Laura B. Vater, MD, MPH

Bearing witness to the gun violence epidemic A health care worker's raw, poetic reflection on treating gunshot victims, detailing the emotional toll on staff and families and the trauma of the gun violence epidemic.

"It will take years to know the extent of the damage that has been done to my soul bearing witness to other people’s suffering."

Those in medicine will feel every word in this essay... those who aren't in medicine, will you bear witness to our grief? #HealingTheHealers"

I care for children in the hospital on inpatient & consult services.

Most weeks there are at least a few kids admitted with vaccine preventable diseases.

Often in children who can’t get vaccinated themselves.

15 years in pediatrics and I’ve never seen a single one admitted with vaccine injury.

Huntingtons disease is a devastating disease and this is absolutely extraordinary news!

“Be less curious about people and more curious about ideas.”

— Marie Curie (1867–1934)

I know this is not a unique observation but public health was basically created to deal with the Spanish flu, and then a century later COVID hit and killed twice as many people and our response was to destroy public health

Caring for patients is a profound privilege. It’s also hard, complex, & emotionally challenging. Thank you for doing this work.

I will always, no matter what the circumstances, be absolutely and adamantly opposed to letting children starve.

Healthcare is a human right

Pass it on

I realize broad science-literacy problems cannot generally be solved just by shoving more facts at people but I really wish more people understood that the entire purpose and mechanism of a vaccine is to educate your OWN immune system, making it about the most "natural" medical intervention possible

It’s still so satisfying as a staff physician to give my learners time at the margins… An actual lunch break, or letting them leave early when the teaching is done.

Let’s keep normalizing breaks for our students & residents as much as possible.

All people deserve healthcare, when and where they need it, regardless of their background, employment status, or personal circumstances.

Hot take: Not only are work requirements for Medicaid bad, tying health care to work at all is cruel and we should be doing it less not more.

Everyone deserves health care. Everyone.

Immigrants play a huge role in US health care and the hospital workforce.

If we discourage them from entering the US, this can make shortages worse—causing understaffing, decreased access to care, poorer quality of care, and more burnout among clinicians already in practice.

Over one in four (27%) physicians and surgeons at U.S. hospitals, rising to one in three in FL (37%), CA (33%), NY (33%), and TX (31%), are immigrants. Policies aimed at restricting immigration could negatively impact the health and well-being of Americans.
@kff.org
www.kff.org/racial-equit...

Cutting the NIH—The $8 Trillion Health Care Catastrophe This JAMA Forum discusses the recent budget cuts to National Institutes of Health (NIH), the effects of these cuts on scientific research and health of individuals in the US, and the prospects for cha...

Over the next 25 years, if proposed cuts in NIH funding are made real, “In a population of more than 340 million, this reflects **82 million** fewer years of life.”

In the US alone.

jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...

The chart: "Patient is noncompliant with her blood thinner."

Reality: She lost her job, and with it, her insurance. She barely has enough to put food on the table for her kids, let alone afford the out-of-pocket cost of the medication.

If you have never stuck a needle in the back of an infant and watched pus drip out please don’t tell me I am overreacting to RFK Jr.’s latest assault on science.

Hidden hours that clinicians work:

- Writing notes, charting, & answering EMR messages
- Peer to peers w/ insurance
- Coordinating care with specialists
- Prepping for clinic
- Home call
- Writing student evals and LORs

What did I miss?

Why do doctors work without sleep? Tradition.

In the 1890s, Dr. Halsted created a model for training where residents worked nearly 24/7.

Only later, we learned: Dr. Halsted used cocaine to stay awake & morphine to fall asleep, relying on residents to cover up the addiction.

Just a reminder that even when you’re trying your best, you can’t make everyone happy. You will get bad reviews. You will have people switch to a different clinician.

May we all do our best to provide thorough, compassionate care, and release the things we cannot control.

Damn this piece by @iwashyna.bsky.social and Kelly Vranas is a terrific one about the importance of stories in recommendation and nomination letters

www.atsjournals.org/doi/full/10....

sleep deprivation has serious cognitive effects and letting medical doctors work on schedules that don't allow them to sleep is like if we required bus drivers to slam vodka shots at the beginning of their shift, it is SO stupid and dangerous and it's exclusively because of capitalism

Atul Gawande on Instagram: "“No children are dying on my watch,” said Rubio. It's blatantly false. So far, 190,000 children and 90,000 adults have died due to the dismantling of USAID (even assuming... 9 likes, 0 comments - atul.gawande on May 24, 2025: "“No children are dying on my watch,” said Rubio. It's blatantly false. So far, 190,000 children and 90,000 adults have died due to the dismantlin...

“No children are dying on my watch,” said Rubio. It's blatantly false. Credible estimates count 190K deaths so far.

In Kenya, I am seeing devastating impact, incl this child's starvation & many deaths directly caused by Rubio’s actions. More in my @msnbc.com clip. www.instagram.com/atul.gawande...

‪Ample research has shown that clinician burnout is not due to individual weakness or a lack of resilience but a healthcare system that pushes clinicians past their human limits with overwork, little sleep, and burdensome low-value tasks.

The problem is the system, not the people.‬

Map of the U.S. showing voter support for cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, or food assistance) by congressional district. Support for SNAP cuts ranges from 5% to 14%. Created by Data for Progress.

There is not a single congressional district in the U.S. where more than 15% of voters support cuts to SNAP, the federal program that provides food assistance to millions of low-income Americans.

Overnight Congress approved the big beautiful bill cutting Medicaid, which insures nearly 1/2 of all kids.

You may think this won’t affect you but it will.

More uninsured means crowded ERs, closing practices, higher costs & longer waits.

Call your senators to tell them how ugly this bill is.

Female physicians receive 25 to 40% more patient messages in the EHR compared to their male counterparts.

While this often increases patient satisfaction, it also increases time spent in the chart and can contribute to burnout among female clinicians.

It's hard to get a good night's sleep if you're working 2 or 3 jobs.

It's hard to get cancer screenings if you don't have insurance coverage, a flexible job, or childcare.

It's hard to quit smoking or stop drinking alcohol if you have higher levels of stress.

Many people face significant barriers to adopting healthy lifestyles, and we must look at the root cause of these factors.

It's hard to eat well if you have limited resources or live in a food desert.

It's hard to go for a walk if your community is not safe.

To lower the burden of cancer:

YES
- Make healthy food more accessible/ affordable (food deserts are real)
- Make sidewalks/communities safe for exercise
- Help pol quit smoking

AND
- Encourage HPV & hepatitis vaccines
- Increase access to cancer screening
- Fund cancer research