HIV and ID Observations

October 30th, 2024

The Riveting Conclusion of How PCP Became PJP

Before I get back to the saga of Brave New Name — How PCP Became PJP and Why It Matters, allow me to share that I had some trepidation about publishing this thing. A deep dive down a hole with very high-risk for tularemia exposure (see what I did there?), it veered off topic more than half-baked […]

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October 22nd, 2024

Brave New Name — How PCP Became PJP and Why It Matters

In the pre-E**n M**k era of the site then known at Twitter, I posted a poll about a very important debate in clinical Infectious Diseases: That’s right. Nearly 900 people took the time, energy, and clicks to weigh in on the critical question of what to abbreviate the well-known opportunistic infection in immunocompromised hosts. Fifteen […]

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September 6th, 2024

Five Reflections after Attending on General Medicine This Year

Here are five things that occurred to me after a stint on General Medicine this year, where (per our department’s wise policy), I was paired with an experienced and excellent hospitalist to oversee two medical residents, three interns, and two medical students. #1:  Energy. Medical house officers radiate positive energy. Yes, it was summertime, and motivations […]

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February 20th, 2024

Variability in Consult Volume Is a Major Contributor to Trainee Stress — What’s the Solution?

Back when he was program director of our ID fellowship, Dr. David Hooper would give the applicants a description of our program. One of the key parts was his estimating the workload — in particular, the number of new consults per day. “We average three to four consults a day,” he said. “But there’s a high […]

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January 25th, 2024

Printed Medical Textbooks — Going, Going, but Not Quite Gone

Take a look at the things behind my desk at work: cute photos of family and dog a bunch of sentimental objects, gifts from grateful patients or colleagues a smattering of miscellaneous plaques and clocks pictures of our current (awesome) first-year ID fellows and other stuff a bunch of books, several of them many inches thick […]

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January 2nd, 2024

Reflections on Working in the Hospital During the Holidays

For the zillionth year in a row, I spent the Christmas holiday working in the hospital. For me, it’s not much of a sacrifice — we don’t celebrate Christmas, and my kids are long out of school so the strict limits on when we can take vacation are a thing of the past. But it […]

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November 23rd, 2023

Giving Thanks — This Time to You, Readers of This Thing

Most years around this time I post some ID-related things to be grateful for — a research advance, a nice shift in epidemiology showing fewer people are sick and more are living longer, a new drug approval we’ve been eagerly awaiting. That kind of thing. Last year, for example, it was gratitude that mpox had come […]

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November 16th, 2023

Being a Good Doctor — Why Are the Simple Things So Hard?

The simple things that make someone not just a doctor — but a good doctor — can slip away from us when we’re too busy, or tired, or preoccupied, or hungry. That’s why it’s wise periodically to be reminded of the “soft skills” that, while individually not tricky, together make a huge difference in how […]

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September 8th, 2023

Endless Recertification in Medicine — Some Thoughts About the Tests We Take

The tests issued by the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) for credentialing physicians are much in the news again. There’s even a petition circulating to eliminate the Maintenance of Certification (MOC) process entirely, signed by nearly 20,000 physicians. I have a bunch of memories, thoughts, and feelings about ABIM and the tests they issue. They’re […]

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June 15th, 2023

Clinical Teaching at the 99.9th Percentile: Dr. Martin (Marty) Samuels

One of the true joys of practicing at academic medical centers is working alongside great clinical teachers. No one exemplified this talented group better than Dr. Martin (Marty) Samuels, former chief of neurology at Brigham and Women’s Hospital (where I work), and professor of neurology at Harvard Medical School. He was quite simply the best clinical […]

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