Category: Patient

Building a bond of trust between patient and physician

We live in a world today where there is misinformation in abundant supply. What we see and hear in the media one day seems to be reversed the following day. What to believe, who to believe? Our world appears to be in a state of turmoil, a state of cont…

Lip reading during the COVID-19 mask era

I taught myself as a child how to lip read.  I needed something to help me know what was going on around me other than relying on my hearing aids.  I went to a deaf school as a kindergartner for all of three months and hated it, so my parents switched …

I am disgusted with our politicians who have used the pandemic as a political tool

There are times when I feel that I am boxed-in by this unrelenting virus, COVID-19. This microscopic entity has put the majority of the world into lockdown, affecting all aspects of human life and social interaction.  The virus does not discriminate du…

My healer, please guide me on this journey

I walk this dark and winding path between wellness and illness, moving between darkness and light on this journey of life. As I move between well-being and an uneasy state of uncertainty, a roller-coaster of emotions moves over me. I am brought to my k…

Patients don’t need quick diagnoses. They need accurate ones.

It seemed like an innocuous tweet. It was just a doctor, somewhere on Twitter, declaring that it was important to learn to quickly ascertain if patients were “sick or not sick.” It was sentence; perhaps two. It spoke volumes. He was not suggesting that…

Understanding critical care in the ICU: then and now [PODCAST]

“I write this as a caregiver, patient educator, and clinical researcher. The coronavirus pandemic has shone a spotlight on intensive care units (ICUs).  Due to the rapid and continued increase in critical illness from COVID-19 infection, discussi…

10 tips for delivering difficult pediatric diagnoses

On August 12, 2013, my five-week-old daughter was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis. I distinctly recall the feeling of “Everything has changed.” I had worked in the field of chronic disease for almost a decade. And yet, it had never occurred to me that t…

An apology to frontline health care workers

Our country seems to be spiraling out of control. The unending political discord post-election continues to divide our citizenry. The Presidential election is over, accept the results, and move on. There are much more serious issues to have our full at…

Physicians: Take back the title you have earned through your training

“Customer #4, please step up to the counter. How may I help you today?”  As a patient, have you ever felt that it seemed you were waiting in line at the deli department, listening for your number to be called?  Sorry to say, the practice of…

May we all find the peace we search for

It has been a year of change and constants. Shortly after a new year was ushered in, we heard of a virus that was sweeping across China and Europe. We saw the devastation that this virus brought to humanity, people gasping for air in ICUs, no known or …