Michael Robinson, MD, MPH

In medicine we speak of symptoms and the disease. The symptoms are the manifesting signs of the underlying condition. Without addressing the underlying disease, the symptoms will continue to manifest. In light of another death of a black male and the challenging response we are seeing across the country, we must apply this to our national plight. These deaths sadly represent the symptoms. The underlying disease is prejudice, racism and discrimination, a plight that has afflicted our great nation since its inception. What is the cure? Some of my thoughts: This is not a political post, but suffice to say, calming and level-headed national leadership would help the nation heal. No matter your political affiliation, this needs to be considered and pondered before retreating into partisanship and tribalism.  I am a believer in the thought that public facing occupations such as social work, education, healthcare, and yes police work, are subject to the larger forces and constructs of soc...

I wanted to comment briefly on the death of a notable figure that I was ignorant of. This was Larry Kramer, who died on 5/27, at the age of 84.  I did not know this at all, but I learned that he was a playwright and author that was instrumental in the early fight against the HIV/AIDS epidemic. He utilized aggressive and controversial methods to raise awareness and place public pressure on political and government figures to address the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the 80s. He was instrumental informing the Gay Men's Health Crisis group which was the first service organization for HIV-positive people, as well as a founder of ACT UP,  a political action group which demanded attention to drug development against AIDS and an end to discrimination against the LGBT community.  He had a "frenemy" relationship with current newsworthy figure Dr. Anthony Fauci, which is well chronicled online.  You can find his obituary in the New York Times  here .  As above, I was very ign...

This article which came out from vox yesterday does a good job in detailing the current situation with coronavirus. I agree with the article when it says that it's tough to grasp the bigger picture when trying to analyze the coronavirus situation. Its key points can be summarized below:  1. Despite the grim threshold of 100,000 total deaths recently passed, which should not be soon forgotten, overall new COVID-19 cases are decreasing across the country.  2. Some states are seeing increases in cases, while some are seeing decreases. Notable states where cases are increasing include California and Florida. Notable states where cases are decreasing are Pennsylvania and Texas.  3. Overall, the trends of the pandemic were to affect wealthier populations first, but later spread disproportionately to those from lower socioeconomic backgrounds. This has largely been an urban phenomenon but there is a growing spread in impoverished rural areas as well which may deepen the socioeco...

(Quick post swiped from my FB page) Even as a medical professional, I've found it hard to obtain credible information about high and low risk activities in the setting of COVID, which is frustrating.. to that end, I found this well-sourced article from NPR very helpful, and thought it was worth sharing, whether you're in the medical field or not. See the NPR post here

Wanted to start things off with a book review! This is one of the best books I have read all year, and I have recommended it to everyone and put it all over my social media accounts. It is a book that utilizes the authors personal background and story from living in rural Oregon, and uses personal anecdotes to weave together a compelling work that chronicles our current socioeconomic and political divide, and the vast disparities that exist in our society today. The authors describe and explain the recent and well described phenomenon regarding the increase in mortality rates in the past few years among middle aged poor/working class whites, largely due to the "deaths of despair" - drug abuse, alcoholism, and suicide. They put a compelling spin on this topic by weaving in personal anecdotes regarding people Mr. Kristof grew up with and how their individual stories reflect the larger problem at hand. This is done in a very effective and interesting manner. The titular tightrop...

Welcome to my blog! My name is Michael Robinson. I'm originally from Charlotte, North Carolina, and am currently a medical resident in Pennsylvania. I went to undergrad at Wake Forest University (Go Deacs!), and I received my medical degree and master of public health from the University of North Carolina. I've long considered starting a more public facing blog and finally decided to pull the trigger! My reasons for doing so: 1. There's a lot of misinformation on the internet regarding medicine and public health. This has been especially apparent during the current COVID epidemic during which I write this inaugural post. I want to use my knowledge to help put what is hopefully factual information that is based in reality and be a somewhat trusted source of information with regard to health topics.  2. As an African-American male where there unfortunately aren't too many people in my line of work that look like me, I want to put myself out there as an example to anyone t...