Ever get this page? 2/ Since I was an intern, and even now as an attending, I get these pages all the time. They really get under my skin.
Mar 25, 2021 • 14 tweets • 10 min read
1/ There are no excuses for gun violence, an autobiographical essay (#GunControl)
I grew up with guns. By the time I was twelve I owned two rifles. Every time my father took me shooting he would ask, “are you excited?”
I would feign a “Yes!”
2/ We would drive out to nearby farms and hunt pheasant and guinea fowl. But the thought of taking a life — even a bird’s — was nauseating to me. I would miss, sometimes by mistake, sometimes on purpose.
He covered so much, but I'd like to reiterate some of his tips on being a gender-sensitive clinician.
2/ Ask everyone about gender identity in paperwork.
Feb 26, 2021 • 15 tweets • 12 min read
1/ ANTI-CHINESE RACISM & VACCINE HESITANCY IN AFRICA
“No way I’m taking that China vaccine,” is a phrase I’ve heard tons in #Zimbabwe from friends, family, & HCWs, after 200,000 doses of the #Sinopharm#vaccine arrived from China last week.
TLDR-this is racism. Get vaccinated.
2/ While governments have welcomed strengthening Sino-African relations, many people think of Chinese presence as neocolonialism. They’re half right. But it’s more complex than this.
1/ As a @harvardmed doctor, I will be one of the first people to get a vaccine. My family in Zimbabwe, however, will be some of the last, if they get vaccines at all.
In global health, vaccination coverage has been an issue since vaccines were a thing…
2/ For example, in the 1990s, the oral cholera vaccine was added to the WHO essential drug list (a compendium of “must have” resources for all countries). The lifesaving vaccine costs under US$1, yet the global stockpile is tiny and saved for emergencies.
But…
Jul 7, 2020 • 11 tweets • 6 min read
1/ THREAD: VIP Patients
We can't let patients buy special treatment. It privileges the white & wealthy.
In residency, when I wouldn't provide unwarranted treatment, a “VIP" patient brought me to tears, yelling and asking where I went to med school.
#TipsForNewDocs #medtwitter2/ Every hospital I’ve worked or trained in has a special floor where patients can spend thousands of dollars to get “better” treatment.
They are given rooms with wooden panelling, gourmet meals, and attentive nursing care.
