Monique Tello is an internal medicine physician and can be reached at her self-titled site, Dr. Monique Tello.
“Mom, every time I look in the mirror, I see something different. Sometimes it’s good, and I feel good about myself. But, sometimes it’s not.”
It was well after dinner, and my nine-year-old daughter was perched on the kitchen counter, nibbling on apple slices while I made tea. Her eyes were fixed on her reflection in the mirror across the room, her expression critical.
I leaned forward. “Let me share something with …
“You do not have to be good.”
I’ve long considered having these classic, profound opening words of Mary Oliver’s most famous poem tattooed on my body somewhere. Since I quit clinical medicine a month ago, I’m at that stage where I’m researching tattoo parlors.
It was just this morning, a late October Saturday morning, that I took my kids and the dog hiking in the woods in the rain. …
Pseudoscience hate groups of all kinds are targeting physicians who openly advocate for public health issues. This is a favorite intimidation tactic used by anti-vaccine activists: When pediatrician colleague Jen Trachtenberg posted a video for National Immunization Awareness Month 2018, she was blasted with thousands of horrible comments and fake online reviews. I wrote a blog post in her defense, and immediately, I was similarly targeted, …
Recently, friends of ours had a frightening experience: They were on vacation, and ordered takeout from an unfamiliar restaurant. They specifically asked about peanuts: “Are the egg rolls fried in peanut oil? Our daughter has an allergy.”
The server replied: “No, no peanut oil.”
And so they ordered the egg rolls.
Awhile after eating an egg roll, their school-aged child Anna (not her real name) complained of a tummy ache. Then, nausea. They …
There have been many times when I have struggled to empathize with the patient. There are certain health care issues, and certain patients, that I have found consistently frustrating over the years.
I’ve written about this, and been pretty well chastised by readers. I don’t mind, because I know that 99 percent of physicians have their kryptonite issues, and just don’t talk about it. I’ll take the heat for being honest.
My …
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