by Varun Verma, M.D. | Jul 1, 2016 | Medical Education
Ah July 1st… the transition point between non-clinical and clinical years in medical school, between being a student and intern, and also between being a trainee and being ‘in charge.’ As a student- you’re no longer carrying books (or iPads),...
by Varun Verma, M.D. | Sep 1, 2015 | Cases
Medicine has undoubtedly come a long way. Paternalism has been ditched in favor of a shared decision making approach, diagnoses and treatments are (largely) based on scientific evidence, and information is not outright withheld from patients out of some misplaced...
by Varun Verma, M.D. | Dec 16, 2014 | Cases
Countless others have written of the injustices faced by those lucky enough to be patients in the developed world in 2014 (as opposed places like West Africa where hospital systems are severely lacking). Some of the pain points for patients surround access to care in...
by Varun Verma, M.D. | Nov 26, 2014 | Cases, Healthcare IT
Recently I experienced one of the most terrifying nights of my professional life. Having worked in six different hospitals since finishing my residency training, I am well aware of variations in work load. I’ve worked in a 700 bed hospital, and a 40 bed rural setting....
by Varun Verma, M.D. | Nov 4, 2014 | Healthcare IT
One would expect that in an era where smartphones are more powerful than our computers were 5 years ago, healthcare providers would have an arsenal of healthcare IT solutions to enhance patient care but also optimize their own work-flow. Shockingly, in 2014 most...
by Varun Verma, M.D. | Aug 11, 2014 | Global Health
“I won’t be here next month.” Ten years ago I walked into my very first patient’s room as part of my medical school physical diagnosis course. I was momentarily confused- but thankfully I did not naively blurt out “why?” I noticed her pale skin and her bald head and...
by Varun Verma, M.D. | Jul 21, 2014 | Global Health
After my 23-hour New York-Doha-Kathmandu flight, I was lucky enough to have two days to decompress in Nepal’s capital. It reminded me of Delhi with its traffic congestion; where scooters and bicycles make 6 lanes where 3 should exist, and the unavoidable baseline...
by Varun Verma, M.D. | Mar 12, 2014 | Global Health
“There is no hope for me here anymore.” It had been a month since I had spoken to J.D. and I felt guilty because working hospital night shifts in San Francisco had temporarily removed me from the world of daily Haitian struggles. He sounded more despondent than usual...
by Varun Verma, M.D. | Feb 19, 2014 | Global Health
Originally appeared in The Hospital Leader: http://blogs.hospitalmedicine.org/Blog/two-worlds/Anyone who has worked in Haiti quickly realizes that injustice abounds. I had rushed into the cramped curtained off area and found the pregnant woman with her eyes rolled...
by Varun Verma, M.D. | Dec 4, 2013 | Global Health
There can be no global health without local staff. There are words in many languages that have no good English equivalent. During my work in Haiti, I’ve noticed my Haitian colleagues on occasion exhaling a phrase — “tet chaje” — which literally means “head charged.”...
