An excerpt from Story Treasures: Medical Essays and Insights in the Narrative Tradition.
The Gish gallop – named after American creationist Duane Gish, who challenged the science of evolution – is a rhetorical technique often used by a debater to throw out a fast string of lies, non-sequiturs, and specious arguments, so many that it is impossible to fact-check or rebut them in the amount of time it took to …
Can you remain steady in the midst of chaos—whether in the emergency room, on the unit, or in the clinic? There are times in medicine when chaos ensues. Maybe it’s a trauma rushing into the ER. Or a refractory asthmatic coming into the office who rapidly deteriorates, requiring immediate intervention. Maybe it’s a newborn who is floppy and cyanotic after birth.
Regardless of the clinical setting, there are times when the …
There are 85,000 medical malpractice lawsuits filed annually. Among them, 52,190 are summarily dropped for reasons unknown; 26,860 are settled; 1,190 result in plaintiff verdicts, and 4,760 in defense verdicts. Only 33.3% of these lawsuits are likely to have merit, while 66.7% do not. To make matters worse, only one out of every 37.5 claims reviewed by attorneys is represented, meaning that 3,102,500 other claims are abandoned for reasons known …
Kim Downey:
Fostering meaningful connections and building a supportive community has become my mission as I work to stand up for and alongside doctors. I recently connected Dr. Wael Saasouh with Lisa Scardina. During our thought-provoking conversation, Wael said, from his perspective of wearing many hats in business, leadership, clinical, and research, “Once we can collaborate on multiple levels, a solution becomes a lot more attainable!” Lisa and I wholeheartedly agreed. …
In an increasingly complex world, where technology, science, and medicine are rapidly evolving, health care literacy is no longer a luxury but a necessity. The ability to understand and use health information effectively can mean the difference between life and death. However, it is important to distinguish between being health literate and health care literate. While both are critical, they serve different purposes in ensuring successful health outcomes.
Health literacy refers …
“Please grab a chair and sit,” I told my resident, who was preparing to discuss a procedure with a patient. She smiled. Her confusion was evident in the gentle lift of her upper lip, showing just the tip of her incisors. A touch of surprise was also flitting across her forehead and eyebrows. As surgeons, we are conditioned to be efficient and laser-focused bullet-point communicators with patients and other medical …
In the state of New York (you already know it’s going to be bad), a doctor and a pharmacist were arrested in a sting operation conducted by a joint task force of the DEA, FBI, IRS, and probably CIA and CBS, though I have no proof of the latter two. The doctor, Mordechai Bar, and the pharmacist, Feroze Nazirbage, have been accused of “violating their oaths,” something you almost never …
Can you imagine if you were shopping online and placing an order took eight hours? What if your order took 26 days to arrive? Sadly, this is the current state of many Americans’ struggles to schedule their doctors’ appointments. We, as physicians, can do better.
Americans are spending an average of eight hours a month managing their health care and are waiting 26 days to see a new doctor in many …
As long as you live, you will never hear an article from news media contending that “America Runs On Duncan.” Why? Because the line is a marketing allegation created by the advertising company and designed to sell product.
Yet news media repeat medical claims from drug makers found in journals like they are news––which gives Pharma companies free advertising and can mislead consumers and patients.
The most recent example is the “news” …
Fred was the cool guy.
Back in the 1950s and 60s, smoking cigarettes was considered movie star quality. That circling of smoke in his parked car with the girl of his dreams.
He started smoking at the tender age of 15.
Fred had it figured out. Cigarettes were glamorous. Cigarettes were cool.
Doctors advertised that smoking was good for you. It helped you keep weight off, and it relieved your anxiety.
In 1965, the Surgeon …
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In this episode, neurosurgeon Leon Moores delves into his book, All Physicians Lead: Redefining Physician Leadership for Better Patient Outcomes. He challenges the traditional view of physician leadership as limited to formal titles, …
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In the sweltering heat of 19th-century colonial Delhi, legend has it that cobras were taking over the streets. To eliminate the dangerous snakes, British officials offered a bounty for every dead cobra brought to government offices. Soon, locals began breeding and killing cobras for profit. When British officers caught wind of the scheme, they ended the program immediately. In response, the breeders released their now-worthless snakes back into the streets, …
With more than 15 years of experience as a board-certified behavior analyst (BCBA) and clinician working with children and teens with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and their parents, I have seen first-hand how parent involvement is the key to success in intervention programs. To make an impact on these children’s lives, we need to go beyond simply applied behavior analysis (ABA) therapy sessions. This is where parents come in, reinforcing, …
In today’s financial landscape, it is imperative for women in medicine to take charge of investing their own money. Physicians face a myriad of disadvantages when it comes to wealth building. The average medical student will be saddled with an average of $200,000 in student loan debt. The nature of prolonged medical training puts physicians at another disadvantage, with a high debt-to-income ratio until their mid-to-late 30s, causing them to …
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Subscribe to The Podcast by KevinMD. Watch on YouTube. Catch up on old episodes!
In this episode, Shirin Towfigh, a surgeon and hernia specialist, delves into the often-overlooked issue of hernias, particularly in women. The discussion highlights the challenges patients face when dealing with chronic pelvic pain …
Hospital readmissions continue to be frequent despite their negative impact on health outcomes and financial strain on the health care system overall. On average, 14.56 percent of patients across the nation who have been discharged from a hospital, whether to a post-acute care facility or a home, will be readmitted for unforeseen circumstances. Readmissions can be triggered for various reasons and may be inevitable, yet some could be easily …
In the mid-1960s, the Grateful Dead were the house band for Ken Kesey’s Acid Tests, parties in which people were “tripping out” on LSD, parties that helped bring psychedelics into the counterculture. Psychedelic drugs have been the focus of extensive clinical research since then, and their potential therapeutic benefits have seen renewed interest in recent years. It’s been a long, strange trip for certain because, despite extensive research, there are …
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Watching the 2024 Paris Olympics reminded me of my intense love for sports. It is the nobility, beauty, strength, agility, and fairness that attract me and the audience. Performances by Simone Biles, with her majesty and strength, to Katie Ledecky’s’ power and domination, surrounded by Olympic and world record performances, often bring me to tears. These attributes have abounded in Paris, but unfortunately, something foul is also afoot.
Sexual and gender …
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