Dr. Wes

it was a clinic day like all the rest until it wasn't she was there with her son and granddaughter winded legs swollen "for a m...

There is talk of quality in health care. There is talk of safety. Millions upon millions of dollars are spent on "quality and safety...

I was called at 04:30AM for a patient with tachycardia in the hospital and as I logged into my EMR from home, I saw this on Twitter: Usu...

Her breathing had never taken a second thought, except for the past several months.  Slowly, gradually, her breathing became work so she cam...

So what does a son say to his mother for the very last time?  What does he whisper in her ear? I will say "I love you."  I will ...

He had called the other day to update me up on his condition.  He did not sound upset, but resolute.  "They offered me peritoneal dialy...

"Dad, you have the nicest patients!" She was right, of course. Daughters that you bring to work with you to shadow for a day can...

He looked ahead, seeing his feet on the hearth. There was smoke rising from one of the three logs, and he marveled at the small flicker of ...

Graham crackers. For years they have been an on-call snack staple for young doctors in training throughout the United States.  These lit...

I will be sparsely interacting with the internet as I take my last child off to college this week.  It's a strange time - one where the ...

It's always the same: It's the fifth hour of the procedure. As your ankles ache and the perspiration drips beneath your lead, you s...

"It looks like you've done very well, Mr. Smith..." "Thank you, doctor." He left the patient's room and ambl...

I cleaned house today: a few years of my favorite print journals were stacked high, soon to enter the recycling bin:   R.I.P., journ...

"I think this will be my last day here.  Thanks for everything." The world was ahead of him now as the year ended.  He had so...

You can see it in their eyes as they dart left and right, up and down.  Their hands make rapid, self-flagellating movements over their chest...

Medicine is unique because it involves people.  While people make this job challenging, they also make this job the best job in the world.  ...

Diagnosis codes: numbers. Procedure codes: numbers. Speadsheets of one's "productivity:" numbers. Spreadsheets of RVU's...

I believe that every human soul is teaching something to someone nearly every minute here in mortality. - M. Russell Ballard  Aside ...

Every surgeon has been there at some time in their career. It's a horrible, exhausting feeling. Yet one we all must come to grips wi...

They sat together, staring down at their feet not sure what to say. One was a silent war hero from the French Resistance, the other his d...