Category: Public Health & Policy

The safety of patients is dependent on our commitment to a just and change-oriented mindset

Over the last seven months, the state of medicine, as we have known it in the United States, has been found out.  Disjointed, disheartened, and failing.  For every ounce of energy we have put into patient safety, quality improvement, and preventing med…

A Black man’s self-worth in medicine

Do you remember what you dreamed of becoming as an adult? I do, and I recall my father telling me I could be anything I wanted to be. My dreams were shattered as soon as I stepped into a prison and I am still trying to pick up the pieces of my self-wor…

A Black man’s self-worth in medicine

Do you remember what you dreamed of becoming as an adult? I do, and I recall my father telling me I could be anything I wanted to be. My dreams were shattered as soon as I stepped into a prison and I am still trying to pick up the pieces of my self-wor…

5 things medical professionals can do to take climate action 

The flurry of recent articles on the adverse effects of climate change on health are almost as overwhelming as the climate crisis itself. Just this past year, over 300 medical students came together to found Medical Students for a Sustainable Future (M…

Is COVID a turning point for sustainability in hospital supply chains? 

Scarcity has, in many ways, defined the COVID-19 experience in the U.S., from shortages in personal protective equipment to ICU ventilators and hospital capacity, to COVID test kits, to drugs like Remdesivir in hard-hit states. These shortages have add…

Help us make equality an American ideal once again

As physicians, we have a unique perspective on racial justice. As an OB/GYN, I am trusted by women, the LGBTQ community, and people of all ethnic backgrounds to take care of them when they are at their most vulnerable.  America is at a health care cros…

America is a patient and she is sick

The trees are briskly bare.  The weather is changing.  The days of sunshine are a thing of the past. A virus is raging in vehement form and remarkable fashion throughout the land, and we are so moved.  We are moved to anger.  We are moved to change.  W…

Free speech, cancel culture, and taking down statues [PODCAST]

“History cannot be changed and should not be erased. The First Amendment was placed first for a reason. It is the bedrock of our nation’s ability to overcome despots like Hitler and to abolish slavery. However, it comes at a price. You may hear t…

COVID-19 will kill 500,000 Americans. Here’s why.

Among the questions I’m asked most often as host of the podcast Coronavirus: The Truth are: “How have other nations effectively contained the pandemic?” and “Why can’t the United States copy their success?” For months, health experts have answered thes…

How physicians can be activists [PODCAST]

“We dealt with the death, uncertainty, and fear of COVID-19 with a stiff upper lip. But our hearts broke when George Floyd was murdered by the police on May 25. George is a symbol of an immense problem. A study reported that one in every thousand…