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As we mourn the deaths of yet more American children following Colorado’s most recent school shooting (and even more adults after Friday’s tragedy in Virginia Beach), it is time to acknowledge a real, damning truth: As parents, pediatricians, and frankly as grown-up adult humans, we are fundamentally failing our children. According to the Naval Postgraduate …

Don’t give up! I believe in you all. A person’s a person, no matter how small! – Horton, from Horton Hears a Who by Dr. Seuss ***2019 Update – Now an excerpt from Chapter 2 of the book Tiny Medicine, available for pre-order now at Amazon or your favorite online bookseller!*** When I tell people …

On February 8th 1963, President John F. Kennedy addressed a small crowd in the tidewater city of Greenville, North Carolina. In truth, he actually didn’t speak to the crowd that day in person – his remarks were pre-recorded and played for the dedication of a United States Information Agency radio transmitter, designed to broadcast the “Voice …

It took five months from the day I first posted at DrDeRienzo.com for the site to reach 1,000 views.  Late last year, the site’s most popular post – Bartlet’s Lessons – reached 1,000 views on its own in less than 3 weeks.  This month DrDeRienzo.com crossed the 10,000 view mark, and it seemed fitting to …

This post has been a long time coming.  Back in 2003, I volunteered as a first year medical student at the Blue Devil Ironman.  As exhausted and elated triathletes crossed the finish line, I worked the medical tent and escorted those who were dehydrated, hyponatremic, or obviously suffering from altered mental status into the tent …

About a year ago, I floated the idea of writing a book across my social media communities.  You responded in ways I could never have imagined, nearly universally encouraging me and spurring me on. There were of course also a handful of trolls.  Like this one: Ignoring the trolls and buoyed by your support, I …

This summer I’ve been fortunate to read some great books. Among others, I read Jon Meacham’s The Soul of America on the beach, flown cross-country while audio-booking Beneath a Scarlet Sky, and indulged a (wishful-thinking) Teddy Roosevelt kick by powering through both River of Doubt by Candice Millard and The Bully Pulpit by Doris Kearns …

While others spend the month taking in NCAA’s March Madness, as a self-proclaimed Quality Nerd I was truly fortunate to spend a day in DC focused instead on Metric Madness.  I was invited to Washington by Peggy O’Kane and her core team from NCQA, the group known for (among other things) driving value in healthcare …

As 2017 draws to a close, authors across the nation will spill their ink recapping the year as one of great polarization.  Today’s vocabulary is replete with extremes, as paid political operatives from the left, right, center and sidelines all declare these to be the worst, most divisive, most challenging times anyone has ever faced. …

It’s hard to believe it’s been a year since our family’s longtime friend and canine companion Bartlet passed away. This is a post I wrote at drderienzo.com last year to celebrate his life and share the lessons we learned from a pound puppy with a white shock of fur, an inexplicable fear of water bowls, …