More than six months into the COVID-19 pandemic and with social distancing measures in full swing, virtually every facet of life in America has been affected, with medical education being no exception. Medical students have been forced to reschedule US…
“Each morning, I make my way to joy – joy that God has given me the breath of life for another day. The process is never instantaneous though. My alarm is usually blaring for five to 10 minutes continuously before I can get up, but sometimes I’m able t…
My face shield whistled with noise as it brushed against my thin yellow gown. Bright monitors surrounded me, chirping like cardinals in the summer. A slow exhale felt comfortably warm against my N-95 mask. Treading down the river of COVID-19 patients a…
Every time I visit my great grandmother, Tata, Atul Gawande’s Being Mortal floods my thoughts. Tata is 101 and developed severe dementia within the past two years. In 2019, she fell and fractured her hip. In the hospital, she recovered poorly. The phys…
This was the first time that I was unsure of how to respond when a patient cried. Usually, as a medical student, compassion and understanding helped make up for obvious gaps in our knowledge. It just comes with the territory. But this time was diffe…
“We need to stay healthy for our patients, but also for ourselves and our families. We need to mobilize the faction not just with regard to this pandemic, but by anticipating the arrival of others. So how do we advocate for ourselves? A great way…
It is hard to envision that this is an election year. With a paucity of campaign ads and the presidential nominees locked up for quite a while, I didn’t even know that the Democratic convention was going on until I saw a report about it after the…
We all know by now that the COVID-19 pandemic has changed our world altogether. There is no question that stressors in our lives are more than ever before. This year’s Fall will be the most dangerous of Falls. So what does it mean for the physici…
During my first year of medical school, a professor in my clinical skills course shared a timeless adage in medicine: “If you listen closely enough to the patient, they will tell you the diagnosis.” I accepted this statement as a fact of medicine ̵…
I never have a problem going to sleep. In fact, after I work a night shift, I easily go into a semi-coma. But tonight is different. 2 days off from work, with a regular sleep schedule at night, but my mind is twirling. I can’t sleep. So at 3 a.m….
