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.
Author: juliamd
Patient, pediatrician, parent.
Why the Emergency Department is So Busy
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…
Parenting As A Pediatrician
“Hey doc, do you have kids?” the father asked as I peered at his squirming son’s eardrum. Though this question has always irked me, I grew accustomed to it. My patients’ parents asked it often. “No, not yet,” I replied, suppressing my irritation while moving on to examine the child’s throat. What I wanted to…
Explain Instead of Complain
Her face was not one meant for poker. Her pursed lips emitted “pfffs” and “hmmphs” and her eyes rolled as I spoke. Her hips shifted and squirmed in the vinyl chair while her son stacked otoscope tips in towers on the linoleum below. The emergency department can inure one to such displays of frustration. My…
Both Sides of the Bed
I’m excited to share I will be writing monthly articles for the medical social networking site Doximity. Here is my first – a reflection on the ritual of hospital rounds.