“When I first heard about medical schools fast-tracking graduation for students and shifting young residents into high need areas to fight the pandemic of COVID-19, I thought of how panicked those students and residents must feel. Asking them to …
Category: KevinMD
The economic argument for saving lives
The COVID-19 narrative is strong and pervasive: we must sacrifice either jobs or lives. This debate has seemingly polarized our society on moral and ethical grounds. For many healthcare professionals, the intrinsic value of life is self-evident. No p…
Primary care isn’t broken. It needs a better support system.
Primary care is at the heart of each and every health care system. Effective and efficient primary care leads to positive health outcomes across the board, most notably lower rates of mortality and hospitalization, and higher life expectancy. But to ac…
It is our job to change the rhetoric on who physicians are
A colleague of mine once asked me a question that haunts me to this day: “If you care about social justice this much, why are you in medical school?” I was stunned, and I had no response to offer them. That day, I walked away to preserve my peace, but …
A medical student perspective on George Floyd’s murder
Recently in Minneapolis, George Floyd was killed by Officer Derek Chauvin, who held his knee on Floyd’s neck for more than eight minutes, including almost three minutes after Floyd was unresponsive. This senseless murder is now added to an already long…
Patients deserve our best all the time, in a pandemic, and at 5:59
It’s 4:30 a.m. as I trudge to the parking garage with a sense of defeat. I am an internal medicine resident wrapping up a swing shift, the magnanimous buffer to admission responsibilities between the day and overnight ward teams. Though clinically tuck…
The COVID-19 pandemic is a catalyst for reimagining future health care delivery
Coronavirus has overwhelmed hospitals, staff, and supply chains, stripped many Americans of health care coverage along with their jobs, and affected billions of people worldwide with mounting fatalities. Despite its massive human toll, the pandemic off…
From the COVID-19 front lines: the present and future impact on nephrology
In anticipation of the strain on resources and staff in New York City, part of the battling strategy included deployment calling for providers from all areas to directly devote their efforts in the care of COVID-19 patients. Despite being relieved tem…
Breaking the silence within the medical profession
The stereotypical orthopedic residency class looks like a construction scene from the Flintstones, a few burly white men playing with tools. I can spend time here listing off different statistics and percentages showcasing why orthopedic surgery is the…
Medical heroism in the age of COVID-19
A guest column by the American College of Physicians, exclusive to KevinMD. Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the signs have been everywhere – celebrating the heroism of health care workers. It’s a wonderful sentiment that as a physic…
