DURHAM, NC – When it comes to updating a website, I landed on Santa’s lump-of-coal list for yet another year. In my defense, it’s been a busy one. Apart from the usual pandemic chaos which continues to upend all of our lives, my spouse Bethany and I, along with our loyal pup Lily, have been […]
Read More Closing a Chapter*As a palliative care doctor, I often spend time working alongside families that are trying to navigate the minefield of facility-based care. Whether they are learning the rules and coverage options for short-term rehab or trying to figure out how to arrange long-term care at an assisted living facility or nursing home, our country’s options […]
Read More HOUSE HUNTERS: Nursing Facility DreamHome EditionAs still another season dawns in this blur of a year, it’s been wonderful to see our COVID case counts fall here and to watch some of our hospital COVID units being converted back to regular medical wards. While we also keep a wary eye on the numbers and advocate for patients and places around […]
Read More A New Season…?This year has thrown many of our lives into upheaval. While I’m still not good at living in limbo, I’m trying to learn from those who’ve gone through uncertainties I can only begin to imagine. Here are the first few frames of a comic on what foster care has taught me about living through limbo. […]
Read More Living Through UncertaintySince its first display in 1891, Sir Luke Fildes’ classic painting “The Doctor” has become an icon for the ideals of presence and personal connection in the practice of medicine. Certainly, medical technology has made miraculous strides in the past century, but I sometimes wonder how we measure up against that ideal in our digital […]
Read More Medicine in the Digital AgeOn International Women’s Day 2018, here’s an old cartoon from my rejection collection as a salute to all of the sheroes out there breaking barriers for women…
Read More Where do you see yourself in 5 years?I have nothing funny this week… only an image and a question: “How long?” From NEJM, Firearm-Related Injury and Death: A Public Health Crisis From JAMA, Death by Gun Violence: A Public Health Crisis
Read More How Long?N. Gray, MD I’ve definitely said my share of words that weren’t helpful in fragile moments with people who were suffering. Learning to be present without pity, preaching, or patronizing is an art that requires the ability to put yourself in someone else’s shoes and hear your words with their ears. I find I’ve rarely […]
Read More Empathy: The Throw Pillow Rule of Thumb…I kept myself from cartoon “work” while traveling, but found lots of great fodder for sketching and inking to keep me busy during our train rides…
Read More Prague and Vienna in Pencil and Ink
The Ink Vessel 