Category: primary care

The foundation of medicine is love

What do you think of when you hear the word medicine? Perhaps it includes doctors, nurses, pills, prescriptions, operations, surgery, wounds, illness and disease, curing and healing, science, study, university? But whatever your picture of medicine — does it include love? Continue reading … Your patients are rating you online: How to respond. Manage your […]

An immigrant physician’s journey

My name is Dr. Uchenna Umeh, and I am an immigrant (physician). As far back as I can remember, I’ve always wanted to be an architect. My journey to becoming a physician started somewhat as a dare. I was born in Nigeria, the first child of six children from middle-class parents. My father served in […]

A physician’s immigrant patients

In the living room of the house where I grew up hangs a framed copy of a 17th-century map of Pennsylvania. The land is divided into tiny plots, each painstakingly labeled with a family name. When I was little, I’d stand in front of the map and search for the little squares labeled “Sharples” — […]

A physician’s immigrant patients

In the living room of the house where I grew up hangs a framed copy of a 17th-century map of Pennsylvania. The land is divided into tiny plots, each painstakingly labeled with a family name. When I was little, I’d stand in front of the map and search for the little squares labeled “Sharples” — […]

Medical testing is fraught with pitfalls

I am frequently asked by patients to “run some tests to make sure nothing is wrong.” This makes a lot of sense on the surface but makes no sense as a physician. Why? Because testing without a context or a medical question is nonsensical. Let’s talk about why. How doctors think Studies show that doctors […]

The problem with extreme social media challenges

Trends or challenges have been a part of the fabric of social media for a long time. They have ranged from the benign ice bucket challenge (which raised millions for research on amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) to the highly dangerous Tide pod challenge (which involved eating laundry detergent capsules). All of these internet phenomena involved videotaping an […]

The white coat means something more to patients

How do we choose what we wear when seeing patients? Is it by what tradition dictates? Do we need to meet our institution’s dress code? Or do we just like what makes us comfortable?  (Those scrubs sure are comfy — almost like going to work in pajamas!) Well, how about choosing what our patients prefer […]

The unintended consequences of free medical school

I’m probably in the minority on this, but I’m not a fan of the NYU School of Medicine free tuition program. Now I’m all for debt relief for medical students who start their careers with a mortgage. I was one of them. After 13 years, I’m still one of them! I’m also for any initiative […]

Is wellness getting a bad rap?

Let’s face it, “wellness” isn’t going to go away despite some of the backlash. In my opinion, wellness is at the intersection of science, medicine, and health. Simply, wellness means health and happiness. No matter where you are on your health journey, you can achieve your wellness goals which can help you live a healthier life. […]

Primary care pediatrics is more than medicine : It is a calling

I have been working in pediatric primary care for nearly 5 years post-residency and truly love my work. I currently am dealing with very painful post-herpetic neuralgia and many people with this quit working. At some personal cost, I have continued my practice because I find my work day so rewarding I simply can’t imagine […]