Despite decades of progress in reducing the prevalence of cigarette smoking, tobacco use remains a leading cause of preventable death and disease, and a significant driver of health care costs in the United States. Smoking cessation therapy is consistently ranked among the most cost-effective clinical preventive services and is considered to be “the gold standard of health care cost-effectiveness.” Yet, delivery of evidence-based treatment …
“The Power of Vulnerability,” a TED Talk by Brené Brown, PhD, has been viewed more than 66 million times. Rather than interpreting vulnerability as a sign of weakness, she suggests that it is a measure of courage, which, in turn, is the “birthplace of innovation, creativity and change.” She asserts the courage to acknowledge imperfection, to be kind to ourselves and to others, actually strengthens us. Brown concedes that …
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Medical student Chuka Onuh and orthopedic surgery resident Ogechukwu Onuh discuss their article, “A sibling’s guide to surviving medical school.” They share lessons learned as siblings navigating medical training, focusing on the …
I work as an emergency physician in the emergency department at a Level 1 trauma center. Because time is of the essence, when we get a trauma into the ED, they are automatically deemed a Doe – John or Jane. Due to the number of traumas we see at our trauma center in a given year, another word gets added to the Doe to make them easier to identify. It …
When I first began working with clinical AI tools, I felt the kind of excitement many young clinicians and researchers feel today. For the first time, it seemed possible to reduce cognitive overload, surface hidden patterns, and give clinicians more time to focus on what mattered most: patients. AI felt less like a threat and more like a long-awaited collaborator.
As a young clinician-scholar, I did what many of us do. …
Apurv Gupta, Michael Mantell, and I recently had a conversation exploring how compassion, culture, and systems come together to heal not only patients, but those who care for them. We discussed how loving organizations outperform others, how shared responsibility for well-being transforms outcomes, and why “when two hearts touch, that’s healing!” We learned about real hospitals already leading this movement, and how we can all open our thinking to see …
This past year, I’ve found myself in many different rooms (on podcasts, in boardrooms with legislators, and in conversations with program directors at medical schools and hospitals) talking about what humanity truly means in clinical and caregiving professions.
I hear back from my third- and fourth-year medical students about how this work shows up for them in clinics, auditions, and residency interviews. They describe moments when an intentional emphasis on humanity, …
Walk into most community pharmacies today and you’ll notice something off. The pharmacist who used to remember your name and medication history is gone. The one who caught that dangerous drug interaction last year? Also gone. In their place, a rotating cast of temporary faces, each one just trying to survive the shift.
This isn’t about a labor shortage. We have pharmacists. What we’re losing is something else entirely. Expertise, continuity, …
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Retired nurse practitioner Heidi Sykora discusses her article, “The case for regulating, not banning, kratom.” She provides an evidence-based perspective on why kratom (Mitragyna speciosa) should not be treated as a dangerous …
Let’s be honest. Most frontline clinicians don’t wake up worrying about CDC updates. They’re worrying about whether the ED has enough staff, or whether the patient they discharge will receive the follow-up care they need.
So when another vaccine recommendation or public policy update drops, often contradicting the last, it’s no wonder people roll their eyes. The problem isn’t that clinicians don’t care about public health; it’s that the messaging often …
I have spent years working with older adults in community and home-based care. During that time, I learned that one of the most stubborn barriers to health is not a rare disease, a complex guideline, or even a lack of services.
Sometimes, the barrier is a piece of paper. A flyer that an 80-year-old cannot read because the font is too small, a brochure filled with medical jargon that confuses more …
For two months I have staged testimony, written op-eds, and amplified coalition voices about the collapse of developmental and behavioral pediatrics (DBP). This piece is an epilogue, a reckoning with a specialty that once held promise but now clings to aspirational posters instead of actionable reform.
The poster problem
The Society for Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics (SDBP) recently circulated a flyer titled Critical Outcomes in DBP. Page 2 lists “Solutions” to the …
No matter the specialty, the best doctors make it look effortless and “easy.” Whether it’s suturing a jagged laceration, reading an MRI spine with multi-level degeneration, or delivering a ten-pound baby with shoulder dystocia, the most skilled physicians can handle it without breaking a sweat. But we know it took many years of training, proficiency, feedback, and improvement to master their craft.
I’m not going to argue that surgical procedures are …
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Family physician Rebecca Thompson discusses her article, “The weight of genetic testing in a family,” an excerpt from her book. She shares a profoundly personal story from the memoir about a woman …
The moon was full, the stars shone bright
I thought I’d settle down for the night
Upon my soft pillow my head got caught
Until a phone call stirred me from my foolish thought
On Friday night of weekend call
One patient had refused it all
When Pit was offered, she said, “No way!”
Internals too were brushed away.
We waited calmly, full of grace
For natural labor to take its place
And sure enough, on Sunday’s eve
After a day …
Bladder cancer is one of the most common cancers worldwide, yet it often receives far less attention than other smoking-related cancers. According to the GLOBOCAN global cancer fact sheet, bladder cancer is among the top 10 most frequently diagnosed cancers globally, with more than half a million new cases diagnosed each year worldwide. It occurs significantly more often in men than in women, and the risk rises steadily with …
When I trained in medicine, the learning path was predictable. Long nights of memorizing anatomy. Standing beside seasoned physicians in hospital hallways. Slowly absorbing the craft of diagnosis through repetition and proximity. It was an apprenticeship built on pattern recognition, intuition, and accumulated wisdom.
What I did not learn was how to practice medicine in a world increasingly shaped by artificial intelligence. That education came much later. It arrived quietly at …
After the longest government shutdown in U.S. history (one triggered by battles over health care funding) the core issue remains unresolved. Neither political party has produced a durable solution. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) projects U.S. health care spending will reach nearly $9 trillion by 2035, consuming 20 percent to 22 percent of GDP. The Congressional Budget Office projects that without significant changes in policy, …
Most physicians practicing medicine today were trained to diagnose and treat patients, not to navigate one of the most complex industries in the world, an industry characterized by ever-changing payer contracts, evolving reimbursement structures, complex and sometimes mystifying coding, and challenging operational realities. Despite the lack of training, these same physicians and providers are leading multimillion-dollar businesses and are expected by their health systems to reduce costs, improve outcomes, and …
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Emergency physician Resa E. Lewiss and health care executive Jake Horowitz discuss their article, “Why women ER doctors earn $21,000 less than men.” They reveal staggering new data that shatters the myth …
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