The ritual of hand washing posted on 2020-06-14
In religion, the arts, and many forms of symbolic gesturalisation, rituals represent the values of a community. In medicine too, there are rituals: solemn moments deep with meaning, significance, and tradition. For most societies, rituals are transformative; a time for bonding, enhanced communication, and even gift-giving. It is during rituals that members of a community [Read More]
The Coming Storm posted on 2020-06-12
The COVID-19 pandemic is not over. If that sounds like news, it is. I am not fooled by the hundreds of people walking around my town without masks, nor by the now neglected practice of physical distancing. I am not fooled by the reassurances from Nursing Home directors and hospital administrators who say the virus [Read More]
Where is the light? posted on 2020-06-01
There is an expression that there is light at the end of the tunnel. While this provides hope, the expression also means you are still in the tunnel, and therefore, your problems are not over. This is how it feels right now when I reflect on what we know and do not know about the [Read More]
Alone posted on 2020-05-20
I’m alone in the patient compartment of our rig, separated from my driver, who’s also an EMT. He can only hear me through the thick glass window. The ventilator fan is set on high, just like we were told to do after the World Health Organization declared the Coronavirus a pandemic with fatal repercussions. We’ve [Read More]
Burton Rose MD (1942-2020) posted on 2020-04-27
On April 24, 2020, Medicine lost one of its great innovators and educators. Burton Rose passed away at the age of 77, a victim of SARS-CoV-21. A graduate of Princeton University, he went to Medical school at New York University and served on the faculty at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, Beth Israel Deaconess [Read More]