A few highlights from around the web that made it into our feeds this week.
A Doctor’s Diary: The Overnight Shift in the E.R.
Want to know what it’s like to be a doctor in the Emergency Room? This article does a brilliant job of painting the picture, and it’s not pretty. Traffic through the ER has been growing at twice the rate projected by US population growth and has been for almost 20 straight years.
By gradually taking us through her duties on the overnight shift, Dr. Gina Siddiqui highlights the stark realities of our healthcare system and how ERs are relied upon in completely unsustainable ways. (From nytimes.com)
Black Med Students At Former Slave Quarters Say 'This Is About Resiliency'
Representation matters. A powerful photo of a group of black medical students standing on the porch of an old plantation slave cabin went viral this week. The future doctors who participated spoke to NPR about how important seeing someone who looks like you can be. Their pride, dedication, and thoughtfulness are all we can hope for in the next generation of physicians. The future sure looks bright.
"We are aware of our position," says Russell Ledet, "and what we mean to a whole lot of children. A whole lot of undergrads are hoping and praying to get an interview for medical school, or even somebody to just look at their application. We're here as living proof that it's possible. If we can do it, anybody can do it." (From npr.org)
Senate Republicans seek probe of organ transplant system
33 people die every day waiting for an organ transplant, and it’s not that organs are simply unavailable, organs are wasted. Based on a large report of available organs, 27,000 people met the criteria for organ donation in 2016—twice the number of organs than were actually recovered that year.
Congress has now requested an investigation into the practices of the Association of Organ Provider Organizations and UNOS, the United Network of Organ Sharing—a probe that may bring about oversight long-overdue. (From washingtonpost.com)
Also check out:
- What We’re Reading: 12/13/19
- What We’re Reading: 11/22/19
- What We’re Reading: 11/15/19
- What We’re Reading: 11/08/19
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- What We’re Reading: 10/25/19
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- What We’re Reading: 10/11/19
- What We’re Reading: 10/04/19
- What We’re Reading: 09/27/19
- What We’re Reading: 09/20/19
- What We’re Reading: 09/13/19
- What We’re Reading: 09/06/19
- What We’re Reading: 08/30/19
- What We’re Reading: 08/19/19