Blogs

Avoiding the doctor’s office? You are not alone. As a primary care physician, an important part of my job is to ensure patients are up-to-date on their “health maintenance,” which includes screening tests (e.g. pap smears or colonoscopies) and also preventive medicine (e.g. flu shots).

In my last resident blog post, I wrote about cultivating resilience amidst the rigors of residency training. Even as a newly-minted third-year resident, this remains a moving target. In light of recent worldwide events, I have been wrestling with managing my brain’s negativity bias when confronted with the deluge of upsetting headlines, social media posts, and topics of conversation.

My path to medicine began as a young child watching the health challenges faced by my family. This included Hepatitis C from a bad blood transfusion before more stringent blood testing protocols were put into place, many battles with breast cancer, kidney cancer, and chronic medical conditions such as Diabetes, hypertension, depression and anxiety, just to name a few.

During one of our last monthly community walks before the statewide lockdown for COVID-19, Lorna (not real name) and I brought up the rear. Our paces were perfectly matched; she, an elderly woman walking intentionally and carefully, and me, a young mother, pushing a double stroller with two kids.

Since that dramatic first encounter, hummus has risen to the top of my “favorite snacks” list. Hummus holds a special place in my heart, and it has played a critical role in my residency experience.

These are just a few of the texts I sent my fiancée during my first month of inpatient general medicine, which I finished just a few weeks ago. There were moments when I thought about walking away from the path that I’d chosen and there were moments where I felt my worth was that of the gravel that coated the parking lot of the hospital.

A 5-year-old boy and his parents came into my clinic recently. The family had just immigrated to the U.S. The boy had been in and out of hospitals for much of his early years, and his mother was concerned that he was having trouble adjusting to his new home.

On Valentine’s Day 2018, my husband and I went for our first primary care appointments since we were in college. We were both medical students, had recently turned 26 and were freshly kicked off our parents’ insurance plans, and obtained insurance through our medical school. 

As I sat down to finish my notes for the day, I could not help but get distracted by the antics of Albus, my 90-pound German Shepherd. Alternating between quick, strategic licks and clumsily forcing his entire snout into the mostly empty peanut butter jar, he worked tirelessly to taste the final bits of creamy goodness from the bottom of the container.

May 19-23 found me busy in Geneva, Switzerland, as a member of the World Organization of Family Doctors (WONCA) delegation attending the World Health Assembly (WHA72). The Palais of the United Nations, was busy with people from over the world speaking the language of health and health care