For the last three decades, the numeric pain score has been the go-to assessment for acute pain in the hospital setting. Since this methodology was developed for research purposes to see if drug “A” had an effect on patient “A,” its clinical utility is…
Category: surgery
Art therapy and the intersection between chronic illness and mental health
An excerpt from My Beautiful Detour: An Unthinkable Journey from Gutless to Grateful. Managing chronic illness can leave a person susceptible to emotional and mental health issues that can further exacerbate their physical symptoms. Post-traumatic str…
Art therapy and the intersection between chronic illness and mental health
An excerpt from My Beautiful Detour: An Unthinkable Journey from Gutless to Grateful. Managing chronic illness can leave a person susceptible to emotional and mental health issues that can further exacerbate their physical symptoms. Post-traumatic str…
It’s Dr., not Mrs.
I’m a physician married to a physician. Initially, I did not think I would face obstacles because of our dual career paths. I would soon learn; however, professional and personal sacrifices would be necessary for us to achieve our goals. This is …
Your home life is what you make it. Don’t let your specialty control you.
The Match is complete, and now the fourth-year medical students are preparing to make their move to residency and chief residents are preparing to start their new career as an attending. The next phase of their lives is about to begin. The Match got me…
6 lessons this physician learned from his father
I would like to share six lessons that I learned from my dad. Parents have a big responsibility in bringing up the next generation. Our kids learn from watching what we do more than hearing what we say. So doing what’s right pays dividends with our kid…
A patient and a neurosurgeon tell their story
An excerpt from In Two Voices: A Patient and a Neurosurgeon Tell Their Story. Linda, the patient, writes: Years later a compassionate optometrist acknowledges my eye pain and frequent headaches. I try different lenses, various prescriptions. When they …
A trauma surgeon reflects on the Yale System, 20 years later
The best lens for reflection is to be immersed in the places and people that spawned those memories. Why else would reunions matter? Twenty years after we graduated the Yale School of Medicine, I found myself on campus embracing my classmates again. Bu…
How to take out a bone loan
After a severe fracture or removal of a tumor, what happens if a segment of bone is missing? The bone ends will try to grow into one another just as they do after routine fractures, but the lack of immobilization and the gap may be insurmountable despi…
The inspiring story of a female orthopaedic surgeon
As a female orthopaedic surgeon, I am often asked how I ended up in this field. Although seeing women in orthopaedic surgery is becoming more common, we are still makeup only 6 percent of the orthopaedic surgeons in the U.S. I actually had no idea what…
