Dr. Alyssa Burgart

Major themes in Episode 2

Fentanyl Diversion

Fentanyl and saline are both clear and easy to swap

Show explores personal reasons contributing to opioid diversion from work

Describes how nurse was caught

Relationships

Relationship between nurse (who stole fentanyl) and patients (suffering from untreated pain)

Ask for help, get punished

When healthcare workers ask for help with substance use, they risk getting fired and losing their licenses.

Who is to blame when drug diversion leads to patient harm?

Is the nurse the only one to blame?

What about the clinic and hospital?

📟 Turn off my pager

💬Turn off hospital messaging app

🏃‍♀️Set a strong email away message

📧 Disconnect work email from phone

👣 When I feel anxious about checking on work: breathe and focus on being present where I am right now.

‘Dawn’

by Octavia Butler

‘The Binti Trilogy’

by Nnedi Okorafor

‘The Left Hand of Darkness’

by Ursula LeGuin

'The Martian'

by Andy Weir

Main takeaways from The Retrievals: Episode 1, The Patients, from an anesthesiologist & ethicist.

This new series from Serial Productions details how women's pain is ignored and describes the incredible downstream costs to patients.

Spoilers Ahead: This post discusses Episode 1 of The Retrievals.

Now, let's dive in.

"You are treated like a hysterical woman from the second you walk in there."

Gaslighting women's pain means women endure terrible health outcomes and mask multiple harmful issues in healthcare systems.

Women are blamed for the failures of numerous systems.

"How could this happen at Yale?"

From the very beginning, patients trusted Yale to provide excellent care. This isn't a dig on Yale - this story could have come out of any storied American university.

Organizational Betrayal

Patients are harmed by drug diversion.

Telling patients that no harm occurred from the swapping of fentanyl (a powerful pain med) with saline dismisses the lived experiences of patients to preserve a myth of excellence.

Substance use by HCW is a major issue

At least 10-12% of HCWs will develop a substance use disorder during their careers, including at least 1 in 10 physicians, and 1 in 5 nurses.

The way we talk about SUD influences the chances of treatment and recovery.

Check back with me for Episode 2.

When you imagine a witch, you probably think of an ugly, old woman who makes poisonous apples and casts hexes. (Social imagery of witches personifies the fear of powerful, intellectual women.)

But what if modern witches wear scrubs and practice anesthesiology?

Really? Really. Here are three ways I'm basically a witch:

1. Anesthesiologists brew potions.

Whenever I mix medications from my Omnicell machine, I prepare a potion. I mix powders and dilute the correct dosages. A dash of this, a slug of that, and I've rendered a human being entirely unconscious.

2. Anesthesiologists use magical vapors.

I have you inhale gases that make you laugh, feel like you're floating, and fall asleep.

3. Anesthesiologists are superstitious.

Have I ever waived a syringe of epinephrine like a wand to ward off death? Yes, yes I have.

So the next time you think of a witch, think of an anesthesiologist.

I have been editing at Bioethics Today for 2 years.

These are the 3 simple (but effective) pieces of advice I'd give anyone starting out (or who wants to get started) writing opinion essays:

Advice #1: Make ONE CLEAR point

Many new writers get so excited to write about a topic that they end up writing about 4 or 5 topics without even realizing it. The reader gets lost trying to figure out your point. Don't leave readers guessing! Choose one point you want to discuss and stay focused.

Advice #2: Write as simply as possible

Keep readers engaged by writing in straightforward and easy-to-understand sentences. No run-on sentences. No flowery language. If it's too complicated, your reader moves on.

Advice #3: Own your point of view

To have an opinion, you must bring your point of view. What unique perspective do you bring to your specific topic? Why should the reader care what you think? Tell them why!

Honestly, I wish someone had told me these 3 things earlier in my writing career.

But I'm at least glad I can pass them along to you.

Many of us remember squirming under a forced hug or kiss when we were kids - usually from a relative.

We should never force or coerce a child touch anyone.

Sounds obvious when I put it like that, but forced hugging is engrained in many of us as "polite." Family members may be offended or guilt trip kids if denied a hug.

But coercive physical contact can have serious negative consequences for kids.

• Mixed messages ("no one can touch you unless you want them too, except this relative who I will make you touch.")

• Kids learn their "no" will not be respected by adults

• Sets up kids to accept other unwanted touching.

Forced hugs & kisses tell kids their are not in control of their bodies.

When parents push physical contact with anyone, it teaches kids that they don't control their bodies, and to discount their discomfort.

Additionally, this teaches children they are responsible for soothing and managing adults' feelings, while simultaneously dismissing their own.

You can prepare for these interactions and empower your child.

When as adult tells their kid to hug me, I say "I don't want a forced hug. It's perfectly fine not to hug me or anyone that you don't want to."

When your child says "no" to a hug - support them. Kids can be offered alternatives - high fives, thumbs up, or no interaction are all OK.

Finally, children don't owe anyone affection.

Adults often smother kids because they want their own love validated. But no one owes you their affection. Adults must learn to accept rejection from children.

You can teach your kids that their bodies are their own. They don't owe anyone affection. Teach them that their "no" is important and respected.

Today, there is an app, website, or software platform for just about anything (including finding someone to walk your dog).

But when it comes to academic writing, there is 1 tool I can't live without:

Zotero

And here's why:

• #1 🗂️: Stay organized. Great to collect, organize, annotate, cite, and share research

• #2 💻: Works with tools I'm already using. The browser extension makes it a breeze to add citations to my library

• #3 🪄: Save time. Zotero's Magic Wand only needs an article's DOI to collect the full citation info

• #4 🧑‍🤝‍🧑: No more lost references! Collaborate easily with other scholars using shared citation folders

• #5 🎛️: Submitting to a new journal? Easily convert all citations to the correct format for each journal

If you get annoyed by writing your citations sections, collaborate with other scholars, or want to organize your research resources, I can't recommend Zotero enough.