Category: Pediatrics

The inspiring story of how a physician fought MOC against all odds

Well, I won. Six years after I started down the very slow process to end forced MOC in my state, it happened. On December 27, 2018 Michigan governor Rick Snyder signed HB 4134 and 4135 into law. The harm BCBS caused me and my patients will never happen…

Share your stories and experiences, in written, visual, or media form. Stories matter.

Narrative medicine: I have heard of that, but what is it? I often get asked this question. As a master’s student of narrative medicine, I am still trying to hone in on the best response to that question. For many, narrative medicine (NM) is not a…

The problem of disbelieving doctors

All good doctors learn to filter what parents say to them during history taking, to examine each parental statement for reliability, likelihood, and sheer outlandishness. Parents of sick children are a cross-section of humanity and, like all of us, var…

If your child is ever prescribed an opioid, read this post first

What if I told you that your adolescent child could contract a disease that can never be cured, but only maintained? That it would be a lifelong struggle that could change their personality, compromise their potential and values, destroy their relation…

Our terrifying chickenpox problem

A Kentucky judge rejected the claims made by a teenager who sued his local health department for temporarily barring students at his school who aren’t immune against chickenpox from attending classes and participating in extracurricular activitie…

5 parenting mistakes I make as a pediatrician-mom

I have been a medical doctor for 19 years, a pediatrician for 16 years and a mom for 11 years. Being a mom is — hands down — the hardest but also enhances my work as a physician (though I would not admit this before I had my own children). My work at w…

Thank you for letting us be a part of your child’s life. You truly are the heroes of medicine.

The following is something I wrote for our annual memorial service for children who have died at our Children’s Hospital. But these same thoughts are with me every day. It’s an honor to be here with you to celebrate the lives of our patients. Thank you…

Thank you for letting us be a part of your child’s life. You truly are the heroes of medicine.

The following is something I wrote for our annual memorial service for children who have died at our Children’s Hospital. But these same thoughts are with me every day. It’s an honor to be here with you to celebrate the lives of our patients. Thank you…

A physician’s path leads her to a struggle in the NICU

Medicine was my path. I’d decided that early in life before I knew what a career in medicine really looked like. I believed as a doctor I could help people and have a positive impact in their lives. After all, what does a teenager know about being a do…

Autism and advocacy go hand in hand

“As soon as I mentioned the ‘A’ word, I knew she would not be calling me back.”  This was what one of the parents I met at my preschool told me about what it was like trying to register her son with autism in a non-specialized local communi…