I have never been outside my hospital since I joined two months ago.
As the only doctor in the oncology department, I cannot take the time to roam around the hospital. My duty hours are filled with chemotherapy treatments and the continuous monitoring of sick patients.
The hospital where I work is affiliated with a private medical college. On Saturdays and Sundays, the students have a holiday. It was a Saturday, and …
8:00 a.m.: The start of a not-so-perfect morning
I wake up, already running a bit behind. I toss last night’s leftovers into a lunchbox while thinking, Will this meet my nutrition for the day? Maybe tomorrow I’ll pack something better. Morning routine kicks in: shower, brush, poop, pack bag, grab tea. No time to sit and sip, I carry it with me.
8:45 a.m.: Wheels on the ground
I hop into my WHO-assigned …
Imagine assembling an IKEA bookshelf with instructions in 12 languages, missing pages, and screws that cost vastly different amounts depending on which store you went to, unbeknownst to you. Then, after assembling it, you discover you’ll be charged even more because you used an Allen wrench.
That’s a standard experience for Americans navigating the health care ecosystem—one that feels deliberately designed to create confusion and drain bank accounts.
The numbers speak for …
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LGBTQ+ journalist BJ Ferguson discusses the article, “Why physician voices matter in the fight against anti-LGBTQ+ laws.” The conversation serves as a call to action for medical professionals, arguing that their duty …
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Public policy analyst Julia Drydyk discusses her article “Human trafficking isn’t what you think: Why education is key to stopping it.” Julia clarifies the crucial distinction between human smuggling and human trafficking, …
In memory of Brian Wilson (1942–2025).
In a world increasingly marked by fracture and fear, it is hard not to return to the quiet, aching clarity of Brian Wilson’s song Love and Mercy. Originally released in 1988, the song was not a protest anthem or a sweeping political critique. Instead, it was a simple, open-hearted wish: “Love and mercy, that’s what you need tonight. So, love and mercy to you and …
“Those who forget the past are condemned to repeat it.”
Didn’t take long, did it?
The quote in the title is from George Santayana. The movie is It’s a Wonderful Life with Jimmy Stewart as George Bailey along with Clarence Odbody, who played Clarence the angel. The scenes are from the moments when Clarence shows George what the world would have been without him and his value to his family, his friends, …
As a pediatrician and public health advocate, I’ve spent my career serving families whose lives often depend on a strong safety net. Medicaid is that safety net. It provides care for over 70 million Americans — including children, pregnant women, seniors, and people with disabilities.
Right now, federal policymakers are considering dramatic Medicaid cuts that would threaten coverage for millions. This is not just a policy debate. It will spark a …
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Psychiatrist, internist, and addiction medicine specialist Muhamad Aly Rifai discusses his article, “When rock bottom is a turning point: Why the turmoil at HHS may be a blessing in disguise.” Muhamad offers …
In a few weeks, we will be celebrating our 249th Independence Day, which brings celebratory vibes but concerns about how the Constitution is being ignored. Who will stand to defend it? In today’s America—where civil liberties are too often dismissed as inconvenient and the Constitution is treated like a museum piece rather than a living covenant—we are called to remember the physician patriots who helped birth this nation. Not only with …
In a time when anti-LGBTQ+ legislation is proliferating across the United States, targeting everything from gender-affirming care to inclusive science education, many physicians are facing a new ethical frontier. More than ever, the duty to protect patient health extends beyond the clinic walls. When policy threatens the well-being of entire communities, an inclusive and affirming exam room is no longer enough. It is time for doctors to speak up and …
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Health reporter Martha Rosenberg discusses her article, “Conflicts of interest are eroding trust in U.S. health agencies.” Martha outlines how faith in government health bodies like the FDA and CDC has plummeted …
It is standard practice to start opinion pieces with a powerful anecdote that “hooks” the reader and lures them in, winning their attention by appealing to their humanity. However, this highlights the exact issue posed by the recent revocation of immigration rights in the U.S.; we do not know the stories that most need to be told right now. Instead, we have to tell of the patients who did not …
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Over 80 percent of people are discontented with their medical insurance, whether provided by the government, their employer, or a commercial company. Common complaints are cost, increasing prices, and limited or rejected coverage. Regardless of the insurance’s source, we, the citizens, pay the bill through higher co-payments, deductibles, or premiums. Thus, their future payments increase when people request increased coverage for specific treatments, tests, or conditions.
However, individual desires are not …
The health care system, in theory, operates on one fundamental principle: to prioritize patient welfare. Yet, contemporary systems in many regions, particularly the United States, have increasingly veered off course, entangling themselves in a jungle of bureaucracy, regulation, and profit-driven motives that obscure the vital role patients play as the focal point of care. The result is a system riddled with inefficiencies, frustration, and barriers to optimal health care delivery.
Another day, more slides pass under my lens. Each represents a patient, a family, friends, uncertainty—maybe the beginning of a journey they are soon to realize, maybe it is the end of a journey. Each is unique.
These are turbulent times we live in. Deep divides separate our country. However, under the microscope there are no politics, no labels or preconceptions. The rainbow of colors the cells illuminate shines bright for …
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Orthopedic surgeon Adil S. Ahmed discusses his article, “Academic medical centers under threat: the impact of funding cuts.” He outlines the essential, multifaceted roles of academic institutions in educating future doctors, conducting …
Recent headlines confirm what many Americans have sensed for the past few years: the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is in crisis. A sweeping wave of layoffs is reshaping federal health agencies at every level—from the NIH to the CDC to the FDA. Some dismiss this as a political maneuver or an act of chaos. Others see it as an attack on career civil servants. I see …
Why has faith in government health agencies never been lower? Because conflicts of interest (COIs) have never been higher.
At the FDA, concerns about drugmakers “buying” drug approvals go back to passage of the Prescription Drug User Fee Act (PDUFA) in 1992. Since then, the many doctors with research and speaker grants, drug stocks, and past employment with drugmakers heighten concerns. Worse, many major drug trials that claim to show …
It was recently match day in the medical school world. Students who have given their lives to their studies to become doctors learned where they’d spend the next three to seven years in their chosen specialty completing their residency. This is one of the highlights each year as newly minted dermatologists, surgeons, psychiatrists, and internal medicine doctors, among many others, begin their next chapters and disperse across the country. It’s …
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