I do not watch the news anymore. I do not listen to it on the radio. I do not even read about it online. But every once in a while, I will catch myself reading an article on Google News on my iPad. I, too, fall prey to clickbait on occasion. But, for the most part, I avoid the news: local, regional, state, national, and even international. It is too …
What world leaders can learn from diverse medical teams
Larry is a friend. We are not besties. He is a neighbor, a few miles down the road from our forty-eight-acre hobby farm in our quaint little town, surrounded by farmland, generational farmers, rusted old tractors, cornfields, livestock, and a few homes interspersed in between. He is a neighbor, nonetheless. And a friend.
I first met Larry when we were building our country home, where my wife dreamt of raising a …
A physician’s tribute to respiratory therapists
Born a son to immigrant parents, one of whom did not speak any English early on in my youth, I struggled to assimilate to American culture, to friends, and to the everyday language and vernacular during my formative years in grade school, middle school, and even high school. My mother raised my brother, sister, and me while my father worked two, and sometimes three, jobs to make ends meet. Mom …
How I learned to love my unique name as a doctor
Since my training days in the Combined Internal Medicine and Pediatrics Residency at Ohio State University Medical Center and Columbus Children’s Hospital (1996–2000), to my days in private practice (2000–2008), to my days practicing as a hospitalist physician (2008–present), I’ve had the great fortune of working with, collaborating with, learning from, and befriending many nurses who roam this Earth and, especially, my surrounding community. With those thoughts in mind, I …
Why nurses are the true heroes of my 25-year medical journey
Long ago, before I started practicing medicine, I worked in the retail sector. I was 15 years old when I earned my first real paycheck. Surely, I worked other odd and end jobs before that first “real job.” I mowed neighborhood lawns, shoveled snow off neighbors’ driveways, delivered newspapers—anything I could do to make a dollar or two. But those odd jobs were not “real jobs” with tangible or steady …
From retail to medicine: a doctor’s journey through burnout and bureaucracy
Famous artists and athletes who succumbed to suicide:
Robin Williams (American actor and comedian) – August 11, 2014; 63 years old.
Anthony Bourdain (American celebrity chef, author, travel documentarian) – June 8, 2018; 61 years old.
Robert Enke (German goalkeeper, part of German national soccer team) – November 10, 2009; 32 years old.
Goo Hara (South Korean singer and actor) – November 24, 2019; 28 years old.
Ruslana Korshunova (Kazakhstani model) – June 28, 2008; …
Heartbreaking stories of famous lives lost to suicide and a community’s fight for awareness
Terminology has changed over the years.
When I was in training (1996-2000), we were called physicians. Nurses were called nurses. Nurse practitioners (NPs) were called nurse practitioners. Physician assistants (PAs) were called physician assistants. Patient care assistants (PCAs) were called patient care assistants. And the suits were just that … the suits. They kept the lights on and the doors open. They didn’t provide any direct …
Not all healers wear scrubs or lab coats: Paying homage to our modern-day Santa Claus
I would not recognize her if she crossed before me on the street. I could not pick her out in a staff photo of her and her colleagues. I do not know the color of her hair or skin; I could not even guess if she is short or tall. But her voice—I know her voice. I could recognize that voice anywhere.
I first met Julie sometime before the COVID pandemic, …
The voice that saved lives: a doctor’s pandemic hero
I finished my residency training on June 30th, 2000, in a combined internal medicine and pediatrics residency program at Ohio State University and Columbus Children’s Hospital (before it was renamed Nationwide Children’s Hospital). One month later, I was slated to begin my first “adult” job as I joined a private family medicine practice in Southern Ohio – practicing traditional medicine (outpatient and inpatient care). There were no hospitalists back then …
Discover the physician who made a village his family
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