“With COVID-19, we have both the unique opportunity and need to deregulate buprenorphine prescriptions. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAHMSA) recently updated guidelines for buprenorphine prescriptions. The…
Category: Psychiatry
A medical trainee’s experience with mental health
In May 2018, I stood in disbelief as I learned that two of my colleagues took their own lives in a single week. I had only recently come to accept my own struggle with mental illness, and I understood how isolating the battle could be. I grieved for th…
How to manage pandemic anxiety [PODCAST]
“Since the coronavirus outbreak, reports of anxiety have increased, especially among physicians. Physicians face numerous stressors, including fears of contracting the coronavirus, concerns about potentially infecting loved ones, PPE shortages, t…
A message for health care workers: Be kind to yourself
I was reading this article in the New York Times about Dr. Lorna Breen, and it literally took my breath away. This awful pandemic has claimed so many lives, in so many different ways. Sadly, it made me think of a medical school classmate of mine who to…
10 COVID-coping tips from the trenches
There is absolutely no playbook for what we are all experiencing today. The changes coming at us have been swift, mercurial, and frightening. Governments, businesses, nonprofits, and individuals have scrambled to cope with relentless waves of chaos in …
Flattening the curve of COVID’s emotional impact [PODCAST]
“Based on the evidence of the effects of trauma, we can predict that our health care teams, patients and families will exhibit signs of this assault through a variety of symptoms–sleeplessness, apathy, depression, and anxiety. The warning signs a…
COVID-related stressors and increasing instances of substance abuse
Throughout 2020, the United States has been playing catchup against the coronavirus. As several well-researched articles have noted, lack of appropriate and timely response has been at the forefront and can be attributed to numerous factors including t…
Many medical marijuana program websites are silent about possible risks
Click through North Dakota’s Division of Medical Marijuana website, past the addresses of every cannabis dispensary in the state, into the presentations and annual reports, and you’ll eventually come to a 32-slide presentation about the sta…
My intersection of race and privilege with COVID-19
I am a 40-year-old Black, female pediatric psychologist, and I contracted COVID-19. So did my 95-year-old grandmother. This virus flourishes within the inequities, bred by historical and current racism, of social determinants of health, having a more…
In social work, small actions make a big difference
I first became acquainted with Michael after another case manager I work with, a woman, reported the proprietor of the group home (sort of a boarding house, really), Miss Samantha, as she was known, and whom I knew slightly, said she wanted Michael out…
