DSM-5: Delirium.
This post is the most recent addition to my DSM-5 e-mail list. I include it here only because I apparently have a fondness for delirium; it was one of my favorite teaching topics when working with...
View ArticleThe Patience of Patients.
When I was a resident one of my attendings said, “You know why patients are called ‘patients’? It’s because they have a lot of patience. For us.” Patients in hospitals do a lot of waiting. They wait...
View ArticleHave You Thanked Your Nurse Today?
As I noted earlier, hospitals permit around-the-clock observation of patients. If you don’t need around-the-clock monitoring, you don’t need to be in the hospital.1 Who is doing this around-the-clock...
View ArticleMichael.
Everyone noticed him before we boarded the plane. He asked the airline representative at least three times to confirm that he had a seat. He looked like an adult, but the tone of his voice was that of...
View ArticleSea Lions.
The sun was beginning its ascent into the sky, though it had yet to peek over the horizon. An occasional harbor seal poked its round head through the surface of the dark water in the marina. The...
View ArticleMoving to mariayang.org …
My thanks to you for reading my writing here at In White Ink (and any previous iterations). My writing and I have migrated over to mariayang.org. We’re putting finishing touches to the site over...
View ArticleMy Brief History on the Internet.
The first time I posted my writing on the internet was in 1997. I created a website about The Evolution of Mickey Mouse. It was based on a report I wrote in high school about the small mammal. My...
View ArticleFear and the Online Physician.
To follow up on my last post I had intended to write something that follows the style of an FAQ: What if your patients read your blog? What if your boss reads your blog? What if your patients ask you...
View ArticleAll Four Seasons.
Green leaves are budding from the trees lining the city streets. The branches sway from the weight of small birds, their throats full of song. The chill in the morning air melts away as the Spring sun...
View ArticleDSM-5: Malingering.
My DSM-5 group has lost its previous vitality for the same reasons my blog has lost its previous verve (pending job change, ongoing family health concerns). But! The DSM-5 group has had a few updates;...
View ArticleWhy I Work at the Fringe.
This article is making the rounds among physicians on Twitter. Much of the information in the article, unfortunately, is accurate. For some of the reasons stated there, I left the “traditional” health...
View ArticleLength of Day.
The long, glorious days have arrived in Seattle. The sun rises shortly after 5am and sets after 9pm. We’ve savored the warmth of the sun on our faces; the sky has been more blue than grey in the past...
View ArticleDid You Nominate Me for Seattle Mag’s Community Service Award?
Hey, there’s a short blurb in Seattle Magazine about my work during the past two years: Top Docs ’14: Community Service Award Winners Scroll down to “The Bridge”. (If you want the source that “more...
View ArticleGuiding Principles for Medical School.
Dear Jane: Thank you for asking me about my perspectives on medical school. Here are some general principles that you might find useful in your own training: View everyone as your teacher. Everyone you...
View ArticleFour Adages.
Four adages I learned in medical training that I still speak of today: “Common things are common.” (The alternate version of this that might have more appeal to zoologists: “When you hear hoofbeats,...
View ArticleThe Club.
Though you are now a member of the club, you don’t know it. It feels like no one understands and that you’re alone. The memory of what happened to The Person You Love is heartbreaking. The feeling...
View ArticleA Primer on Psychiatric Boarding.
The Washington State Supreme Court recently stated that “psychiatric boarding” is unconstitutional.1 I agree with and support the court’s decision. “Boarding” is a terrible practice. To be clear,...
View ArticleContinuity of Care.
The first time I saw him he was walking around the shelter with another man. His hands were buried in the pockets of his hoodie and his gaze was fixed on the ground. He looked shorter than his actual...
View ArticleInvoluntary Commitment (VII).
This post is overdue by one year! It may help to review the third scenario and a primer on involuntary commitment before reading on. Why the delay? Because I still wrestle with the question at the end...
View ArticleThoughts on Stuff.
Recent things I have read that I have found interesting, curious, or vexing: The Social Security Administration maintains a “compassionate allowances” list, which is a list of “medical conditions...
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