“I used to only have to deal with him touching me after school — now it’s all the time.” “She’s doing drugs more because she lost her job last week; she started hitting me again.” As a pediatrician-in-training, IR…
Category: Pediatrics
How the pandemic can bring the family-centered model back to pediatrics
The devastation inflicted by the coronavirus pandemic both in terms of health and the world economy will continue to be discussed for quite some time. Large numbers of our neighbors have been impacted in these ways. What has also been just as profound …
A pediatrician’s silver linings during the pandemic
A few weeks ago, while I was still seeing a full schedule of patients and the crisis was just beginning, I asked myself, “How can I reach this little person on the exam table in front of me?” It was our first meeting. He was deaf and partia…
Family and medicine: a day in the life during the pandemic
Sunlight creeps through the living room blinds. We have taken to sleeping here now on the giant sectional sofa. Most days, there is no reason to set an alarm. The dog stirs, moves from where he was nestled against one child to stretch out alongside ano…
Prioritize the health of children during the pandemic
Where are the kids? What are they doing? Are they learning anything? My stomach grows heavy, and my throat clogs. Are they eating? Are they safe? Good Lord, I hope that they are safe. As a pediatrician and as a mother of two, I regularly scan news arti…
How COVID-19 will close pediatric practices
The COVID-19 pandemic has turned our lives upside down. It has wreaked havoc on the economy, leaving many jobless, and many industries questioning where their future lies. In my view, it has brought the weak infrastructure of the U.S. health care sys…
How to be a better doctor? Stop being their doctor.
The COVID-19 pandemic has brought with it a slew of challenges that were previously unimaginable for many of us. Social isolation, separation from beloved family members, the daily struggle to juggle work, parenting, and teaching in times of economic a…
From frontlines to sidelined: a resident’s experience on staying positive
On a gorgeous day in early March, I set out on my usual morning commute to clinic. The recent rain had turned the mountains green, there was some fresh snow atop Mount Baldy in the usually dry Inland Empire of Southern California, and the Lakers had ju…
How this medical student is inspired by pediatrics
I slip through the slightly cracked door. “Knock, knock,” I say, but mom is hidden under the blankets, resting while there are so many of us to take over for her for a tiny bit. In the darkness, I make my way to the crib, where a crack of sunlight peer…
Eliminating religious exemptions from school vaccination in the time of the COVID-19 pandemic
Coronavirus has essentially altered life for the foreseeable future, and it’s clear to experts this public health crisis will only be defeated with development and implementation of a vaccine. While Coronavirus has shown us what life is can be without…
