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The teacher who changed my life through reading

Raymond Abbott

Conditions

March 21, 2023

It is near summer now as I write this brief narrative. This time of year, when I turn on my car radio, I sometimes hear various individuals talking about summer reading, past or present.

These programs got me thinking about Percy Holmes, or the late Percy Holmes, an English teacher I had in the tenth grade at Haverhill High School in Haverhill, Massachusetts.

I remember Mr. Holmes as a dapper little man, …

Revaluating mental health assessments: It’s not just the patient you should consider

Tomi Mitchell, MD

Conditions

March 21, 2023

I believe that mental health care is one of the most underrated areas in health care. Mental illness is an epidemic plaguing virtually every corner of the world. While great strides have been made in identifying and treating mental disorders, particularly in wealthier countries, many people remain without adequate care for their conditions. The numbers are staggering. According to the World Health Organization 2020 report, almost 1 billion people worldwide …

Beyond the disease: the power of empathy in health care

Nana Dadzie Ghansah, MD

Physician

March 21, 2023

They are not just sick people in need of care. They are people with lives, hopes, plans, and dreams. A day before they showed up, they may have dropped a son at school, taken a daughter to soccer practice, made dinner, had lunch with friends, done their nails, or even bought a new golf club.

Of course, there is the drug addict with endocarditis, the perpetual drunk with intracranial hematoma, or even …

Rescuing primary care: the role of health administrators [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

March 20, 2023

Subscribe to The Podcast by KevinMD. Catch up on old episodes!

We welcome Sara Pastoor, a family physician, and delve into the pressing issue of the primary care crisis in the U.S. health care system. With projections showing growth in the market for health administrators, we discuss how …

Breaking down barriers: How technology is improving diabetes management in underserved communities

Anonymous

Conditions

March 20, 2023

Despite advancements in health information technology (HIT), the prevalence of diabetes in the United States continues to be high and is the seventh leading cause of death. Diabetes management in underserved communities has challenges concerning health care access for high-risk groups, often resulting in debilitating health outcomes worsened by adverse socio-economic consequences. Optimal HbA1c levels, controlled for by risk reduction, are essential. If diabetics encounter barriers to health care services, …

Healing the damaged nurse-physician dynamic

Angel J. Mena, MD and Ali Morin, MSN, RN

Policy

March 20, 2023

As anyone in health care knows, a strong nurse-physician dynamic is critical to achieving successful patient outcomes. To provide a quality care experience, it is essential to have a clinical team that knows how to collaborate to achieve that goal. If we don’t know how to work together, or how to coordinate our care, it’s going to be very difficult to maintain a safe environment for the patient.

Nurses are at …

How to overcome telemedicine’s biggest obstacles

Harvey Castro, MD, MBA

Physician

March 20, 2023

The global health care sector has undergone a digital revolution, with telemedicine at the forefront of this transformation. Telemedicine offers promising opportunities to enhance patient care, reduce costs, and expand access to health care services. However, its widespread adoption faces several challenges that must be addressed for its full potential to be realized. This article discusses the barriers to telemedicine adoption and provides strategies for successful implementation by health care …

Deaths of despair: an urgent call for a collective response to the crisis in U.S. life expectancy

Mohammed Umer Waris, MD

Policy

March 20, 2023

Some grim news has emerged revealing the sad decline in the health of the United States. America saw its most significant 2-year fall in life expectancy, 2.7 years, in almost 100 years. This has led to U.S. life expectancy being at its lowest since the mid-1990s. This unprecedented fall requires deep examination.

While COVID is a major cause behind this decline, another …

Redefining success: a journey of self-discovery and fulfillment [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

March 19, 2023

Subscribe to The Podcast by KevinMD. Catch up on old episodes!

We are joined by Ketan Kulkarni, a physician entrepreneur. We dive into the often-used but loosely defined word “success.” With the constant bombardment of images of success through the media, it’s easy to feel lost and unclear …

Yoga and self-care won’t cure my Crohn’s disease

Kristen L. Cole, PhD

Conditions

March 19, 2023

Inflation and rising interest rates have given way to a record high of $930.6 billion in credit card debt.

I am among many people who have gone into credit card debt by spending too much on health and wellness.

Several years ago, I was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease, a type of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), which is not the same as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). IBD is …

The patient who became my soulmate

Anonymous

Physician

March 19, 2023

As oncologists, we encounter numerous patients on a daily basis and form emotional bonds with many of them, especially if they survive long enough and continue to see the same doctor for several years. This bond can grow so deep that we feel their pain, cry with them, and sometimes even realize that some of our patients are our soulmates.

According to Wikipedia, a soulmate is a person ideally suited to …

Read more…

The patient who became my soulmate

Breaking the stigma: Addressing the struggles of physicians

Jean Antonucci, MD

Physician

March 19, 2023

The state of health care in the U.S. is widely considered to be inadequate. I recently learned in an online class that family doctors in Canada only have 10 minutes per patient. I am unsure who sets or enforces this rule and it is unclear why anyone would choose such a job. As an introvert, I understand the toll of being present for others all day, but 10 minutes to …

Can AI solve the physician shortage crisis?

Harry Severance, MD

Tech

March 19, 2023

A 2021 Merritt Hawkins article reports increasing physician shortfalls in the U.S. while pointing out that almost 50 percent of all currently practicing physicians are older than 55. In some medical specialties, the “greater-than-55” physician numbers are between 60 to 90+ percent.

Similar findings have been confirmed in an updated January 2023 Becker’s Hospital Review article. These recent reports estimate that there will be a …

Breaking barriers in arthritis care with telemedicine [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

March 18, 2023

Subscribe to The Podcast by KevinMD. Catch up on old episodes!

In this episode, we welcome Diana M. Girnita, a rheumatologist and founder and CEO of Rheumatologist OnCall. We discuss the challenges facing patients with arthritis and the shortage of rheumatologists. Despite the growing need for specialized care, …

Life as a physician is sometimes like a runaway trailer

Christopher Nyte, DO

Physician

March 18, 2023

It was a hot day in Northern California, and my clothes were covered with the red dust of summer. At age 9, I couldn’t take a step on our property without grasshoppers launching themselves from the dry wheat grass. Colorful ladybugs were also out in force. I searched everywhere for a container to keep my prized bugs, but my efforts were to no avail. I headed for Mr. Maryfield’s trailer, …

What causes fainting and how to prevent it during needle procedures

Jean Paul Brutus, MD

Conditions

March 18, 2023

Fainting, or syncope is a temporary loss of consciousness when the brain doesn’t get enough oxygen. Many things, including dehydration, low blood sugar, or anxiety, can cause it. As all doctors know, a common trigger for fainting is seeing blood or a needle.

Emotional fainting is very common in humans, especially in younger people, but it is extremely rare in non-human vertebrates. Fainting may be a response that Homo sapiens …

The controversial origin of the Hippocratic oath

Brian Elliott, MD

Physician

March 18, 2023

An excerpt from White Coat Ways: A History of Medical Traditions and Their Battle With Progress.

So, who wrote this immortal Hippocratic oath: Hippocrates or one of his Hippocratic followers? Though no one knows for certain, the answer is potentially neither. The most compelling evidence for this argument is that the …

From physician to patient: one doctor’s journey to finding purpose after a devastating injury

Stephanie Pearson, MD

Physician

March 18, 2023

December 20, 2012, started like any other day as an OB/GYN when I was called to do a precipitous delivery. I immediately saw that the baby’s heart rate was dangerously low, and I knew I had to act quickly. Several nurses helped me maintain the patient’s position to get a vacuum on the baby’s crowning head. While placing the vacuum, the patient kicked me in my brachial plexus, and my …

Breaking down the barriers to effective bar-code medication administration

Amy Dang Craft

Policy

March 18, 2023

According to the Commonwealth Fund and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the health care system in the United States continues to rank the highest in health spending, has the highest rates of avoidable deaths, and rates of infant and maternal deaths compared to other high-income countries. These countries include Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, South Korea, Sweden, …

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