many Christian fundamentalist circles. As a physician who is a…

A physician’s journey from Survivor to Shark Tank to quarantine

I’m my breaking point! Frustrated, exhausted, caffeine-deprived, and surrounded by people who don’t listen to me, I’m not trained for this, and I am ready to tag out.  OK, granted, it is only day two of distance learning for my third grader and kinderg…

A gastroenterologist’s COVID musings from behind the mask

I was recently asked to see an 89-year-old woman who was gravely ill in the intensive care unit. She was admitted with cholangitis due to bile duct stones causing complete obstruction leading to septic shock. It is a life-threatening situation, especia…

The mental health jeopardy of our youngest healers

I was admitted to the hospital for psychiatric evaluation and stabilization just after my third year of medical school. Leading up to my episode, I thought I was fine – stressed, sure, overworked, definitely, but I thought that was normal for som…

Should professional athletes get priority in COVID testing?

As COVID-19 continues to surge across the country, with an anticipated death toll reaching 300,000 by the end of the year, the NFL season has just kicked off. Multiple professional and college sports programs have also returned to play. To prevent outb…

Trained immunity in the fight against COVID

It is probably a very good friend right now. COVID-19 vaccine trials are underway in an unprecedented fashion.  But lately, questions about the integrity of Operation Warp Speed have started to linger.  A vaccine availability deadline prior to phase 3 …

COVID-19 reveals gaping holes in locum tenens contracts [PODCAST]

“I called the locum agency in the morning to air my concerns. To their credit, they admitted that the COVID-19 pandemic is an unprecedented event for which no one could have planned. They had developed a fund through which they could support heal…

5 ways COVID-19 threatens sports as we know it

Americans are in a sprint to return to the sports they love. Players want to play, coaches want to coach, and teams want to see fans in the stands sooner than later. But what if a return to sports (as they once were) winds up being more of a marathon t…

The failure of the U.S. government’s physicians to do good, avoid harm, and tell the truth

Medicine is a moral pursuit. Physicians inherit the tools of medicine not only through their training, but also by taking an oath to do good, avoid harm, and tell the truth. Hippocrates, the father of medical ethics, realized that the tools he possesse…

Health care should be apolitical, but it isn’t [PODCAST]

“COVID-19 is a tragedy that could have easily been prevented if our leaders cared more about the well-being of their citizens instead of economies, stock markets, and their political campaigns. To all those arguing about how the economy is more i…