I am a first-generation Chinese American. And amidst the complexity of the pieces that form my identity (mom, wife, daughter, woman, doctor), it is the piece I have often prized the least. In one of my earliest memories, I am riding a crowded bus in Be…
“This plea for help is on behalf of every hospital worker who has been on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic — from the environmental services staff and medical assistants who are often not recognized, to the social workers and chaplains wh…
My days start differently now than they did a year ago. I arrive in my private practice office and take a seat on a meditation cushion as the sun breaks through the curtains. New Orleans streetcars can be heard passing by outside, splintering the still…
The COVID-19 pandemic has been unprecedented as such an event has not happened on such a global scale since 1919, with the Spanish Flu. At the beginning of the pandemic, we sometimes heard muzzled voices of health care providers who experienced sheer h…
“We know the ER’s revolving door will continue to spin for so many children and adolescents who seek help in the heat of their personal crisis. Some will need to stay in the hospital – to heal their bodies and minds and even fight for their lives…
The orders from the state seemed to come suddenly, although we all knew we would have to adjust our methods of treating our clients, the news wasn’t good, and seeing anyone in person was treacherous since many still thought it was a hoax and they didn’…
Burnout among doctors is not something new. In fact, way before the pandemic, 69% of physicians reported they were somewhat or incredibly happy in 2020, before the pandemic started. This number drastically fell to 49% when COVID-19 stepped in. This is …
“I often think about how I can make you see these things about yourself that others see. I think about the ways I can tell you that things will get better even though the darkest of days is upon you right now. But I know I can’t make you see thes…
I was first diagnosed with major depressive disorder as a preteen after my teenage sister died. I attempted suicide three years later. This would be the first of several attempts and the first of countless times I felt my life was not worth living. But…
“Mid-career colleagues: it’s time to go back to the future. Time to learn again. Time to build professional and social networks at work. Take a lunch break. Bring home a few fewer RVUs. I recently started a monthly journal club for our small sect…
