Episodes

Aug. 16, 2020

Why it's so important for medical students and physicians to write an…

"I wrote a 55-word story in solidarity with my medical students and colleagues I had invited to share their lived experiences during COVID-19 on our Stories in Medicine blog. I wrote out of a need to “unmask” the guilt and angst of some of my...

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Aug. 15, 2020

A need to deregulate buprenorphine prescriptions

"With COVID-19, we have both the unique opportunity and need to deregulate buprenorphine prescriptions. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAHMSA) recently updated guidelines for buprenorphine prescriptions. There are new...

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Aug. 14, 2020

Medical education and engaging children in wearing masks

"Children are being encouraged to take on the superhero persona and help protect others.  They do this in true average-person-as-the-superhero style by wearing a facemask alone, without any superhero powers or words.  Just as wearing a...

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Aug. 13, 2020

Palliative care during the pandemic

"We are health care workers. We are doctors, advanced care practitioners, nurses, pharmacists, social workers, and so much more. We are on the frontlines. We are our parents’ children, and we are parents to our young children. For the first time, we...

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Aug. 12, 2020

Coronavirus exposes income-driven health inequality

"It’s maddening to see the differences in health outcomes between the rich and the poor. Even more unsettling is reflecting upon the psychological pain accumulated when living in a fad-obsessed materialistic comparison-creating society, the...

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Aug. 11, 2020

How to manage pandemic anxiety

Since the coronavirus outbreak, reports of anxiety have increased, especially among physicians. Physicians face numerous stressors, including fears of contracting the coronavirus, concerns about potentially infecting loved ones, PPE shortages, testing...

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Aug. 10, 2020

Gender inequities and being a physician-mom

"As the COVID-19 pandemic unfolds day by day at an exponential rate, we as doctors have been called to duty in unprecedented ways. Speak with any physician in the last few weeks, and you will be hard-pressed to find one who didn’t feel an intrinsic...

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Aug. 9, 2020

Flattening the curve of COVID’s emotional impact

"Based on the evidence of the effects of trauma, we can predict that our health care teams, patients and families will exhibit signs of this assault through a variety of symptoms–sleeplessness, apathy, depression, and anxiety. The warning signs are...

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Aug. 8, 2020

A screenwriting dermatologist shares the importance of creativity in …

"Someday, I suspect I will recount this time of fear with mixed emotions.  Sadly, there are people who have died and more to come, and this time will also lead us to reassess our way of life and make changes for the better.  I work from...

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Aug. 7, 2020

COVID's impact on the Hispanic community

"All of our patients, but especially our most vulnerable Spanish-speaking patients, need to hear concrete, meaningful, and practical instructions on how to care for each other when they live in large multi-generational families, and positive stories...

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Aug. 6, 2020

A COVID-19 conversation with 2 cardiologists

"Trainees like myself travel great distances from home in pursuit of higher edification. Yet the coronavirus makes us worry about the aged family we leave behind – parents and grandparents. A WhatsApp message ensuring they’ve stocked up on...

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Aug. 5, 2020

How medical students can contribute during the pandemic

"We do not have to continue to blame external forces for the stresses upon us now. By organizing, mobilizing, and finding solutions to the problems facing us and our adopted community today, we can meet the current challenge to be of help, however we...

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Aug. 4, 2020

It is not OK for physicians' anxieties to harm their patients

"It is OK to be scared, but it is not OK to let our own anxieties harm our patients. As we tackle the numerous crises created by the COVID-19 pandemic, let’s acknowledge our fear and draw on the logic and clinical reasoning that we have spent years...

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Aug. 3, 2020

Doctors shouldn’t feel ashamed for wanting to protect themselves or t…

"Although I personally hope to continue to be at or near the frontlines, I understand those that are in a compromised position, and they shouldn’t feel ashamed for wanting to protect themselves or their family. There is no portion of the Hippocratic...

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Aug. 2, 2020

Patient no-shows often have complicated reasons behind them

"I typed up a brief response to the no show memo, hit reply, and then deleted the original message. It’s not that I am a fan of wasting time and resources, but for now, I have a general personal policy to never dismiss pregnant patients. I’d have...

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Aug. 1, 2020

Practice empathy and compassion for the critically ill and dying

"It seems as though the looming reality for many of us is that we will have patients who need ventilators, and none will be available. It seems like we might benefit from remembering that we can still succeed in practicing medicine by being present...

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July 31, 2020

If you want to be a physician-inventor, here's what you should know

"If you have an employment agreement with a provision on intellectual property, have it reviewed by an attorney before you begin applying for patents. A good attorney should be able to give you some clarity. Suppose, however, that your employment...

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July 30, 2020

Pain management's painfully fine line

"I find that managing chronic pain can be a bit of a dance between myself and the patient. Sometimes a little bit of a compromise. I always tell my patients that pain is subjective but many things can contribute to pain — certainly stress, lack of...

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July 29, 2020

A physician embraces the power of the word, "and"

"I struggle for words to describe life in the season of COVID-19. Depending on the day, I need at least a few adjectives: 'peculiar,' 'fine, all things considered,' 'terrifying.' 'Joyous' and 'anxious' certainly make odd bedfellows in my brain. As a...

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July 28, 2020

How physicians can share health information and manage dissent online

"In the time of the COVID-19 pandemic, I am both hopeful and inspired as well as disappointed. I see those angry that their ideas or opinions conflict with science. Instead of the steady path and hard work of building bridges, they create division. I...

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July 27, 2020

What physicians today can learn from the history of surgery

"Billroth spent long hours dissecting cadavers and planning on surgical interventions. He was able to pioneer abdominal surgery with careful preparation and strict adherence to meticulous antiseptic technique. Animal experimentation and...

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July 26, 2020

Physicians and the psychological trauma of COVID-19

"As COVID-19 devastates America and the world, I hope that fundamental change to our health care system results from its horrific exposé. Without COVID-19, the pressures placed on physicians are already immense. In the age of COVID-19, these...

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July 25, 2020

Social isolation in the elderly

"COVID-19 has rapidly spread across the nation, leading to the implementation of stringent social distancing guidelines by local and regional authorities. In a desperate effort to limit infection rates, in-person social interactions have been reduced,...

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July 24, 2020

Why storytelling and writing are so important in medicine

"They needed the final story to let go of her body, yet retain her spirit. Looking back on it, that’s when I saw the greatest honor of all — the everyday honor of storytelling for our patients. Maybe that’s the only cure we have for death …...

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