For as long as I remember, studying medicine has always been the goal I focused on the most. For years, I thought that I knew the path I was taking, and that I calculated the benefits and drawbacks. However, with time, I learned that no matter how much one assesses his decisions, one cannot have a full grasp of it, until he/she “begins” to experience it.
I wasn’t aware how much …
When writing medical notes, some clinicians include an appreciation of their patient’s personality and disposition in their opening line (the “chief complaint”), or when they’re wrapping up (in the “assessment and plan”), or in both locations.
You know — it goes like this:
“CC: Ms. Smith is a very pleasant 62-year-old woman admitted with …”
or:
“A/P: To summarize, Mr. Jones is a delightful 89-year-old man presenting with …”
or:
“CC: This lovely 74-year-old retired school teacher was in her usual state of health …
It was the first time the young woman had come to the health center in a suburb just north of Chicago. When the 26 year old walked into the exam room back in 2008. There was no paper chart or electronic health record (EHR) accompanying her, no background information — nothing to indicate anything but a routine annual gynecological exam.
She and her husband were about to try to have their …
Let’s burn health insurance down. Greedy corporate bastards should burn. Big Pharma and big hospitals should probably burn too. You know who else is really, really, bad? Wall Street. Let’s burn the banks. And let’s burn Big Tech and the entire Silicon Valley cartel. Let’s also burn Big Agribusiness that’s making us fat and sick. And let’s burn the Oil companies that are destroying the planet, and let’s burn the …
“In a case that could have wide-reaching implications for medical practice in Minnesota, the Minnesota Supreme Court issued a ruling on April 17 in the case of Warren v. Dinter holding that the existence of a physician-patient relationship is not a prerequisite for a medical malpractice action. Rather, a person may sue a physician for malpractice – even if that person was not a patient of the physician – if the harm …
As physicians, we have embraced a calling where we help others. A commitment many of us fully relish. We are grateful for our patients and the families who put their trust in us as we diagnose and treat their sometimes incredibly complex illnesses. I have been genuinely inspired by the stories I have heard from patients and my colleagues on the work we do.
Yet, in spite of the incredible advancements …
I graduated from St. George’s University School of Medicine in Grenada and now work as an emergency medicine physician at a trauma center in Northern California. To some, that may seem like an extreme jump or a rare success story. The stigma of a Caribbean medical school education is built on rumors — and they’ve run their course. Let’s address some.
1. Students only go to Caribbean medical schools if they …
My local hospital has been petitioning the local city zoning board for permission to build an on-site parking garage for years now. The city zoning board is very strict about the height of buildings and has turned the requests down repeatedly.
This past fall, the hospital administration announced that it needed a capital partner to expand and stay solvent. Most of the members of the hospital medical staff have absolutely no …
Going through the process of diagnosis, treatment decision making, and often lengthy treatment without a partner can be challenging. While children, friends, and other family members are supportive, for the single individual, there is no one to talk to in the middle of the night when fear and doubt often surface. I often counsel people who have finished treatment for their …
One of the things I am most grateful for, as a doctor who has worked in at least a dozen different hospitals over the last decade, is the broad range of experiences I’ve had and the variety of physicians I’ve met and gotten to know. I enjoy hearing experienced physicians’ perspectives on how the practice of medicine has changed from what it used to be in the 1970s to 1990s.
I …
As resident physicians with a tight budget, one of the last things on our mind is paying for added insurance. Trust me; I get it. However, as a [future] high-income earners, long-term disability insurance is essential. It may not be at the top of our priority list, but it should be.
What is it and who needs it?
Unless you are already financially independent or were lucky enough to have a trust …
I can vividly remember the day the phone call came. My cousin screaming over the phone, trying to make out words but unable to speak, disbelief, horror, the fear in her voice palpable even though she was thousands of miles away. It was barely 5:30 a.m., I was frantically rushing out to beat traffic, hoping to get a head start on pre rounding since I was on call. Confused, I …
When I told my colleagues that I was going to try to create the first psychiatry review course at the University of Toronto, I received the same two responses: “It’s about time somebody did that!” and “What is wrong with you?” — sometimes from the same person!
The first reaction taps into the excellence of our department. With approximately 1,000 faculty with diverse expertise and the largest residency program in Canada, …
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The U.S. health care “system” is completely and utterly broken. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the U.S. system ranks 37th in the world, all while spending dramatically more on health care than other wealthy countries. Tens of millions remain without any health insurance coverage. For many, medical bills can mean economic ruin — some surveys show that up to Read more…
“I have the CPAP machine. I’ve had it for a year, but I don’t have electricity in my house. I stayed with my aunt who has electricity but things didn’t work out,” said the young Navajo man, his massive belly protruding out from underneath the tray table.
The old Navajo man with Parkinson’s disease, unable to walk fast enough to make it to the outhouse in time, had started taking anti-diarrheal …
Dear colleagues, I know you have seen these questions:
Do you currently have any physical or mental impairment that could limit your clinical practice?
Are you currently taking any medication?
Have you ever been hospitalized for any reason?
Have you ever been hospitalized for, or diagnosed with, a psychiatric disorder to include substance abuse?
Ugh! I hate, hate, HATE these questions! “It is none of their business,” or at least that is what I told …
Whenever I discuss matters of money and business with medical students and residents, I‘m surprised by the responses: “Zilch, nothing,” or “Are you kidding?” Sadly, our doctors-in-training still receive little to no education in this arena.
There’s a stigma surrounding physicians and money, based largely on fact, which has become a beacon for all sorts of disingenuous, exploitive people who view doctors as over-stuffed pinatas, belly-full of money, ready to be …
I sat across the table from my physician client and listened to her story. She asks, “How can it be that after four years of medical school and three years of residency training in my chosen field, I feel so disillusioned and disconnected?”
Instead of seeing the excitement of starting a new chapter in her career or even acknowledging some trepidation about becoming an attending with the increasing pressures of this …
Anyone can exhibit narcissism or narcissistic personality traits or types from time to time in different forms from mild to severe. When doctors are under stress, they can “act out,” or their behavior can worsen. Greater awareness of damaging behaviors is therefore important. The more we recognize the traits in ourselves and others, the less likely they become a problem. However, unfairly labeling or stereotyping doctors as narcissists is to …
During college and medical school, my summer employment acquainted me with members of organized crime families. Now, reflecting on my full career as a primary care clinician, geriatrician, and researcher on health care delivery improvement, I have discovered that several insights from organized crime could guide medical professionals’ responses to our country’s health care crisis.
Organized crime and the U.S. health care industry have more in common than might be immediately …
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