Alone in the hospital in the midst of a global pandemic

Here are latest stories you missed on KevinMD. Thank you for your continuing readership. ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ --------------------------------------------------------------- Here are latest stories you missed on KevinMD. Thank you for your continuing readership. --------------------------------------------------------------- Sponsors [Thousands of physicians are browsing this job board](. They love its selection of over 12,000 openings across the U.S. [Physicians are finding opportunities they almost missed](. [Find jobs at Careers by KevinMD.com](. Search thousands of physician, PA, NP, and CRNA jobs now. [Learn more](. --------------------------------------------------------------- KevinMD Plus: Jan 9, 2021 [Alone in the hospital in the midst of a global pandemic]( I have never felt so alone. I was lying in bed with severe abdominal pain. Pain I never had before. Well, at least not for a reason. As I lay there, I kept thinking, what if I die while I wait until morning. It was the middle of the night. I had not felt well […] [I feel more alone than ever before]( I am an internist in private practice in a community west of Milwaukee, and my commitment as a physician is to keep my patients and community safe and healthy. Throughout the pandemic, I have worked hard to learn everything I can about COVID-19, have helped my patients stay healthy, greatly reduced rates of COVID spread […] [Long-term sequelae of a life in medicine]( It’s a Friday in January 1997. Another two-week block of nights behind me, 75 hours a week with a weekend off in between. However, working 5 p.m. to 8 a.m. means waking at 4 p.m. to dress, grab 15 hours-worth of food, drive 20 minutes to the parking deck, and run 10 minutes to the […] [Why COVID PCR tests aren’t as accurate as you think]( Recently, I started suspecting that RT-PCR testing was not foolproof at ruling out COVID disease after seeing a fair number of patients with typical signs and symptoms but a negative PCR. I have encountered some patients hospitalized with typical COVID pattern pneumonia, thromboembolism with multiple negative PCR tests. Some of these folks even had exposure […] [The lessons learned from street medicine]( So, what is street medicine, or “street med” to those who are closely acquainted with the field? In a few words, it is a rapidly expanding sector of medicine that addresses the unique health and social service needs surrounding the unsheltered homeless population. As street medders, we embrace a philosophy of harm reduction and kinship […] [To be in medicine is to know grief, pain, and heartbreak in a personal way]( “Grief never ends … but it changes. It’s a passage, not a place to stay. Grief is not a sign of weakness, nor a lack of faith … It is the price of love.” – Anonymous The “price of love”: We are now paying that price with the passing of Debbie this weekend. I grieve […] [Doctors with real estate holdings need to automate]( The most common question I am asked when someone finds out I managed my own real estate while I was a full-time general surgeon is: “How could you possibly have time to manage your rental real estate while being a full-time general surgeon? General surgery is a full-time job. It’s not possible to fit a […] [Lessons learned from leaving my first job]( As a fellow, I made a list of what I wanted in my first job. I dreamed, prayed, and wished for the contract to finalize. It did. I went to Ohio hoping that this was my first, last, and always job. Eight years later, I left feeling completely broken. On my first anniversary of leaving, […] [Why COVID is so emotional for physicians [PODCAST]]( “These encounters made my evening shift much more emotional than usual. I am still not sure what it was exactly that evoked such strong feelings of sadness. Was it having a patient who was a health care worker? Was it the rapidity in which all three patients’ conditions deteriorated? Was it realizing that without timely, […] --------------------------------------------------------------- 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](