December 21, 2020
Doctors put their own lives on the line in 2020, and in this tumultuous year which saw a global pandemic, a deeply divided United States, plus eroding public confidence in science they have been inspired to do something they’ve shied away from in the past: speak out.
The desire to take a stand on something that’s not strictly “medical” is a relatively new phenomenon for the profession, where clinicians of all stripes have long been urged to keep their lives and views to themselves. The advent of social media, however, has provided a place to speak out within their private circles and, more broadly, about issues that impact their patients’ health and lives.
December 10, 2020
The COVID-19 pandemic has stressed hospitals and healthcare like nothing else this past century. Physicians themselves have fallen ill or died, passed the infection to their loved ones, and weathered grief, burnout, suicides, furloughs, and financial losses. As case numbers and fatalities continue to mount, some doctors are pinning their hopes on the notion that the pandemic has rocked the foundation of medicine, deconstructing and reinventing standard procedures in ways that could improve care down the road. That by providing a footing for new ideas, new technology, new voices, and new ways of working, COVID-19 could change the practice of medicine.