Mini-Reviews: Medical Non-Fiction

I like to read medical non-fiction. Not textbooks, but the kind of book a layperson with an interest can read, and someone in a medical profession may also enjoy, and learn from. There are three important things I look for in these books: Contributes to the non-medical reader’s understanding/interest of their health and/or bodies in

Prescription Comedy: An Unlikely Antidote to Physician Burnout

Pranathi Kondapaneni, MD, author of Prescription Comedy: An Unlikely Antidote To Physician Burnout, studied medicine some time before me, but our stories are not so different. Although on an entirely different continent, and an entirely different cultural background, her experience with burnout resonates clearly with me. While her writing somewhat lacks prosaism (and has an

[Book Review] Every Minute Is A Day by Robert Meyer and Dan Koeppel

Not all COVID-books are for doctors. Like many healthcare workers, I have often turned to narratives to cope with my work, and these have been plentiful during the (COVID) pandemic. But eventually one reaches a point where you can no longer look into the mirror of your daily life – and I have reached that

Global Day for Safe and Legal Abortions

These days, we are not meant to see women die from septic abortions. But that night, we did.

Stop telling your depressed friend to go for a run

First, you must get out of bed. Then, you must get dressed. You must put on shoes. You must (preferably) eat something. You must unlock the door. You must step into the sun. You may have to greet the neighbour. You must put one foot in front of the other. Then you must do it faster, and remember to breathe. 

Read This Book: An Unquiet Mind

Redfield-Jamison writes with such intricate self-awareness. It is as though she delicately unfolds her mind, displays its secrets, and then looks toward the reader, prompting, “Now, you.”

General Practice is not exciting, but it is fulfilling

The best thing I can do for an “exciting” patient is recognise their condition and keep them alive until transfer. Give me patients that don’t need hospital admission and I can make them feel better now, and try to affect at least one health-related decision about their future.

GP Work is Hard

One week of some GP locums and I am exhausted. I can spend 10 minutes per consultation if people have straight-forward tonsillitis or gastroenteritis. But what about the parents who are hesitant about vaccinating? I need more than ten minutes to make an impact. What about the woman whose pregnancy test was unexpectedly positive, and needs

Can I Be A Depressed Doctor?

Ever since I wrote about how going for therapy was my biggest gift to myself*, I’ve met with a few medical students to talk about the topic of mental health. Many of them were worried about their ability to make it through med school with their illness. Many were worried about the viability of a

DOC-U-MENTALLY: The Film [Review]

I had the pleasure of watching this film at a screening organised by JUDASA this past week, and I was glued to the screen (projector) from the opening shot. So was the rest of the audience.