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I risked my career to save my life

Physician

February 20, 2022

Early into my military career and as an oral and maxillofacial surgery resident, I started to acknowledge the fact that, during periods of sleep deprivation that were initially inherent to my military training hours and then surgery call requirements, I found myself thinking dark thoughts that I had never experienced before. I scheduled an appointment with a Psychiatrist and was diagnosed with depression. Scratch that. I was diagnosed with “high …

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I risked my career to save my life

How inflation fueled health care costs

Ricardo Chujutalli, MD, MBA and Jessica Yoong

Health Policy

February 20, 2022

The 3-hour concert was over. On the way back to the car, the excitement of it all kept us singing the lyrical masterpiece. I turned on the ignition and typed in our address.

“You have 1 hour and 35 minutes to go,” the GPS alerted me. I glanced at the fuel gauge. The gas floater barely survived the red indicator.

Taking no risks, I drove us to the nearest gas station to …

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How inflation fueled health care costs

Guns, the Supreme Court, and physicians’ voices [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

February 19, 2022

“When my patients asked me about losing weight, I would say, ‘Eat less and exercise more.’ I know that it is more complicated than that. There are psychological and socioeconomic factors. There is bariatric surgery and there are medications. But ‘eat less and exercise more’ is common sense, and …

Better health care for less, version 2.0

Michael James Zema, MD

Health Policy

February 19, 2022

An excerpt from Modern Healthcare Delivery, Deliverance or Debacle: A Glimpse From the Inside Out.

“The significant problems we face cannot be solved at the same level of thinking we were at when we created them.”
– Albert Einstein

In my book, I outline some of the critical drivers of the high cost of medical care in the U.S. These include waste as …

Artificial intelligence is worse than the old boss

Arthur Lazarus, MD, MBA

Physician

February 19, 2022

It seems that each positive story I read about the benefits of artificial intelligence (AI) is countered by a negative story.

One internal medicine physician writes: “Someday, with enough computing power and artificial intelligence, we may be able to have systems that can do some basic medical advice and education about health care that could end up saving doctors a lot of time and …

What happens when you can’t fix it? Tales from the home front.

Susan Hart Gaines

Physician

February 19, 2022

The details have been changed, but the story is true. A physician I know goes to work each day by 7:30 a.m. He is a confident, competent leader in every way within his clinic. But each night, he goes home to a spouse who is losing steam in every way. Diagnosed with a chronic condition, she is growing increasingly weak and dependent. He asks her how she is, and she …

How to fix the CDC [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

February 18, 2022

“A resurgent CDC is necessary to recapture the vitality of U.S. medical science. A scientific researcher alone cannot do this work. This will also require heavy managerial work and restructuring and charting a different course altogether. CDC will need a double-headed leader approach, one excelling in scientific expertise and …

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How to fix the CDC [PODCAST]

There are so many paths to financial freedom

Cobin Soelberg, MD, JD

Physician Finance

February 18, 2022

There are so many paths to financial freedom. It does not matter if it’s starting another business, investing in real estate, or saving in your 401(k). You will reach financial independence as a physician if you save and invest. The most crucial factor in achieving financial independence is consistency.

Do you save and invest money every month? Or do you have to wait until the end of the month and …
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There are so many paths to financial freedom

An unplanned conversation leads to a mentorship opportunity

Charlotte Grinberg, MD and Richard Dale

Physician

February 18, 2022

Charlotte: I initially met Richard at a wedding. Standing near the much-desired sushi buffet, we quickly started talking about the broken infrastructure of the health care system. At the time, I was an exhausted intern in internal medicine, happy to have the right weekend off. I shared big dreams of one day creating a new model of medical delivery. Richard, a senior executive with decades of leadership experience, listened compassionately. …

Want to publish a children’s book? Here’s how.

Robert Chan, MD

Physician

February 18, 2022

It was my son’s birthday, and I wanted to give him a gift he would remember. He had written a story when he was seven years old about eating boogers. As a urologist, I can attest that this is not a healthy habit and do not recommend it. I helped him publish his first book, Boogers for Brunch, on Amazon.

I …

We are actually made of mucus

Jonathan Reisman, MD

Conditions and Diseases

February 18, 2022

An excerpt from The Unseen Body: A Doctor’s Journey Through the Hidden Wonders of Human Anatomy.

Everybody learns in grade school that the human body is composed mostly of water—roughly 60 percent in adults goes the statistic. I learned this fact as a child and understood that humans share their aqueous makeup with all other organisms. I imagined living things as …

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We are actually made of mucus

A message to new health care professionals

Tammy Baxter, ARNP

Conditions and Diseases

February 17, 2022

The health care environment you are about to enter is very different from the one that existed when you entered school. The COVID pandemic has changed us all, but we, the health care providers, have taken one of the biggest hits.

We are exhausted physically, mentally, emotionally, and professionally. Even before the pandemic, we were often short-staffed and now those of us that are left are thankful for any staff, and …

Residency doesn’t have to be a war

Anonymous

Physician

February 17, 2022

This summer is supposed to be my turn to start residency in the States. I hear enough about work-life balance; but have mostly seen residents push the limits of what could be considered a human existence because it’s known: If you don’t work yourself to death, someone else will.

I’ve heard conversations about whether it’s proper to get married or have children during residency. Usually, the consensus is “no.” Is all …

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Residency doesn’t have to be a war

Reflections on physician mental health and tips for sustaining it

Rosa Yu, MD

Physician

February 17, 2022

The problem

Even in the midst of a global pandemic, mental health in medicine is rarely discussed. And yet, the circumstances of our profession create the perfect milieu for darkness. The long work hours. The regularity of tragedy and loss. The nights, weekends, and holidays you miss with those you love. The constant pressure to be perfect — to be professional, to be composed, to be vigilant, to not make any …

Metric fever will decimate our primary care workforce

Sara Bajuyo, MD

Physician

February 17, 2022

Primary care doctors have had enough. I’m sick of it as a family physician, and I know you are too. In our never-ending battle with insurance companies and CMS bureaucrats over how to do our job, the new turf is value-based care (VBC), and the latest weapon against us is metrics.

The central goals of VBC are timely access, better care quality, and efficiency. One could argue if …

BeMo MCAT Prep lesson #1: The liberal arts is a friend of MCAT test-takers

BeMo Academic Consulting

Patients are captive pharmacy benefits manager consumers

Beth Waldron

Medications

February 16, 2022

I still recall the ICU physician holding my hand and preparing me for the possibility I might not survive the blood clots in my lungs, pulmonary embolism. It was eighteen years ago when out of the blue, I found myself unexpectedly holding the hand of that gentle, concerned doctor, whose name I do not even know. My son was three years old at the time, and all I could think …

Fellow physicians, what is our path forward?

Tammie Chang, MD

Physician

February 16, 2022

As our health care system teeters yet again on the brink of collapse, the big questions on so many of our minds are: What does our future hold for us as physicians? What is our path forward?

As physicians, we currently live and work in a constant state of crisis. We’ve seen record numbers of patients, experienced personnel shortages, and instituted crisis staffing and standards of care. We’ve cared for patients …

Misinformation in transgender health care is harming patient care

Christy L. Olezeski, PhD

Conditions and Diseases

February 16, 2022

Living in the U.S., chances are you get some regular mail that you never signed up for — a magazine, a journal, a sales flier. As medical professionals, we also get these free journals related to our field. We don’t always have the time to fact-check a publication. And with names that appear to be legitimate, we might take information at face value. This is especially true if we are …

Estate planning and asset protection challenges and strategies for single physicians

Syed Nishat, BFA

Physician Finance

February 16, 2022

While chatting with a physician client of mine recently, an important topic came up that she hadn’t really asked about previously. My client is in her late 40s and is currently single with no plans of getting married. She’s the only child of her aged parents, and after working as a physician for over 15 years, she has become financially successful enough to slow her career down a bit. Her …

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