| KevinMD.com

December 23, 2022Dec 23, 2022

"Until I have dedicated time during the week to tend to administrative tasks, I must work 12 to 14 hours most days just to stay afloat. If I fail to work at least 12 hours per day, my in-basket accumulates,…

Listen on Apple Podcasts · Spotify

Listen and followApple Podcasts Spotify YouTubeMore apps · Browse all episodes

“Until I have dedicated time during the week to tend to administrative tasks, I must work 12 to 14 hours most days just to stay afloat. If I fail to work at least 12 hours per day, my in-basket accumulates, invading weekends, vacation days, and future workdays. As my and my nurse practitioner’s …

Medical education

A medical student’s greatest mistake

Emily Kahoud

December 23, 2022Dec 23, 20222

I made a mistake. I almost failed out of undergrad as a premed. Yet this wasn't the greatest mistake, the one that's only now dawning on me as I stand at a crossroads in considerable decision-making despair. Growing up in…

I made a mistake.

I almost failed out of undergrad as a premed. Yet this wasn’t the greatest mistake, the one that’s only now dawning on me as I stand at a crossroads in considerable decision-making despair.

Growing up in a loving yet highly dysfunctional home, I turned down a full presidential scholarship to attend a highly coveted college to make my parents, who grew up impoverished, proud. Yet the lingering trauma …

Read more…

A medical student’s greatest mistake

Physician voices

Who’s holding space for you?

Faryal Michaud, DO

December 23, 2022Dec 23, 2022

The first time I saw someone die was when I volunteered in the ER as an undergraduate student. That day I was helping in the trauma bay, and my job was to quickly run STAT or urgent blood specimens to…

The first time I saw someone die was when I volunteered in the ER as an undergraduate student.

That day I was helping in the trauma bay, and my job was to quickly run STAT or urgent blood specimens to the lab.

The year was 1994. It was winter time, and the tension of the people sitting in the waiting room was palpable to me every time I would go through those …

Read more…

Who’s holding space for you?

Real physician voices, twice a week

Free, and one click to unsubscribe.

Health technology

How accelerated learning platforms are pushing surgical education forward

Ruchi Thanawala, MD

December 23, 2022Dec 23, 2022

Surgical training has long been confined to traditional models of Halstedian apprenticeship, where trainees are guided—but also potentially limited—by their superiors. Within this dynamic, the transfer of knowledge from expert to learner is dependent on individual educators, which can then…

Physicians are often busy and rightly focused on patient care, but this can lead to uncaptured and delayed feedback for …

The Podcast by KevinMD

Coaching or mentorship: What is the solution for physicians? [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

December 22, 2022Dec 22, 2022

"Over the years, I have mentored a lot of trainees. After discovering coaching and seeing my career transform after I started working with a coach, I have become a coach myself. I definitely use coaching techniques with my mentees, but…

Listen on Apple Podcasts · Spotify

Listen and followApple Podcasts Spotify YouTubeMore apps · Browse all episodes

“Over the years, I have mentored a lot of trainees. After discovering coaching and seeing my career transform after I started working with a coach, I have become a coach myself. I definitely use coaching techniques with my mentees, but the relationship I have with them is different from the one …

Physician voices

Psychic numbing: Why we would prefer to save a single dog instead of thousands of humans

Brian Angus & Recha Bergstrom, MD

December 22, 2022Dec 22, 2022

In 2002 a fire broke out on an oil tanker hundreds of miles south of Hawaii. All eight of the crew members were successfully rescued, but, as it was later realized, the captain's dog, Hokget, was left behind. The two-year-old…

In 2002 a fire broke out on an oil tanker hundreds of miles south of Hawaii. All eight of the crew members were successfully rescued, but, as it was later realized, the captain’s dog, Hokget, was left behind. The two-year-old terrier was alone on the tanker, floating around in the Pacific Ocean.

The lost dog story made headlines, and people donated thousands of dollars to the Hawaiian Humane Society to save …

Drugs and prescribing

The promise of patient-centered biotechnology

James Geraghty, JD

December 22, 2022Dec 22, 2022

An excerpt from Inside The Orphan Drug Revolution: The Promise of Patient-Centered Biotechnology. Pre-revolutionary stirrings Every revolution rises up against an order in need of reform. For the orphan drug revolution, that order was the pharmaceutical industry of the 1970s.…

An excerpt from Inside The Orphan Drug Revolution: The Promise of Patient-Centered Biotechnology.

Pre-revolutionary stirrings

Every revolution rises up against an order in need of reform. For the orphan drug revolution, that order was the pharmaceutical industry of the 1970s. Most pharma companies had been founded by entrepreneurial chemists or pharmacists decades or even centuries earlier. But as those early firms underwent many mergers and grew into large public companies, more …

Physician voices

The holidays can open up a range of emotions

Jennifer Shaer, MD

December 22, 2022Dec 22, 2022

Physician suicide rates are unacceptably high at baseline and go even higher during the holidays. The holiday increase in suicide rates is not unique to physicians, though. According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), A 2021 survey showed…

And suicide is a problem that goes beyond the

…

The Podcast by KevinMD

Wisdom from 50 years a doctor [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

December 21, 2022Dec 21, 2022

"This last doctor was also the happiest doctor I have ever met. He was not a youngster but had a wonderful following of patients and was loved by the entire hospital staff. And he had a very nice singing voice.…

Listen on Apple Podcasts · Spotify

Listen and followApple Podcasts Spotify YouTubeMore apps · Browse all episodes

“This last doctor was also the happiest doctor I have ever met. He was not a youngster but had a wonderful following of patients and was loved by the entire hospital staff. And he had a very nice singing voice. Today this would be considered dangerous.” …

Read more…

Wisdom from 50 years a doctor [PODCAST]

Physician voices

Don’t make this mistake with gratitude

Cindy Tsai, MD

December 21, 2022Dec 21, 2022

We hear it all the time. Practice gratitude. Be thankful for what you have. The evidence is clear. Being grateful does offer numerous scientifically proven benefits. It makes sense why gratitude is good for you, from improved relationships to decreased…

We hear it all the time.

Practice gratitude. Be thankful for what you have.

The evidence is clear. Being grateful does offer numerous scientifically proven benefits.

It makes sense why gratitude is good for you, from improved relationships to decreased physical pain to better sleep to increased happiness and self-esteem.

In fact, it’s one of the keys to leading an abundant life full of what you desire and deserve.

But gratitude is not just …

Read more…

Don’t make this mistake with gratitude

Physician voices

Gil Scott-Heron’s “Winter in America” is upon us

Arthur Lazarus, MD, MBA

December 21, 2022Dec 21, 2022

For me, the cheerful musical sounds of the holiday season invariably give way to a somber song: Gil Scott-Heron's "Winter in America." Dubbed the "Godfather of Rap," Gil Scott-Heron (1949-2011) embraced diverse musical styles alternating between jazz, blues, soul, and…

For me, the cheerful musical sounds of the holiday season invariably give way to a somber song: Gil Scott-Heron’s “Winter in America.” Dubbed the “Godfather of Rap,” Gil Scott-Heron (1949-2011) embraced diverse musical styles alternating between jazz, blues, soul, and hip-hop. He wasn’t known for delivering good tidings as much as he was for sermonizing and engaging in “Small Talk at …

Physician voices

Love that allows a grace-filled release

Gigi Abdel-Samed, MD, MBA

December 21, 2022Dec 21, 2022

I stood at the head of the bed, staring down at his throat, watching as the vocal cords opened and closed as he lay unconscious, waiting to time the insertion of the breathing tube at just the right moment. The…

The call occurred moments earlier in the ER: “They need a doc for intubation.” In the middle of a busy shift, time stood still. Priorities shifted in a moment, re-organizing themselves.

Intubation: A …

Read more…

Love that allows a grace-filled release

Physician voices

Suicide isn’t painless for those left behind

Veronica Bonales, MD

December 21, 2022Dec 21, 20222

Suicide isn't beautiful. It's not glamorous. It's not Virginia Woolf, with pockets full of stones walking calmly into the water surrounded by trees and dappled sunlight with string music playing in the background as you slowly sink under the water.…

Suicide isn’t beautiful. It’s not glamorous. It’s not Virginia Woolf, with pockets full of stones walking calmly into the water surrounded by trees and dappled sunlight with string music playing in the background as you slowly sink under the water.

Suicide is blood and vomit pouring out of your nose. It’s losing control of your bladder and bowels and soiling yourself. It’s blood all over the bathroom floor. Or, it’s bits …

Physician voices

When was the last time you wore a white coat?

Janet Chao, MD & Yan Lee, MD

December 21, 2022Dec 21, 20224

When the COVID-19 pandemic began to dominate all aspects of health care, many of our colleagues opted to wear scrubs instead of their routine work attire and white coats. They cited concerns about personal infectious risk and not wanting to bring the virus home to their loved ones on their clothes. This reluctance aligned with research on the white coat as a nidus for infection, but it conflicted with the …

The Podcast by KevinMD

Physician contract horror stories [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

December 20, 2022Dec 20, 2022

"As a physicians’ attorney who focuses his practice on physician contract review, I have seen some truly horrendous results after physicians have signed agreements they did not understand. Here are just a few of the 'war stories' I have experienced."…

Listen on Apple Podcasts · Spotify

Listen and followApple Podcasts Spotify YouTubeMore apps · Browse all episodes

“As a physicians’ attorney who focuses his practice on physician contract review, I have seen some truly horrendous results after physicians have signed agreements they did not understand. Here are just a few of the ‘war stories’ I have experienced.”

Dennis Hursh is a veteran attorney with over 40 …

Physician voices

What if we asked patients what they want?

Jean Paul Brutus, MD

December 20, 2022Dec 20, 20227

Historically, the Canadian health care system has decided what should be done for the care of the population. Who gets care, when and where, what is a priority, what delays are tolerable, and what degree of saturation is acceptable in…

Historically, the Canadian health care system has decided what should be done for the care of the population.

Who gets care, when and where, what is a priority, what delays are tolerable, and what degree of saturation is acceptable in a Quebec emergency room? This paternalistic approach is obsolete.

A modern service company must be interested in the needs and desires of its clientele.

Other than in the health

…

Physician voices

Physicians: Are we still the good guys?

Joan Naidorf, DO

December 20, 2022Dec 20, 20223

In the very realistic fictional world of The White Coat Diaries by Dr. Madi Sinha, a first-year internal medicine resident goes through a harsh initiation into the realities of medical training. Protagonist Norah Kapadia encounters a complication of a penile implant in an elderly patient with end-stage liver disease and dementia. Her senior resident talks her through the problem of causing hematuria as she placed a catheter through an …

Read more…

Physicians: Are we still the good guys?

Health policy

The demise of primary care in America

Gregg Coodley, MD

December 20, 2022Dec 20, 2022

An excerpt from Patients in Peril: The Demise of Primary Care in America. The last 100 years have seen an astonishing drop in the percentage of American physicians who practiced primary care. In the early 1930s, 87% of private practice…

An excerpt from Patients in Peril: The Demise of Primary Care in America.

The last 100 years have seen an astonishing drop in the percentage of American physicians who practiced primary care. In the early 1930s, 87% of private practice physicians were in general care; by the early 1960s, this percentage had dropped to 50%. Starting in 1960, increases in specialists began to outpace increases in primary care. …

Read more…

The demise of primary care in America

The Podcast by KevinMD

When doctors develop [patient] portal hypertension [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

December 19, 2022Dec 19, 2022

"Physicians today are confronting yet another epidemic, one that affects doctors directly and is not caused by a virus. It is the result of the 'patient portal' through which patients send typed messages directly to their physicians. Though the portal…

Listen on Apple Podcasts · Spotify

Listen and followApple Podcasts Spotify YouTubeMore apps · Browse all episodes

“Physicians today are confronting yet another epidemic, one that affects doctors directly and is not caused by a virus. It is the result of the ‘patient portal’ through which patients send typed messages directly to their physicians. Though the portal has benefits, anecdotal experience suggests that high message volume is having …

Physician voices

An expert’s advice about staying in private medical practice

Curtis G. Graham, MD

December 19, 2022Dec 19, 2022

Most physicians are aware of our nation's disintegration of private medical practices. Bailing out of private medical practice for financial or other reasons predicts the takeover of government-controlled employed medical practice as well as the medical profession itself—including medical school…

Most physicians are aware of our nation’s disintegration of private medical practices. Bailing out of private medical practice for financial or other reasons predicts the takeover of government-controlled employed medical practice as well as the medical profession itself—including medical school education.

One world-renowned marketing and business expert offers important advice for medical care professionals who prefer to remain independent of such medical practice restrictions while we still can do so:

A lot

…