| KevinMD.com

November 26, 2022Nov 26, 2022

In November, Mariah Carey defrosts for another holiday season with her iconic tune, "All I Want For Christmas Is You," and social media floods platforms with content about Black Friday and the holidays. November is also Lung Cancer Awareness Month.…

In November, Mariah Carey defrosts for another holiday season with her iconic tune, “All I Want For Christmas Is You,” and social media floods platforms with content about Black Friday and the holidays.

November is also Lung Cancer Awareness Month. Lung cancer is the No. 1 cancer killer of both men and women in the U.S. and worldwide. Lung cancer kills more people each year than breast, prostate, and colon …

Conditions and diseases

The scientific race to defeat a deadly virus

Martha Rosenberg

November 26, 2022Nov 26, 2022

An interview with David Quamman, author of Breathless: The Scientific Race to Defeat a Deadly Virus. Rosenberg: After the publication of your 2012 book Spillover, in which the scientists you interviewed talked about expecting the "next big one," I was…

An interview with David Quamman, author of Breathless: The Scientific Race to Defeat a Deadly Virus.

Rosenberg: After the publication of your 2012 book Spillover, in which the scientists you interviewed talked about expecting the “next big one,” I was surprised more people didn’t say, “Quammen told us so.”

Quammen: Actually, in Jan 2020 [as COVID-19 hit], I immediately got calls asking me how “I knew” this was going to …

The Podcast by KevinMD

Science impacts our lives more profoundly than we appreciate [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

November 25, 2022Nov 25, 2022

"Scientific research impacts our lives, however, and much more profoundly than we generally appreciate. Considering the wide-ranging benefits, science is not just for scientists. Research discoveries are often translated to tools and applications down the road, usually without reference to…

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“Scientific research impacts our lives, however, and much more profoundly than we generally appreciate. Considering the wide-ranging benefits, science is not just for scientists. Research discoveries are often translated to tools and applications down the road, usually without reference to the original science behind them. Without science, we would not have …

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Physician voices

A goodbye note to my suicidal teenagers

Shivana Naidoo, MD

November 25, 2022Nov 25, 2022

On the day before the last day at my last job, I reviewed my patient roster. Five of my seven most worrisome teenagers were currently admitted to a psychiatric hospital for a suicide attempt. This was not completely surprising. It is the fall. Teenagers notoriously struggle two to three months after starting school, getting into academic work, falling prey to bullying and stress, or not meeting their goals. But I …

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A goodbye note to my suicidal teenagers

Medical education

Why every doctor needs a translator

Heather Hansen, JD

November 25, 2022Nov 25, 2022

Twenty years as a medical malpractice defense attorney has given me a superpower. I'm an extraordinary translator. In the courtroom, we occasionally hire translators to interpret when a witness speaks a language other than English. They help the jury understand…

Twenty years as a medical malpractice defense attorney has given me a superpower. I’m an extraordinary translator. In the courtroom, we occasionally hire translators to interpret when a witness speaks a language other than English. They help the jury understand the witness and collect the information they need to make a decision. But we need someone able to translate for the jury when a physician starts speaking “medicine.” This also …

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Why every doctor needs a translator

Physician voices

The physician’s real problem isn’t burnout

Reeta Achari, MD

November 25, 2022Nov 25, 20223

I read an article recently suggesting that physicians were burned out from hearing about burnout. The proposed solution was to create systemic changes to help alleviate the burden of complexities of care that have polluted health care delivery. The solutions involved adding a team of individuals, including nurse practitioners, physician’s assistants, pharmacy assistants, and other physician extenders.

Once again, rather than focus on the physician-patient relationship on which medicine is based, …

The Podcast by KevinMD

How this primary care doctor found his dream practice [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

November 24, 2022Nov 24, 2022

"My quality of life is outstanding. I leave work every evening only after every call is answered, fax addressed, a prescription delivered, then retreat to my home a mile away. The proximity makes it easy to see patients after hours,…

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“My quality of life is outstanding. I leave work every evening only after every call is answered, fax addressed, a prescription delivered, then retreat to my home a mile away. The proximity makes it easy to see patients after hours, on weekends, and on holidays; I promise to see patients within …

Conditions and diseases

A careless misdiagnosis. A death. A lawsuit.

Debbie Moore-Black, RN

November 24, 2022Nov 24, 20223

They loved long walks through the woods in California. They were sweethearts in high school through college. If they wanted to take a break from their walks, the dogs would gang up on them and insist on continuing. The trees,…

The trees, the skies, the quiet, the fresh smell of pine and wildflowers.

And on one clear blue sky day, Bill dropped down on bended knee and proposed to Jennifer. The breeze gently blew …

Physician voices

PTSD after medical education

Arthur Lazarus, MD, MBA

November 24, 2022Nov 24, 2022

Dear Art: On Friday, June 11, 1982, members of the faculty convened to discuss the performance of the psychiatric residents during the last six (6) months. The following is a summation of their comments as they apply to your performance.…

Dear Art:

On Friday, June 11, 1982, members of the faculty convened to discuss the performance of the psychiatric residents during the last six (6) months. The following is a summation of their comments as they apply to your performance.

The faculty’s reaction to your performance was uniformly excellent. There was some comment on your earlier fear of the psychotherapeutic role, but the consensus was that this has improved markedly and that

…

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PTSD after medical education

Conditions and diseases

Protecting children from bad medical care

Martin C. Young, MD

November 24, 2022Nov 24, 2022

Unfortunately, at least from where I sit, suboptimal medical care seems to abound. And every encounter of my family members with the health care behemoth is an opportunity for them to become a recipient of it. When it comes to…

When it comes to shielding them, I have had some failures in the past — it took a minor stroke in my father, who lived in England, for me to realize that he had never …

The Podcast by KevinMD

Medical innovation: a serendipitous step toward gender equity

Samantha Lai

November 23, 2022Nov 23, 2022

There has never been a better time to be a woman entrepreneur. With ever-growing numbers of venture funds specifically for women and nonprofits dedicated to advancing women in tech, the next Apple is ripe for the picking. However, there remains a wide chasm to cross. Currently, startups led by women command less than 3 percent of venture capital investment dollars.

Upon diving deeper into this disparity, a 2020 paper published by …

Conditions and diseases

By failing to discuss strangulation, we are failing our patients

Chloe N. L. Lee, MD, MPH

November 23, 2022Nov 23, 2022

Six seconds is the amount of time it would have taken for him to render me unconscious. Shortly thereafter, I might have lost my life. One month before I finally found the strength to leave an abusive ex-partner, he rushed…

Six seconds is the amount of time it would have taken for him to render me unconscious.

Shortly thereafter, I might have lost my life.

One month before I finally found the strength to leave an abusive ex-partner, he rushed at me with unexpected force during an argument and wrapped his hands around my throat. I kicked desperately at his chest, terrified, heart racing, during what I believed might be my final …

Conditions and diseases

Managing key risk factors may lower your dementia risk

Miles J. Varn, MD

November 23, 2022Nov 23, 2022

Close to 6 million adults in the U.S. are currently living with Alzheimer's disease or a related form of dementia, according to CDC data. And that number will grow as the U.S. population ages. The number of people with Alzheimer's…

Close to 6 million adults in the U.S. are currently living with Alzheimer’s disease or a related form of dementia, according to CDC data. And that number will grow as the U.S. population ages. The number of people with Alzheimer’s and related forms of dementia is projected to increase to approximately 14 million over the next 38 years.

Dementia impacts not only the people who develop this condition but also …

The Podcast by KevinMD

KevinMD on the Co-Learning Clinician podcast

The Podcast by KevinMD

November 22, 2022Nov 22, 2022

In this special episode, I'm on the other side of the microphone. I'm interviewed by CMEfy's Brian Cohen on the Co-Learning Clinician podcast, and we discuss the concept of physician co-learning, opinion pieces vs. gold standards in medicine, what I…

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In this special episode, I’m on the other side of the microphone. I’m interviewed by CMEfy’s Brian Cohen on the Co-Learning Clinician podcast, and we discuss the concept of physician co-learning, opinion pieces vs. gold standards in medicine, what I learned from interviewing physicians, physicians being more than their degrees, and …

Physician voices

What does self-compassion look like in your life?

Jillian Rigert, MD, DMD

November 22, 2022Nov 22, 2022

I've spent years deeply uncomfortable in my skin. Wanting to disappear. Last night, a wave of anxiety hit me as it often does when the world gets quiet. In tune with my body for a brief moment, my heart ached.…

I’ve spent years deeply uncomfortable in my skin.

Wanting to disappear.

Last night, a wave of anxiety hit me as it often does when the world gets quiet.

In tune with my body for a brief moment, my heart ached.

Why?

I envisioned that moment when we ponder what we would regret on our deathbeds.

And I saw the years many of us spend hating our bodies.

Our glorious bodies that make being present in this world …

Drugs and prescribing

Think twice before prescribing opioids as a first-line treatment for pain

Gary Call, MD

November 22, 2022Nov 22, 20224

Everyone knows the terrible toll the opioid epidemic takes on our society. It doesn't matter where you live and how wealthy or educated you are, no one is immune. I watched as a colleague tried to help a child struggling…

Everyone knows the terrible toll the opioid epidemic takes on our society. It doesn’t matter where you live and how wealthy or educated you are, no one is immune. I watched as a colleague tried to help a child struggling with addiction, spending countless hours of worry and thousands of dollars, only to have the child succumb to an accidental opioid overdose. The emotional and financial cost on individuals and …

Conditions and diseases

Why HIV and COVID-19 vaccine screening should go together

Maranda C. Ward, EdD, MPH

November 22, 2022Nov 22, 2022

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Americans got accustomed to regularly answering a series of questions about our risk of exposure to COVID and our possible symptoms. For more than two years, our country remained laser-focused on this protection, demonstrating our health care system’s ability to mount a strong response to a public health crisis. So why haven’t we taken similar precautions in the face of other crises, particularly HIV?

For too long, …

The Podcast by KevinMD

As doctors, caring is our poetry [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

November 21, 2022Nov 21, 2022

"The art and craft of being a physician and finding meaning in our care of others are to make poetry out of our lives." Steven Kamajian is a family physician. He shares his story and discusses his KevinMD article, "As…

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“The art and craft of being a physician and finding meaning in our care of others are to make poetry out of our lives.”

Steven Kamajian is a family physician.

He shares his story and discusses his KevinMD article, “As doctors, caring is our poetry.”

…

Conditions and diseases

Letting grief make you stronger

Nancie Wiseman Attwater

November 21, 2022Nov 21, 2022

Grief is powerful and can break your heart for the rest of your life, or you can learn from it and become stronger. Losing a loved one is something that everyone will go through, but not all come out as survivors in the end. It’s part of life, but a very difficult part. Think of your loss as a lesson to help you live the rest of your life.

How do …

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Letting grief make you stronger