A physician mother embraces the power of “and” during the pandemic

Here are the stories you missed on KevinMD. Thank you for your continuing readership. --------------------------------------------------------------- Here are the stories you missed on [KevinMD](. Thank you for your continuing readership. --------------------------------------------------------------- Sponsors [From code calls and critical test result alerts]( to provider-to-provider communications, efficient and timely notifications can speed care and improve clinical outcomes. Learn four strategies to streamline hospital code calls and [improve communications support for your staff and your patients](. [During the COVID-19 pandemic]( with patients and practices postponing care for nonemergent situations, many physicians are wondering how to temporarily reduce hours or close their practices -- while [minimizing risks](. [During COVID-19]( physicians turn to telehealth to deliver care while reducing risk. Learn strategies to meet the need for [quick change and continuity of care](. Physicians and practices are using remote patient monitoring (RPM) devices to care for [Medicare patients with chronic conditions during COVID-19](. Improve outcomes while earning robust reimbursement. [Learn more](. --------------------------------------------------------------- KevinMD Plus: Apr 27, 2020 [A physician mother embraces the power of “and” during the pandemic]( 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 mother and physician living this new reality, I’ve been extra thankful for Irene, who […] [Physicians just want respect in the time of COVID-19]( After speaking, working, and coaching with hundreds of physician moms, guess what their #1 request at work is. Guess. A pay raise? More vacation time? Adequate maternity leave? Any maternity leave? Hint: Now, for the first time in my many decades as a physician, I am hearing the same request from white male physicians who […] [We need to stop making this public health emergency political]( What a bag of mixed emotions these last few months have been in the face of COVID-19. I’ve watched my community doubt the seriousness of COVID as it reached the U.S., been pulled from my clinical rotations and stood in solidarity with other medical students as we brainstorm how to serve our community in this […] [Every time you congregate with someone from outside of your home, you are potentially responsible for deaths]( My husband and I have always relished being in the thick of it, “in the trenches,” we would say, at our hospital. He is a head and neck cancer surgeon, and I am a pediatric otolaryngologist (ear, nose, and throat specialist for children). Working at an academic tertiary/quaternary care center in a major city, with […] [If we return to normal in medicine, have we lost the lesson of the pandemic?]( My energy has been bottled up. It’s not just over the past few weeks during this pandemic. My energy has been bottled up and backlogged in some areas of my life for decades. The recent turn of life events has just made it even more glaring and evident to me. It forced me and demanded […] [It’s time to honor those who died from COVID-19 by sharing their stories]( As of this moment, 40,265 Americans have died. They loved their families and friends. They had hopes and dreams. They were moms and dads, daughters and sons, grandmas, and grandpas. They meant something to somebody. Their deaths are barely acknowledged by anyone. They exist as statistics. This is a frightening time we live in. We […] [Why I feel grateful to be a physician today]( Doctors today can help more people, and prevent the spread of disease more effectively through communication, than we ever could by seeing patients one-at-a-time in person. I have realized that instant human connection through technology makes us more powerful and faster than a virus. I began my career as a physician in the pre-iPhone era. […] [Conversations with 3 COVID-19 survivors]( The ability to exam patients nowadays is supremely limited due to virtual conferencing platforms being used more and more to see patients in our office. My office is now different. We hear so much about death on social media sites, the news, and in readable periodicals that we forget that some of our patients who […] [Can COVID-19 be tragically beautiful?]( I pondered this question as I reminisced over the past few weeks. I grappled with these thoughts almost every moment as I have witnessed the world respond to this pandemic, the novel coronavirus: COVID-19. After my shift ended during my trek from the hospital to the parking lot, I called my parents. On Leap Day, […] [A hidden alcohol problem: a social worker’s story]( Philomena was the youngest child in a large Irish family. She grew up in a place called Kilquane, about ten miles from Dingle town in the Republic of Ireland. At about age three or four, she contracted measles, which settled in one eye, and that eye had to be surgically removed. That surgery was a […] [How do you grieve when you are still mourning?]( Moving so quickly. Round and round. Head turning, trying to keep track. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 … faster and faster Losing count. My head spins. A doctor, Indian, like me. A friend, my age. A mother, could be my own. No time to grieve. I kept a list of your names. So I could […] [A neurologist is redeployed and is a better physician for it]( In neurology, we all crave to “localize the lesion,” taking pride in our well-refined and meticulous physical examination skills – an aspect of my identity that was temporarily stolen from me in the era of COVID-19. As I walked into the hospital that day, I felt bare without the typical hammer, tuning fork, and ophthalmoscope […] [Is asking for hazard pay “not becoming of a compassionate and caring physician”?]( New York University residents are seeking compensation for the increased risk they face as they are called to the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic, but leadership has declined their request for hazard pay and now stands accused on social media of gaslighting residents. Residents created a petition, addressed to NYU Langone Medical Center leadership, outlining the […] [The hidden ventilators in America]( Your town has more than enough ventilators if you know where to find them. Tens to hundreds of vents are sitting in almost every neighborhood in America, but are being utilized incorrectly. Throughout the nation, there are facilities known as LTACs, which stands for long term acute care facility. These facilities are utilized for a […] [The immense kindness and humanity surfacing from the pandemic]( It’s been a whirlwind of emotions during the last few weeks. I started in the hospital when our cases were starting to creep up. The fear. The anguish. The uncertainty. The anger. The sadness. The crazy dreams. The donning. The doffing. The decontamination process. The week, I signed three death certificates (non-COVID), and I sent […] [Does joy in work matter during a pandemic?]( At a time when health care professionals across the globe are working around the clock against COVID-19, it may seem tone-deaf at best to think about joy in work. We all agree that the top priority for health care leaders now is to focus on expanding testing and ensuring enough proper equipment and other resources […] [When an army has insufficient personal protective equipment, they don’t go in the line of fire]( The work of health care workers is not luxurious in the best of times. It is always risky and physically and mentally demanding. In a pandemic, it is outright dangerous. Our front liners during COVID-19 will suffer unimaginable physical and mental harm as they bravely respond to this health crisis. The casualties of COVID-19 will […] [The bittersweet post-COVID life for this physician]( This week, I opened my planner and came across a list of my goals for Spring that I’d written back in early January: attend a Latin dance festival; get my blue belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu; travel. These sorts of activities open my mind, allowing me to make progress in areas of my life outside of […] [Preventing COVID-19 transmission and the art and science of barriers]( “Good fences make good neighbors” is a memorable and salient line from Robert Frost’s poem, “Mending Walls.” While the context of its meaning is a plea for the importance of privacy, it is a useful phrase for the COVID-19 pandemic as we all try social distancing as our physical defense and protective barrier from the […] [Are COVID-19 lockdowns legal or not?]( The COVID-19 pandemic has raised many questions about how to constitutionally handle a public health crisis on both the state and national levels. Many wonder if a national lockdown can be put in place — a new dilemma that has little legal precedent to follow. Can individual rights be limited to protect public health? Short […] [COVID-19 is an opportunity to change the culture of death]( The doom, gloom, and uncertainty surrounding the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic can be overwhelming, even for an emergency department physician such as myself. The heaviness of the situation largely stems from the deadly nature of the virus, our relatively minimal understanding of how it works, and our seeming inability to control the rapidly changing nature of […] [Expecting in the time of COVID-19]( We are a team of physicians: an OB/GYN, pediatrician, and pediatric and adult psychiatrist, who are primarily concerned for the emotional and physical well-being of you and your baby. The American Academy of Pediatrics released interim guidelines on managing infants born to COVID-positive mothers, and we know this has amplified the anxiety, fear, and worry […] [The Intern: an excerpt from a novel]( An excerpt from The Intern. Room 12 was at the west end of the pediatrics ward and to the right, at the far side of an alcove few patients ever entered—and none left. Maggie paused at the corner, reaching into the recess where the nurses stowed the food cart, and tucked away a couple packages […] --------------------------------------------------------------- If a friend sent you this email and you want to subscribe, go to [KevinMD](. --------------------------------------------------------------- 345 Hudson Street New York NY 10014 USA [Unsubscribe]( | [Change Subscriber Options](