In a previous article, I have described the physician burnout epidemic as a raging river whose features included safety nets designed to catch people before “going over the falls,” the need to teach individual survival skills (e.g., resilience), evalua…
Before becoming a certified registered nurse anesthetist (CRNA), I was a surgical intensive care unit (SICU) nurse for decades. During that time, I often saw patients during their greatest time of need – trauma victims, transplant recipients, patients …
Last weekend, my partner witnessed some of the pandemic’s collateral damage in an upsurge of violent deaths via car wrecks and shootings. A patient of mine, chief of the local SWAT team, had predicted as much: he gave people two weeks at home before th…
I was in medical school when the world saw the news of the Zika and Ebola viruses, but never have I seen mass hysteria to this level for COVID-19. No longer is coronavirus what is depicted in a copy of First Aid for the USMLE Step 1, where it says coro…
We are living in unprecedented times that will be pivotal for our beloved profession. In the Dickens novel, A Tale of Two Cities, the period of time in which the story was set was pivotal in the evolution of society and politics. Our current times ma…
For $149, you can go online and obtain a “basic wellness” panel of labs. You can see for yourself if you have anemia or diabetes. For another $300, you can sign up for a “premium” package to check out how your liver and thyroid …
This document is meant for information purposes. Please review the CDC guidelines for N95 mask contingency planning. FDA-approved methods On March 29, 2020, the FDA issued an emergency use authorization for a proprietary hydrogen peroxide vapor (HPV) s…
I am an ER physician in Jacksonville, FL. Yesterday, I learned that a top health official in New Zealand was reprimanded for taking his family to the beach. He did this after orders had been given to stay home, and strict social distancing had been man…
We are in the midst of an unequaled juncture in history, one in which we find ourselves primarily armed with the ability to distance ourselves physically from one another. In the United States, we have observed on multiple occasions over the past sever…
Two years ago, I shared my thoughts on the joy of family medicine. Two years ago, I was a senior resident working in Ann Arbor, thinking about who I will be when I graduate. Two years ago, my biggest worry was if I could finish my notes in time for s…
