“I see lamenting the Great Resignation. I celebrate it. It’s not so much about what people are leaving – but where are they going? What have they empowered themselves to become? The thought, ‘There has to be something more,’ has been …
Category: Pediatrics
Support groups are life-changing for many patients
“Gimme five,” the TV doctor said to his little patient as he entered the exam room. As I watched this scene in an evening TV program, I was reminded of one of my pediatric practice’s most gratifying stories, which happened over 20 yea…
Multi-system inflammatory syndrome in children: a pediatric hospitalist’s conversation
Them: “I have never heard of this.” Me: “That’s OK, let me explain what is going on. Your child has a condition called multi-system inflammatory syndrome in children, which we call MIS-C. We see this condition after a COVID infe…
Want to publish a children’s book? Here’s how.
It was my son’s birthday, and I wanted to give him a gift he would remember. He had written a story when he was seven years old about eating boogers. As a urologist, I can attest that this is not a healthy habit and do not recommend it. I helped …
Kids are not OK: Health care is failing them
Our medical system is failing our children. The rate of chronic diseases in children is skyrocketing. Obesity has increased. Behavioral health issues are at new highs, making suicide a leading cause of death in children. During the pandemic, rates of p…
A random act of kindness on a plane
My wife and I were on a short flight from Rome to Brindisi in the region called Puglia in the southern part of Italy last year. As we were starting to taxi down the runway, I heard a child crying a few rows behind us, but it was very different from a b…
Losing our most valuable non-renewable resource: physicians
Suppose you have watched the news, been on social media, or have had any conversations with others. In that case, it should not be a surprise that health care workers are physically, mentally, and emotionally exhausted and extremely burned out. We are …
Autism spectrum disorder and the masks we wear [PODCAST]
This episode is sponsored by Athelas, the number one provider of remote patient monitoring. “In the ongoing saga of the pandemic, there is the debate whether to wear a mask or not. These are physical masks that temporarily hide our face, but we a…
COVID is not always mild in kids
Can we agree to abandon the notion that COVID in children is “mild?” At least, as a medical community? We are taught to look at the data and guide our patients based on evidence. And the fact is, in a single week in January 2022, nearly 1 million pedia…
Sometimes an ounce of compassion feels like a waterfall
My husband Jeremy and I stood just inside the entrance of the NICU, between the front desk where we used to get our bright orange stickers, permitting our entry as proud parents of Reed Robinson, Room 363, and the washing station, where we meticulously…
