Below you'll find a list of all posts that have been categorized as “Uncategorized”
I was introduced to the concept of “insensible losses” in medical school. Briefly, excess fluids lost from the human body are difficult to measure via the lungs, skin and GI tract, but can take a significant toll on the state of hydration. Conditions that stress the body and increase metabolic rate (burns, fever, a pint of Ben and Jerry’s in …
This morning I took a hike with a friend through the hills along the California coast. My friend is a thoughtful, deeply intellectual academic, and our conversation turned to the topic of what legacies we hope to pass onto our children. Reflecting my current preoccupation, I said that I hoped to pass onto my kids the keys to achieving financial …
What’s a saver to do? We’ve invested early and often in our tax-deferred retirement accounts, and our goals for these accounts should be reached in the next couple of years. This leaves us to cover the more worrisome bridge period: that time after we quit our day jobs but before we can withdraw from our retirement accounts. What options are …
Status Interruptus combines the symptoms of status epilepticus (interminable shaking) and status asthmaticus (inability to breathe) into one largely debilitating condition preferentially affecting physicians – it’s two great tastes that taste great together! The incidence of this nefarious condition is on the rise, and I have a front row seat in the emergency department. It targets the ostensibly “nice” …
Bringing order to chaos and stamping out small fires as they occur in the emergency department turn out to be great preparation for family travel. It’s like any other shift, only it stains your regular clothes. As I write this on a plane in mid-June, we have just completed our second multi-generational family trip of the summer. The goal was …
My daughter, a budding third grade artist, has begun to reflect on what she likes to do and whom she looks up to as a source of career inspiration. A few weeks ago, without prompting, she announced she was going to become either a teacher or an artist. This led me to do some soul searching about what kind of …
Growing up with immigrant parents, you find that certain “old country” practices your folks learned as second nature don’t always translate so well in the new country. Some concepts that would be perfectly acceptable in the home country were a little off here in the U.S. When my great-grandmother died while my siblings and I were away at summer camp, …
I have a close friend, someone I’ve known 32 years and counting, who is astute and insightful and easily fulfills all those prerequisites for managing his own personal finances. Add to this his MBA from a top 3 business school, and basically there’s no excuse for his not taking on this responsibility. Let’s call him my friend on the fence …
I have an embarrassing confession to make. Despite my otherwise frugal instincts, I’m a sucker for a well-designed Apple product. My brother-in-law, a conscientious consumer, reminds me that the equivalent PC or Android product offers far more flexibility and bang for my buck, but I see a sleek aluminum case and my rational mind turns to mush. The prospect of …
Heading into a recent Monday overnight shift, I was greeted by a six rig salute (six ambulances parked fender to fender in the ED drop-off lot). As is my custom, I bounded down the staircase from the physician parking lot taking two steps at a time. I was psyching myself up for what was sure to be a whopper of …