Humanism, Medicine & Social Justice
Overnight there blossomed numerous Constitutional scholars on my Twitter feed. Countless Americans, members of both parties, representatives in Congress and average citizens debating the rights guaranteed us in the US Constitution. The right to access Twitter. The right to participate in inflammatory discourse online. The right to maintain a social media platform. The right to... Continue Reading →
I used to put on my white coat every day knowing it was an emblem of both professionalism and caregiving. It was a piece of uniform I felt proud to wear because it symbolized both my years of training and my commitment to my patients. But this year my white coat has transformed. Much like... Continue Reading →
We talk about health disparities a lot in the abstract. We talk about the numbers, the statistics. We talk about race and politics and structural violence. But I wasn’t thinking about any of that when my patient had to be admitted due to serious complications from COVID-19. I was thinking about how stubborn he had... Continue Reading →
“Everyday I walk past this bay of windows on the 11th floor. It’s the only part of the hospital where you get really good natural light so I always stop there for a minute. And every day, as I look out, I have to convince myself not to jump out of the window.” As she... Continue Reading →
There is a novel, deadly viral pandemic at our doorsteps that has disrupted every aspect of our daily lives. It’s hard in these tumultuous times to suppress the feeling that we are facing a doom of Biblical proportions. It’s hard to suppress the constant, invasive feeling of anxiety, to settle down the knot in our... Continue Reading →
There’s a plague of locusts sweeping through eastern Africa and a novel, deadly viral pandemic at our doorsteps. It’s hard in these tumultuous times to suppress the feeling that we are facing a doom of biblical proportions. It’s easier to let the negativity bias dominate our psyche - to focus on the negative despite all... Continue Reading →
“Where has the time gone?” While it may seem like a throwaway statement people make as the New Year approaches, it is also a somewhat ominous reminder of our most precious commodity - time. As a primary care physician, the elusiveness of this resource is one I am reminded of daily: Do you have time... Continue Reading →
Our life expectancy is dropping. A jarring new analysis published this week in the Journal of the American Medical Association summarizes the data bluntly: “Between 1959 and 2016, US life expectancy increased from 69.9 years to 78.9 but declined for 3 consecutive years after 2014.” We boast of our status as the most developed... Continue Reading →
“All Democrats just raised their hands for giving millions of illegal aliens unlimited healthcare. How about taking care of American Citizens [sic] first?!” This is a tweet from Donald Trump during this week's primary debate. Unfortunately, we as a nation are now accustomed to the speed of the President’s thumbs - tweeting out commentary and... Continue Reading →
DoctoredTales 