I’m sorry about what happened to your son under anesthesia

Physician
September 13, 2018

It was a sunny morning in July, and I was scheduled at the outpatient center with the oral and maxillofacial surgeons for teeth extractions. One of my patients was your son, an athletic teenager, whose only medical history was asthma. According to you and him, he had not experienced any recent asthma attacks and had never been hospitalized or intubated. In terms of breathing, he said he felt “perfectly fine” …

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I’m sorry about what happened to your son under anesthesia

5 simple steps to amplify a physician’s professional visibility

Social media
September 11, 2018

It’s been said that 80 percent of success is showing up, but that’s simply not true. Showing up is not enough.  Showing up reliably and giving your best is not enough. You’ve got to be seen showing up. So, how do you raise your professional visibility?  Here are five tips for the modern physician leader.  If you are a traditionalist, please keep an open mind.  The strategies below aren’t that …

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5 simple steps to amplify a physician’s professional visibility

Moving beyond National Women Physicians Day

Physician
September 11, 2018

The supervising resident’s Voalte phone dinged: “Dr. Mel: Please meet Dr. Rosemond at room 514 for Cardiology rounds.”

She scrolled up a few texts and saw that her male counterpart who had rounded the previous day had been addressed as “Dr. Stearnes.”

When Mel mentioned the discrepancy to Jacob Stearnes, he just shrugged and said, “The cardiology nurse probably doesn’t even know my first name.”

When Mel mentioned the discrepancy to her husband, …

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Moving beyond National Women Physicians Day

Why “happy” doctors commit suicide

Physician
September 10, 2018

He was the go-to sports guy in Washington, DC. A masterful surgeon with countless academic publications, he trained orthopaedic surgeons across the world and was the top physician for professional sports teams and Olympians.

Dr. Benjamin Shaffer had it all.

Yet Ben was more than a stellar surgeon. He was a kind, sweet, brilliant, and sensitive soul who could relate to anyone—from inner-city children …

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Why “happy” doctors commit suicide

The foundation of medicine is love

Physician
September 10, 2018

What do you think of when you hear the word medicine?

Perhaps it includes doctors, nurses, pills, prescriptions, operations, surgery, wounds, illness and disease, curing and healing, science, study, university?

But whatever your picture of medicine — does it include love?

I’m not a betting person, but I reckon for most who work within the profession that love is not top of the list, or even near the top. In fact, it probably …

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The foundation of medicine is love

6 things wrong with hospital medicine

Physician
September 10, 2018

In 2002, when I began my first hospitalist job, I was a dyed-in-the-wool hospital medicine convert, convinced that the transfer of inpatient care to true specialists in hospital medicine (hospitalists) would dramatically improve the quality and efficiency of inpatient care, increase patient satisfaction and decrease costs.

By 2008, I had developed serious doubts, which prompted me to publish an editorial in the Journal of Hospital Medicine, entitled “The Expanding or Shrinking …

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6 things wrong with hospital medicine

A physician’s return to the ivory tower

Physician
September 9, 2018

I started internship July 1, 2008, as a terrified 25-year-old blank slate. Most days started with a combination of nausea and dread as I pumped myself up in the resident parking lot — conveniently located a mere 1/2 mile from the entrance to the ivory tower I called home.

The days were long. The nights were longer. Every month I had the chance to be a brand new idiot as a …

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A physician’s return to the ivory tower

The one patient that drives physicians to burnout

Tech
September 9, 2018

We all have that one patient. That one patient who can always find a way to turn a good day bad, who just knows how to push your buttons in all the wrong ways.

Who’s that patient for me? Let’s just call him Elton Reed.

Oh, Mr. Reed … where to begin with him?

When we first met, I remember being so excited and energized by him. He just had this fresh feeling …

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The one patient that drives physicians to burnout

An immigrant physician’s journey

Physician
September 9, 2018

My name is Dr. Uchenna Umeh, and I am an immigrant (physician).

As far back as I can remember, I’ve always wanted to be an architect. My journey to becoming a physician started somewhat as a dare. I was born in Nigeria, the first child of six children from middle-class parents. My father served in the Nigerian air force; my mother was a banker.

Towards the end of my secondary education (I …

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An immigrant physician’s journey

The paths to homelessness are more complicated than we think

Policy
September 8, 2018

To me, my white coat symbolizes a willingness to care for my fellow man, and every day I strive to fulfill that challenge. But even the brightest white coat has a few stains. Growing up in a small Midwestern town, I just didn’t “get” the homeless community. They were completely isolated from my day to day life. Surrounded by my local community, I just assumed that the homeless were either …

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The paths to homelessness are more complicated than we think

I want to learn how to love medicine

Physician
September 7, 2018

“Tell me something you love.”

I love warm chocolate chip cookies — straight out of the oven.

“Thank you. Tell me something you love.”

I love to read, to write, to dance. I don’t know yet if I love medicine.

We were gathered in a ballroom, a group of doctors and dancers, to explore the art of medicine through movement. I sat cross-legged, looking into the eyes of a person I did not know, …

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I want to learn how to love medicine

The problem with extreme social media challenges

Conditions
September 6, 2018

Trends or challenges have been a part of the fabric of social media for a long time. They have ranged from the benign ice bucket challenge (which raised millions for research on amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) to the highly dangerous Tide pod challenge (which involved eating laundry detergent capsules). All of these internet phenomena involved videotaping an individual who performed a bizarre physical action for the …

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The problem with extreme social media challenges

The unintended consequences of free medical school

Education
September 5, 2018

I’m probably in the minority on this, but I’m not a fan of the NYU School of Medicine free tuition program. Now I’m all for debt relief for medical students who start their careers with a mortgage. I was one of them. After 13 years, I’m still one of them! I’m also for any initiative that drives more medical students to career paths like primary care, where massive debt makes …

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The unintended consequences of free medical school

The effect of private equity in medicine

Physician
September 4, 2018

The landscape of health care has changed nearly beyond recognition in the past decade. If you’re a veteran of the profession, you’ve seen the other side of things — you once had the chance to live the dream, to swim in the pool of autonomy and self-employment, to call the shots and act on behalf of the patient without the constant supervision of bureaucracy. If you are new to the …

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The effect of private equity in medicine

These are the stories of how physicians are bullied

Physician
September 3, 2018

Nobody punched me in the face.  Maybe I would have preferred being punched in the face, though.  And yes,  I was bullied.  I’m not going to talk about my own experience in this post however, because I already have post-traumatic stress disorder from the experience.  I’m not ready to revisit it in detail yet.

I don’t need to talk about myself to tell you about bullying in the medical arena.  I …

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These are the stories of how physicians are bullied

We’re doctors, but we’re humans too

Physician
September 2, 2018

We are human, we are not indestructible. We have feelings and emotions that can get hurt, probably more than the average person based on the careers we have chosen. Yes, we will pass up on our well-being (such as sleep, hygiene, exercise, relationships with family and friends) to be there for our patients. To receive our critical training to be able to care for others. This is our sacrifice, and …

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We’re doctors, but we’re humans too

4 reasons why physicians will become extinct

Policy
September 1, 2018

Will physicians go extinct? Artificial intelligence, legislation, profit motives in the health care industry, and clever lobbying by non-physician providers may all contribute to our demise. However, I believe the existential threat to our profession stems from the ranks of physicians themselves.

1. Unwillingness to embrace activism

Pathologist and writer Rudolph Virchow once said: “The physician is the natural attorney of the poor.” Like most physicians, my goal is to provide evidence-based …

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4 reasons why physicians will become extinct

MKSAP: 49-year-old woman with obesity, hypertension, and type 2 diabetes mellitus

Conditions
September 1, 2018

Test your medicine knowledge with the MKSAP challenge, in partnership with the American College of Physicians.

A 49-year-old woman is evaluated during a follow-up visit. She is overweight and has hypertension and type 2 diabetes mellitus, both of which are well controlled. For several years, she has attempted to lose weight through various commercial diets; dietician-monitored, calorie-restricted diets; and physical activity. She has worked with a behavioral therapist, and …

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MKSAP: 49-year-old woman with obesity, hypertension, and type 2 diabetes mellitus

10 ways to make residency less stressful

Physician
August 31, 2018

The upgraded responsibility and authority given to starting residents is both a blessing and a curse. Suddenly, the need for co-signatures vanishes. There is greater autonomy in clinical practice. Residents get paid. However, residency can also be a time of significant stress. Residents are forced to navigate the demands of preceptors, other residents, medical students, nurses, patients, family members, and administrators. Residents have very little control over what they do, …

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10 ways to make residency less stressful

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