Debra A. Shute

I’m not outspoken about much, but will not, can not, hold back my battle cry about masks. Would I feel so adamant if I didn’t possess a crisp death certificate with, “CORONAVIRUS 2019” in an envelope inside the file cabinet beside me? Maybe, maybe not. The envelope came sealed with a sticker embossed with the name of the funeral home that handled my mother’s funeral. I thought it was ...

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My first—and last—clinical rotation was at a newly built nursing home attached to a community hospital near school. I didn’t have a car on campus, and hitched rides from classmates who were typically commuters with night jobs.

They were a tougher, more sophisticated breed of young women than I was used to in my hometown. They smoked, but their voices still seemed naturally lower-pitched than mine. They never squeaked ...

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Ever since I entered the publishing world as a bottom-feeder editorial assistant in 2001, I’ve gotten all sorts of questions about “how to become a writer.” (Spoiler: Pick up a pen.) As my career progressed, I’ve edited lots of physician-authored material. Over the last few years, I’ve become an avid consumer of physician-written books and blogs. If that experience doesn’t sell you, I have received the distinct honor of engaging my ...

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My mom was beyond vulnerable to the virus. May of 2020 marked two years since she'd become a nursing home resident—receiving care for several chronic illnesses. She died of failure to thrive due to Coronavirus 2019 on June 1, 2020, at the age of 75. As her oldest child, her health care proxy, and a health care writer for more than 15 years, I knew that a positive result in a ...

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