He shoved the paper with the address in his pocket. Then he found his little black bag with the oils and other implements for giving what once was called the last rites of the church, but were now termed the sacrament of the sick, and headed off in the…
Public health safety measures in the wake of COVID-19 have transformed healthcare into virtual medicine overnight. From psychiatry to surgery, all of the medical specialties have adapted technology-enabled virtual appointments. The support for health…
“Was I that different? I had severe anxiety necessitating medication, compounded by stress, my own narcissistic tendencies, and a series of life choices—but Jason had something much worse. It all gave me pause. I was now twenty-four, just barely …
She was naked in her seclusion room — a padded cell — with her gown on the floor and drenched in her urine. I was her nurse. I gave her lithium. She put the pill in her mouth and then spit it at me in my face. Then her tirade began: “I’m Je…
“Could COVID-19 be an opportunity that brings the plight of health care professionals finally to the forefront? Protect us so we can protect you. Do your part and stay home. Flatten the curve to give health care professionals a chance. Donate …
It’s scary. Like 9/11, we have a new reference point touching everyone on the planet: life before COVID-19 and life after. Regardless if you get it or don’t, the unknowns and secondary consequences are scary. Life before COVID was scary, to…
Every physician I know has a story about an unanticipated patient event. A story that was traumatic at the time and easy to now recall in fine detail. A story that was so impactful that it still haunts them. When a patient suffers an adverse event, …
“Doctor, I can’t wear a face mask, can you write me a medical excuse?” My first reaction was a resounding No. COVID-19 cases are surging in many parts of the country; we’ve only just emerged from our own deadly surge in Boston. …
Mary is a woman of sixty years. She is obese. Originally from rural Alabama, she told me her aunt and uncle raised her, and they were bootleggers, making their own liquor. By age fifteen, she was drinking this homemade hooch. She never told me how…
“Being a parent in the middle of a pandemic is not easy. Sheltering in place with canceled daycare, school, and college, while also being a doctor or other healthcare worker, working in high-risk, high-intensity situations, presents many challeng…
