America is in the midst of one hell of a holiday season.
This is usually a time for gathering and togetherness. But this year, experts have asked the public to celebrate the holidays at home and only with those in their own household. For many people, that will mean spending the holidays alone.
It’s a sad reality finishing off an already isolating year. If you are spending the holidays without your family and friends this year, I want you to know…
Read MoreIn late October, ACEP released a poll on emergency physician mental health. It amplified what all healthcare workers already know too well—COVID is taking a tremendous toll on emergency physicians’ mental health.
EmergencyPhysicians.org summarized the poll:
Read MoreThe holiday season is officially upon us. In any other year, we’d be finalizing travel plans right now, dreaming up menus for dinner parties, and readying our homes to host friends and family. The unfortunate reality of 2020 is that our cherished winter traditions must look different than they have in the past.
It’s been a challenging year. I know that I’m not alone in…
Read MoreThe coronavirus pandemic has been an ongoing crisis in the United States for nearly eight months. As of this writing, we are grappling with the collective grief we feel as the death toll in the United States approaches 230,000. The hundreds of thousands of lives lost are difficult to comprehend. Faces of COVID, a Twitter account, tells the individual stories of people lost to COVID-19 through obituaries, family submissions, and news reports.
Among the many lost to the coronavirus are thousands of healthcare workers…
Read MoreThis week, Americans will celebrate a Thanksgiving holiday unlike any we’ve known in our lifetimes. In light of the ongoing third wave of the coronavirus pandemic, many people will opt not to travel. And in hundreds of thousands of homes, families will be missing loved ones who have been taken by the virus. Everywhere, there will be empty places at our tables…
Read MoreOur country is in the throes of deep division.
The path forward will not be an easy one. But we can begin by remembering that we share common goals of liberty and justice for all. We can build a country in which everyone is free to enjoy life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
Healing these divides will take…
Read MoreIt’s been a long week in a long year. At the time of this writing, we do not yet know the outcome of the 2020 Presidential election. It is possible that a winner will have been announced by the time you read this, but I want to take a moment to lean into the place of not knowing.
As a physician, I am used to people wanting me to have all the answers…
Read MoreThe Judith E. Tintinalli Excellence in Education Award is a lifetime achievement award presented to an ACEP member who has made a lasting change and outstanding contribution to emergency medicine education.
I am deeply honored to be this year’s recipient of the award…
Read MoreNovember 3rd is right around the corner. There is so much at stake, so today I wanted to spend a moment talking about voting plans.
Creating a voting plan is easy: it is simply committing to how, when, and where you’ll cast your vote. Having a voting plan in place increases voter turnout…
Read MoreYou have Ada Lovelace to thank, in part, for whatever device on which you are reading this blog post. Daughter of the English poet George Gordon Lord Byron, Ada Lovelace is widely considered to be the inventor of the computer algorithm…
Read MoreNative Land Digital, an Indigenous-led not-for-profit organization based in Canada, is a map that shows Indigenous territories, treaties, and languages, and allows visitors to input their location to learn more about lands where they live, work, and visit. It is also a useful tool to use when…
Read MoreRuth Bader Ginsburg, the second woman in United States history to serve as a Supreme Court justice, died in Washington D.C. on September 18th. She was 87 years old.
Her contributions to the rights of women in this country feel almost incalculable…
For a long time, personal and career development for physicians seemed to center on self-discipline—becoming the CEO of your own life, thinking like a boss, being mentally tough. Mental toughness is a well-trodden term in business, leadership, and athletic circles; a phrase used to…
Read MoreThis year has been rough. Between the staggering loss we’ve faced as a nation in the wake of COVID-19, storms threatening parts of the country, and fire destroying others, discouragement feels easy to come by in 2020.
These have been painful days, but the difficulties they present makes hope all the more essential…
Read MoreMy grandfather, Andrew Schmidt, was the postmaster of my hometown of Belleville, Illinois. It’s a small community in Southeastern Illinois. Part of St. Clair County claimed a population of only about 30,000 residents when my grandfather was responsible for the post office's daily operations.
Family lore says that
Read MoreWednesday, August 26 is Women's Equality Day in the United States.
In 1973, Congress declared that this day would be observed annually in commemoration of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution, the amendment that granted women the right to vote. Thanks to the commitment of suffragists…
Read MoreA new book about friendship, Big Friendship: How We Keep Each Other Close, could not be more well-timed. In the last five months, the coronavirus pandemic magnified the importance of our nearest and dearest…
Read More“The wound is the place where the Light enters you.” ― Rumi
To say that this has been a difficult summer is an understatement.
But I am struck by the growth—personal, professional, institutional—that I have witnessed…
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