We are over a year into the COVID-19 pandemic. Twelve months of bumbling and anemic federal responses regarding personal protective equipment (PPE) and grossly inadequate testing and contact tracing initiatives. Almost 30 million confirmed cases in the United States. Over 500,000 dead. …

I went for a colonoscopy at the ripe young age of 49, a little over two years ago. I wasn’t experiencing abdominal pain, weight loss, rectal bleeding, or black tarry bowel movements. I had a primary care provider and insurance that allowed me the opportunity to set up the appointment…

“Roger?” The bubbly twenty-something medical assistant poked her head out into the clinic waiting room into a sea of vulnerable faces. Silence. “Roger?” she repeated louder, certain that repeating the name at heightened volume would facilitate improved understanding from her intended audience. More silence. I turned to my father, Dr…

During my second year of medical school, we had a weekly course on medicine and humanities. In it we tackled various social topics and how they played out in healthcare settings — ranging from caregiver burnout to sexism to domestic abuse. …

“Wash your hands more often than you ever dreamed possible. Avoid alcohol, tobacco, and drugs and call your friends and family, check in on your mother. She wants to hear from you right now. And speaking of mothers, we need you to do this, if not for yourself then for…

“You can’t take it with you when you die” I’m sure people said that to you before. I’m sure you rarely listened to them before you collapsed in your study and took your last breath. You were a former Chief of Surgery, a well-versed and traveled man of Paul Robeson-type…

This is hard. In my line of work, I have mastered the art of how to give a presentation or talk. Be poised. Don’t lose your cool. Teach the masses. Never let them see you sweat. This is not like my work talks. Today I’m going to speak about my…

During my years as an internal medicine resident in New York City, there was an oncology attending who had a reputation of doing every test and trying every treatment for his patients living with cancer — even when they had no chance for survival or a meaningful recovery. This physician…