The first time I called time of death, I thought, “This is the absolute worst part of my job and I never want to do this again.” I was out of breath, having just run back up the stairs after getting a frantic phone call from the nurse. I had just left my patient’s room moments ago; she was in stable condition with her five sisters and her mother by her side. When I returned, they were in tears and the mother was on the verge of passing out. After they left the room, I performed a careful death exam, struggling to listen for absent heart sounds over the wailing cries of her sisters in the hallway. “Time of death, 3:22 p.m.” I stumbled through some version of “I’m so sorry for your loss” before I ran to the supply station to find an oxygen tank for the now pale mother. As a second-year family medicine resident, it was an awful experience.
Fast-forward to several months deep into the COVID-19 pandemic. As a new attending physician supervising residents in training on the inpatient wards, I soon learned that in fact, the death exam is one of the more straightforward parts of my job. The actual worst parts of my job are the daily roadblocks that prevent me from practicing the art of medicine. Every physician has a superpower; mine is connection and empathy. When the reality of the triple-layer of N95 mask, surgical mask, and face shield started interfering with my ability to utilize my superpowers, I quickly suffered one moral injury after another.
Moral injury in physicians happens when one is prevented from achieving his or her purpose. Many physicians look to the updated version of the Hippocratic Oath, penned by Dr. Louis Lasagna, for inspiration and guidance in defining their purpose: “I...
Food Security
Nearly a quarter of California households with children are affected by food insecurity (1) -- almost double the level prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. Given the lasting negative impacts this has on children’s health, addressing our growing food insecurity catastrophe is essential.
Fortunately, there are established nutritional programs that promote food security, support breastfeeding, and encourage appropriate transitional and toddler nutrition, all of which facilitate optimal brain development and growth during this critical period
Women, Infants and Children
Women, Infants and Children (WIC) is a supplemental nutrition program for pregnant and postpartum women, infants, and children. It includes purchasing assistance for healthy food, breastfeeding support, and tailored nutrition counseling. WIC can help stave off the negative health impacts of...
Welcome to the Champion Provider Fellowship blog! In this inaugural post, I thought I would talk a bit about who we are as a community and why we matter now more than ever. Let’s start with who we are. We are physicians, dentists, leaders in public health and in the community. We are connected by a common goal of fighting epidemics in diabetes, obesity, and dental disease. We do this by thinking beyond the silos of clinic walls, instead pushing ourselves to address the policies, systems, and environmental structures that need to change to create healthier communities. Since 2014, over 100 fellows from over 30 counties statewide have graduated from the Champion Provider Fellowship. These fellows are making their voices heard when it comes to creating safe spaces for physical activity, developing policies that address food insecurity, advocating for children’s oral health, and so much more. Just browse our success stories and you will get an idea of the broad reach and impact of our work.
This past year has been transformative for the Champion Provider Fellowship. As practicing providers our fellows have been at the frontlines during the COVID-19 pandemic, many working in communities of color and low-income areas disproportionately burdened by poor outcomes. The same structural inequities that contribute to patients experiencing disparities in diabetes, obesity, and dental disease, also leave them vulnerable to COVID-19. Our fellows were quick to recognize this double burden and act. Let me share one example of how Dr. Pedro Moreno, a family medicine physician in...
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