WRITER * ARTIST * DOCTOR * PATIENT * MOTHER
Medical school teaches us open-ended questions are best. We are told to avoid interrupting patients, allow them get their whole story out before we jump in—to prompt them only with nods or gentle “hmmm’s” and maybe a “tell me more.” But years of practice can erode this open style. Experience focuses our questioning to what…
Much like a tree, illness can branch in different directions. When you are at the trunk, it can be difficulty to know along which branch your illness will travel. Why the story of illness matters in my latest article for Doximity.
“Too often, weary parents brave icy roads and sleep deprivation, their bodies still healing from Cesarean sections or vaginal tears, to make sure their newborn’s rash or sleep pattern or congestion is not serious. We try to shelter them in covered car seats and get them home quickly, hoping they haven’t caught any of the…
I’m excited to share that my piece “Harvest Moon” is first place winner in the nonfiction category of the 2019 Bellevue Literary Review Prize. It will appear in the Spring 2019 issue.
In the emergency department, patients often wonder why they aren’t seen fast enough, or why their problems aren’t completely solved, or why the tests they want cannot be run. Doctors and nurses in the ED also grumble and ask each other, “Why did the patient come here for that? Don’t they know this isn’t the…