Category: Pediatrics

How becoming a mother made me a pediatrician

For years, I hated when patients would ask if I had children. I consider myself to be a good pediatrician and trained at a highly rated medical school and residency. I work hard and I care for my patients. I can, however, be socially awkward and did no…

Physicians have gone from being heroes to villains

I am exhausted. Mentally, emotionally, physically. I fear we are reaching our breaking point. We have run a marathon, hoping that we were nearing the finish line as we saw numbers decline in June, only to be told to lace up our sneakers and start over….

The surprising power of family meals

I am a board-certified pediatrician, wife, mother of four, and host of a podcast.  I have been interested in nutrition and feeding practices for as long as I can remember.  In my practice as a pediatrician, I was constantly bombarded with parent concer…

A perspective on comorbidities and severity of illness in children with COVID-19

“Children don’t get as sick with COVID-19” and “only children with comorbidities get very sick from COVID-19” are two statements that have concerned me during the pandemic.  They have been used as statements to support loosening COVID-19 prevention mea…

We hold the power to safeguard our children: an physician’s plea

As a primary care physician on the front line, I have witnessed tremendous disability and death due to COVID. I have grieved with mourning family members and spouses – watching their lives be uprooted due to a preventable infection. I have counseled wo…

Putting my kid back in school: the right decision for this pediatrician

As a parent who also happens to be a hospital-based pediatrician, lots of people have asked me my opinion on back to school and/or daycare. I am sharing my thoughts. I’m only one person. These are just my thoughts. Feel free to take what is helpf…

Putting my kid back in school: the right decision for this pediatrician

As a parent who also happens to be a hospital-based pediatrician, lots of people have asked me my opinion on back to school and/or daycare. I am sharing my thoughts. I’m only one person. These are just my thoughts. Feel free to take what is helpf…

A pediatric infectious disease physician shares his pandemic lessons [PODCAST]

“COVID-19 has changed nearly every aspect of society as we know it, and doctors in hospitals across America are at the forefront of those changes. As a pediatric infectious diseases doctor who also writes curriculum to help the next generation of…

How a pediatrician became a mystery novel writer

I can write. Four years at the University of California, similarly at medical school, and three in residency taught me how to master the skill. Divorced with limited education and fewer resources, my mom struggled to raise six kids. She told me the mos…

The Apgar Olympics: The race is on

The page comes during a lull on an otherwise busy day in the well-baby nursery (WBN). My pager’s shrill cry rouses me like the blast of a starting pistol. DI-DI GESTATION. 37 WEEKS. BABY A WITH NON-REASSURING HEART TONES. BABY B BREECH. OPERATING ROOM …