As schools, public transport, gyms, restaurants, libraries, playgrounds shut down, and life comes to a standstill, people stay at home to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus. Healthcare workers, however, do the reverse. They get ready every mor…
ICE is requesting bids for 45,000 N95 masks Why is ICE soliciting for masks when our frontline health care workers need them? There is no social distancing during detention and deportation, and what ICE is doing puts the public at risk. We should immed…
In the HBO miniseries Chernobyl, there’s a scene where one of the supervisors, Dyatlov, is told there has been a breach of the nuclear reactor. When he hears that their radiation detectors are maxing out at 3.6 Roetgen, he casually responds, “3.6 Roetg…
Upon walking through the revolving door that guards the hospital’s main entrance, I was ushered by security staff to join the queues of my peers, also seeking passage to their respective posts. “The new policy,” the officer explained, examining my hosp…
These are tremendous times that we have never faced before. A novel virus, lack of preparation time, and a healthcare system that already runs at near capacity, we have a disaster of epic proportions on our hands. What can we do? What should we do? Ho…
I am an anesthesiologist. I am trained to stay calm when everything surrounding me is going downhill. In the OR, I am the anchor. The steady hand, the ready plans. I work with skilled CRNAs who are an integral part of the team. We do critical care med…
Many moons ago, in the 1970’s era, when no imposition from physically brutal on-call schedules to laudable scut to demeaning attendings was outside the boundaries of the house staff training curriculum, our leaders informed us that we were being introd…
Physicians are, without a doubt, some of the most educated professionals around. You spend endless hours studying, taking tests, and jumping through academic hoops in the name of good grades and patient care. But is the education you are receiving trul…
We are health care workers. We are doctors, advanced care practitioners, nurses, pharmacists, social workers, and so much more. We are on the frontlines. We are our parents’ children, and we are parents to our young children. For the first time, …
Prayer is a funny thing. I guess it’s like an N95 protective mask to guard you against COVID-19. You don’t realize how valuable and precious it is until you’re without it, and sadly we are all running low. For the past 25 years of my career as an emerg…
