Atlanta Family Medicine Physician
I had surgery last week to remove my left ovary. I’m 53, so it isn’t doing all that much for me anyway. It was what we call an “incidental finding.” This simply means that we were looking for something else, but could not ignore this other issue that is staring back at you and is…Continue Reading “Doctors make the best patients. Sort of.”
He said “thank you for listening to me” before he left for the Emergency Room. I’m still mulling over his appreciation. He did not want to come to the Urgent Care, but he named a few complaints to his nurse daughter and she asked him to please be seen. His symptoms were vague. He had…Continue Reading “He thanked me for listening”
I stopped writing during Covid. Even my journals are empty. I had a strong desire as a physician to “do something” so I worked Urgent Care. There has been some discussion about the 1918 flu pandemic not showing up in much literature of the time, with the exception of Pale Rider, by Laura Spinney. I…Continue Reading “Pandemic Brain”
I work in Urgent Care centers across metro Atlanta. There are six Northside Urgent Care centers, and I periodically cover shifts at each location. Each center has its own unique personality. Midtown Atlanta has a much younger, widely diverse, and, based on the STI rates, a very sexually active persona when compared to the suburbs….Continue Reading “Lions and Tigers and Bears. Oh My!”
Virus rates are going up, up, up. While the mortality rates are so much better, the number of deaths are going up because more people are contracting the virus. How can we control it? We can wear a mask and we can avoid crowds. This is not a partisan issue. This is not a partisan…Continue Reading “Be Safe. Be Smart. Do No Harm.”
I saw a patient in Urgent Care for a wound caused by drunkenly walking into something the night before. He admitted to already having spent time in prison for endangering others by driving while intoxicated. He wasn’t driving this time, but obviously he has not stopped binge drinking. While his use did not suggest alcoholism,…Continue Reading “The burden of binge drinking”
My husband and I decided to take an Improv 101 class. We will soon “graduate” from 201. Instead of a diploma, we get to perform a showcase. Does this sound fun or terrifying? For me, it is both. Improv class has gotten in the way of my blog writing, but it has been worth it. …Continue Reading “Want to focus, connect and practice mindfulness? Try Improv!”
The tick-tock of the clock is painful, all sane and logical. I want to tear it off the wall. Eve 6 “Get More Done” I used to think about time differently. For a while I thought I accomplished more in a day in my youth than I do now, but no, I simply have added…Continue Reading “How to “Get More Done””
I believe that energy vampires are real and unhappiness is contagious. Why do some people drain your energy and others refill your reserves? While most of life is a balancing act, it is important to make sure you are surrounded by enough people, activities and thoughts that refill your tank or you will find yourself…Continue Reading “Can an energy shield save you from negativity?”
At a recent conference, the palliative care physician and author, Dr. Kathryn Mannix, spoke about death and the process of dying. She asked for those of us having witnessed death to raise our hands. In a typical lecture hall, she might see 10% of hands raised. But, in a room of physicians, 90% of our…Continue Reading “Narrating Death”