by Jeremy Topin | Jul 2, 2017 | Balance, Change, Medical Education, Medicine
July is just around the corner. For hospitals it’s a dynamic time. A changing of the guard. Graduating residents moving on and new interns, fresh out of medical school with their clean and crisp long white coats, moving in. Out with the old, in with the new. The ICU...
by Jeremy Topin | May 26, 2017 | Medical, Medical Education
The alarm sounds, a painful reminder that it’s my week to cover the ICU. I take off my favorite sweatshirt, stripping away its warmth and comfort. I quickly jump into and out of the scalding shower, racing to get ready. Making my way toward the kitchen, I roll my eyes...
by Jeremy Topin | May 9, 2017 | Medical, Medical Education
The patient in front of me is trying to die. Elderly and frail, he is lying in the bed. His ribs outlined under skin that should be smooth. His temples are concave where they should be flat. Both are an outward display of internal damage from his lung cancer. More...
by Jeremy Topin | Apr 19, 2017 | Medical
I pause in front of the door. On the other side, you all wait. A spouse, sons and daughters, sometimes with their own small children in tow. Today it’s your husband and father you have come for. Yesterday it was someone else’s mother. You have come from near and...
by Jeremy Topin | Feb 28, 2017 | Balance, Medical, Medical Education
What do you do when you know someone is going to die? I’m not talking about death when it comes at the end of a long protracted illness or a terminal diagnosis. Or the final act at the end of a “good” life, when the body and mind have ultimately...
