In 1973, an article entitled, “Does Race Interfere with the Doctor-Patient Relationship,” was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. It pointed out systemic biases that impact the care for those in minority groups. Almost 50 years later, have we improved? Though the article delineated a significant amount of attention that addresses health inequities and the… Read More »
There is a new phenomenon in our health care settings. After an arduous 18 months, those on the frontline of COVID are beginning to experience a completely different form of fatigue and burnout. We are beginning to observe anger at those that have not been vaccinated and refuse to mask. Recently, Chavi Eve Karkowsky wrote about this in… Read More »
As the COVID pandemic continues to rage on and is once again rapidly accelerating, it’s crucial to step back and ask ourselves, why are we in this situation, when we have excellent public health measures and a very efficacious vaccine? One would think as a society, we can overcome anything as we have proven in the past. Historically,… Read More »
As we continue to struggle with vaccination rates, the debate rages over individual rights and the politicization of the present situation. Because of this it is essential to step back and decide upon our goals. Are we attempting to eradicate, eliminate, cohabitate, or conflagrate with the virus? With each of these, the endgame is drastically different. For instance,… Read More »
As we continue to focus on optimally providing COVID vaccinations for as many people as possible, there has been a digression into labeling those that are not yet immunized, as being “hesitant.” This labeling oversimplifies the situation and is frankly, incorrect in many cases. Simplifying such language is detrimental to our vaccine success. Similarly, when we identify people… Read More »
Closing down the country for a year has had consequences on many different areas that may have not initially come to mind. Therefore, in times of crisis, significant learnings may arise if we are open to them and do not revert to previous behaviors and actions. The impact on the residency application process and the final year of… Read More »
There is an ongoing debate surrounding the value of public health in this country. We have seen this play out during the COVID pandemic. During this time, a great deal of focus has concentrated on the science and the speed to which new therapies evolved and the rapid development of a new vaccine, honestly nothing short of miraculous.… Read More »
Periodically, there are discussions regarding the critical component of trust in healthcare. Currently, the present pandemic is a prime example of the issue. Some, we observe, inherently trust science; others prefer the approach, I need to distrust you until you prove to me you are trustworthy. A third category proclaims I trust you; however, I must verify the… Read More »
These are unprecedented times. For the first time since the pandemic began, COVID deaths per week have surpassed those of cardiac disease. Daily, the news bombards us, spouting opinions about everything from everyone, and many face economic uncertainty. Also, many of us are struggling to decide whether or not to visit family over the holidays, and we live… Read More »
Our society continually grapples with the concept of individualism and its impact; COVID-19 brings this conversation to the forefront. Furthermore, numerous people equate the discussions concerning masking and stay-at-home orders to politics; however, at the core of the conversation are the ideas of risk, probability, social justice, and individuality. At the individual level, several people are risk-averse, while… Read More »