Category: Infectious disease

Ethical dilemmas in the pandemic era [PODCAST]

“The donation of hydroxychloroquine, in contrast to the accompanying donation of 1,000 ventilators, is unethical as either humanitarian aid or as a ‘research study.’ The United States has a moral responsibility for any human harm that…

The widowhood effect and COVID-19: What seniors need to know

The coronavirus has taken a major toll on virtually all aspects of our lives, especially for those of us who live in urban areas. As many others have rightfully pointed out, the dangers of the disease extend well beyond the physical complications cause…

How doctors can navigate the financial crisis [PODCAST]

“Out of the blue, a new virus popped up, and ten weeks later, it is a pandemic. Within the last ten weeks, doctors have identified this new disease, figured out how it is transmitted, identified what body fluid we need to test to determine who ha…

An unintended consequence of COVID universal masking

Spring 2020 has brought a disproportionate amount of grief for many of us. The losses include mortal ones, such as the death of a loved one, a colleague, or a patient. We’ve lost productivity, opportunities, and income. We’ve also lost freedoms, from t…

COVID-19 will set female leaders in STEM back for years 

The scene is becoming far too familiar for so many of us.  Hours and days in meetings, struggling to stay relevant in this new virtual workplace. Earphones anchored in, skillfully planning the “unmute” to avoid transmitting the sounds of sc…

How to make COVID-19 contact tracing work

Imagine answering a call from an unknown number. A stranger announces you may have been exposed to coronavirus; you may or may not get seriously ill, and either way, you have to isolate yourself for two weeks while everyone else carries on. What goes t…

A physician and her COVID-free island

I am a physician that was placed in a unique position.  I was hired as a private contractor to work for three months in a remote medical setting on Wake Island. Wake Island is a remote island approximately 2000 miles west of Hawaii, with a population o…

The racial disparities of COVID-19 [PODCAST]

  “Some media outlets and public figures have heralded the ongoing pandemic as a great equalizer, referencing the pathogen’s indiscriminate spread and disregard for national borders and tax brackets. The sobering mortality statistics, howeve…

How COVID-19 forced me to pivot and accelerated my business growth  

Since 2008, after embarking as a full-time entrepreneur, my career has been a series of peaks and valleys. By 2016, I had achieved FIRE status in my mid-thirties by investing in residual income-producing investments, including real estate and equities….

Providing clinician support in times of calm and chaos

Before the world was crippled by the spread of COVID-19, physician burnout was already taking an alarming toll on our health care system. Physicians were working more hours, more days, in high-pressure circumstances with excessive charting requirements…