Updated with new links: One ER Doc’s Journey Through the Pandemic — and the Health Care System

Dr. Thomas Fisher’s book ‘The Emergency’ chronicles the COVID pandemic’s first year in his Chicago ER.

Hey there, 

We sent you a newsletter this morning announcing our new episode, but it looks like we pasted in the wrong URLs. D’oh! Sorry about that.

Here’s a real link to our new episode. 

This one is about Thomas Fisher — an emergency room doc in Chicago. His book, The Emergency, is an up-close chronicle of the COVID pandemic’s first year in his South Side ER. 

It also zooms out to tell the story of his journey: How his upbringing on the South Side fueled his desire to become a doctor. And how the realities and inequities of American health care limited his ability to help. 

He details how the failures of the American health care system — and the racial inequities it perpetuates — leave health care workers with a profound sense of moral injury. 

“Over time, when you have this conflict between what you can do and what you're supposed to do—what you wish you could do, what you're trained to do—that creates a moral conundrum. It also leads a lot of people to leave the profession.” 

For a time, Fisher himself stepped away from practicing medicine. The journey took him to the executive suite but ultimately landed him back in the ER where he started.

On the street outside the hospital where Fisher works, he sits down with host Dan Weissmann to discuss the book and his search for meaning in the daily sprint of life in the ER. 

Here’s where you can hear it:

• Apple Podcasts

• Spotify

• Google Podcasts

• Stitcher

• Overcast

• Castbox

• Pocket Casts

• Castro

• Breaker

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We’ll catch you in three weeks with a new episode. 

In the meantime: Our pals at Kaiser Health News have a super useful new guide out on medical debt.

@danweissmann @danweissmann

With the First Aid Kit newsletter on hiatus, here’s an excellent crash course from ⁦@NPR⁩ and ⁦@KHNews⁩ .

khn.orgHow to Get Rid of Medical Debt — Or Avoid It in the First PlaceMedical bills can add stress to the already stressful experience of dealing with a medical crisis. And if you can’t pay those bills, they can linger, wreaking havoc on your financial goals and cred…

Also, check out this thread from Dr. Bob Wachter about the latest on the pandemic. 

Bob Wachter @Bob_Wachter

Covid (@UCSF) Chronicles, Day 838 The die is now cast: BA.5 is destined to be our dominant virus. In today’s 🧵I discuss the implications on the course of the pandemic, and how to think about responding. (I use “BA.5” & not “BA.4/5” since BA.5 is poised to outrun BA.4.). (1/25)

The upshot: avoiding infection takes at least as much vigilance as ever. With the new dominant variant, "immune escape" is super high, even for vaccinated people and those who’ve recently gotten over a bout with COVID. 

Stay safe out there.

Thanks for listening. 

-Dan