I am a physician who tested positive for COVID-19. My main symptom is anger.

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 Is your organization considering an investment in a [clinical communication solution]( The right technology can help close communication gaps and enable faster, unified communication. Read this infographic to determine which communication solution would be the [best fit for your organization](. Health care entities are [frequent targets of ransomware threats]( and should take proactive steps to [prepare for these attacks](. [No-shows and avoidance in care]( have impacts to patient outcomes and practice operations. The pandemic is causing these issues to become worse. [Download this guide]( to proactively engage patients in their health care. Get a free copy of [Money Insights for Physicians]( which teaches doctors the proven path to move from high income to high net worth! [Take the F3 Assessment]( and find out where you’re at along the path to financial freedom. --------------------------------------------------------------- KevinMD Plus: Dec 28, 2020 [I am a physician who tested positive for COVID-19. My main symptom is anger.]( As cases exploded across the country, I watched with horror as I saw people go on with their daily lives as if hundreds of thousands of people were not dying, as if millions were not infected, as if our health care system was not collapsing. I watched our country – a country I once believed […] [What do you want to be when you grow up: a medical student perspective]( “Please inform us of your intended specialty for your 4th year scheduling,” requested our administration in an email sent to students 2.5 years into medical school. Up until that instant, not knowing my future specialty was accepted and actually encouraged. Yet in one moment, that all changed. Medical education prides itself in giving students the […] [The COVID vaccine selfie: The caption matters as much as the picture]( COVID-19 has forever changed science. There have been many positives. The virus has forced us to question long-held notions in immunology, virology, and critical care, improving our ability to battle disease. There have been brilliant expressions of creativity and ingenuity. The creation of a new vaccine in less than a year is a true wonder […] [The laws of The House of God and Man’s 4th Best Hospital]( Forty-two years ago, when I had finally finished the seven revisions of my first novel, The House of God, my editor said, “Why don’t you add a glossary and a list of The Laws of the House of God.” Writing the Laws, I hardly needed to refer to the text; they just flowed out. The […] [A call schedule to fix the Supreme Court]( Though pushed to the back-burner by the never-ending orange election drama, the Supreme Court, with its significant conservative majority earned against the run of play, (to borrow a metaphor from sport) is one decision away from potential political irrelevance. Is there a way forward for the Supreme Court? Conservative hypocrisy and liberal outrage at the […] [Why corruption is ruining your health care [PODCAST]]( “Doctors help patients, and they love us for it. We fix bones, replace joints, cure killer infections, and control diabetes with insulin. We use painless scans for diagnosis. Liver, kidney, and heart transplants are now routine. Some patients get cured of lymphomas, leukemia, Hodgkin’s disease, and testicular cancer. Lives are prolonged for myeloma and amyloidosis. […] [The 12 days of COVID]( On the first day of COVID my hospital administrator gave to me, A pep talk and some shoddy PPE. On the second day of COVID my hospital administrator gave to me, Two nitrile gloves, And a pep talk and some shoddy PPE. On the third day of COVID my hospital administrator gave to me, Three […] [COVID vaccine resistance in underrepresented communities]( Despite advances in the science of diabetes, including a huge armory of new drugs, over 34.2 million people still suffer. More than 88 million adults are at risk for diabetes, disproportionately affecting Black and brown communities. Individuals with diabetes, high blood pressure, and heart disease are also the same people at the highest risk of contracting and […] [My first end-of-life conversation]( As a third-year medical student finally in the clinical arena, I’ve seen much more real medicine in the last three months than the entirety of my life. I’ve learned that the ethical dilemmas and the difficult patients are not restricted to TV medical dramas—it’s real life. On a Saturday morning on my inpatient Internal Medicine […] [Talking politics in the exam room [PODCAST]]( “The medical profession now understands that social determinants of health are probably the most important driver of a patient’s overall health, and these determinants are largely the result of political decisions. Clearly, we have a professional responsibility to teach our patients the science underlying their health issues. Don’t we also have a professional obligation to […] [With cancer, you often get some prep time]( Some poignant moments with patients take me by surprise. I have had hundreds (thousands?) of difficult discussions with patients. They are all difficult and unique, but sometimes they unexpectedly and without good explanation, catch me off guard. I saw a long term patient with metastatic cancer who survived recent saddle PE despite a delay in […] [Harness the power of social media to reach COVID immunity: #CovidVaccine]( The roll-out of the COVID vaccine, which started in the U.S. recently, brought hope to millions of Americans reeling under the protracted coronavirus pandemic. The phrase “this is the beginning of the end” was used repeatedly by interviewed vaccinated individuals and health care officials as well as in the news media to express a sigh […] [Negotiate your employment agreement after residency]( A lot is happening when graduating medical residents are looking for employment after completing graduate medical education. They are finishing their residencies, taking the specialty boards, and trying to decide where they will be spending the rest of their lives. Considering a new job offer can be both exciting and stressful. It is natural in such circumstances to focus on what the […] [COVID-19 vaccine and disinformation: How health care providers can leverage social media to combat this trend]( If you’ve scrolled through social media lately, you’ve undoubtedly encountered a swirl of misinformation about COVID-19 vaccines. In one video, a young woman gets a COVID-19 vaccine, and within a few hours, begins climbing the walls of her room as if possessed by a demon. Another one shows a young man shaking uncontrollably in the […] [21 for ’21: little sparks of joy]( Keep it Simple is a bumper sticker slogan. Life during a pandemic has been anything but simple, and the holiday season presents (not the gift kind) its own special challenges. So does living alone and trying to stay humanized. In his book Together: The Healing Power of Human Connection in a Sometimes Lonely World, Surgeon […] [Surgical smoke evacuators and inertia in the time of COVID [PODCAST]]( “Early in the pandemic, in thinking of and discussing possible solutions to help protect health care workers, two of my former colleagues and I recalled a device called the Surgical Smoke Evacuator (SSE), which we used extensively since the 1990s when we worked together at the University of Pittsburgh to collect and safely dispose of […] --------------------------------------------------------------- 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](