The troubling trend of violating resident physician rights

Physician
June 15, 2024

Resident physicians are vital to the health care system, delivering essential medical services while training to become fully licensed doctors. However, a troubling trend has emerged nationwide, with residency programs and hospitals frequently violating the rights and protections resident physicians are entitled to under employment contracts, state labor laws, and accreditation standards. I personally was forced to deal with these issues, despite having virtually zero knowledge regarding the legal side …

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A day in the life: the unseen struggles of an oncology resident

Physician
June 15, 2024

Yesterday, I couldn’t get up in time in the morning and had to rush to the hospital without breakfast. I was just afraid of getting noticed by anyone from my department that I was a little late. When I reached the outpatient department (OPD), I just got a text from my consultant that he was not feeling well, and I had to see all the patients in his absence. In …

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Catch peripheral artery disease early and prevent amputation [PODCAST]

Podcast
June 14, 2024
YouTube video

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Join us on the podcast as we delve into the hidden epidemic affecting Black and brown communities: peripheral artery disease (PAD). Our guest, Anahita Dua, a vascular surgeon, sheds light on the alarming …

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For treatment, please call Dr. Congressman

Policy
June 14, 2024

Recent regulatory changes create a national staffing level for nursing facilities. Despite the much-needed rule change and the well-known stench of understaffed nursing homes that many Americans dread going to, most of the news cycle has portrayed this as a negative development. This is but one example where our patients are being manipulated into beliefs and actions that are contrary to their best health care interests. Recently, the same lies …

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A lesson in generosity: How one woman helped a stranger afford insulin

Conditions
June 14, 2024

I waited in line at the pharmacy, a familiar chain store. The man in front of me waited patiently for the technician to ring up his meds. I overheard her say to him, “$125.00. That includes your insulin.”

The man bowed his head and smiled politely, showing many missing teeth. He was dressed modestly. I did not know his name. I did not know him. I had never met him before. …

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A story of liver cancer and diabetes [PODCAST]

Podcast
June 13, 2024
YouTube video

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Join us for a discussion on the critical intersection of diabetes and liver disease. Our guest, Sarah Bauer, a pediatrician, shares her personal journey and insights into the recent screening guidelines released by …

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Health care’s breaking point: patients and physicians abandoned

Conditions
June 13, 2024

I know you are wounded, as I am also injured.

It is as if we have been battered and bruised and kicked to the side of the road, left there alone to suffer. An ignored problem will soon be forgotten; at least, that is their contention.

We have screamed out our maladies and concerns to those in closed, cold rooms, those with mechanical minds that churn out debits and credits but cannot …

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Why charm and competence are essential for career survival

Physician
June 13, 2024

Charm and competence among providers should ideally be concordant, but they can sometimes be discordant, which should be evaluated and corrected if possible. This discordance isn’t limited to health care; it can also be observed in politics, during litigation, and within families. Charming politicians can sway followers, charming litigators can sway juries, and charming family members can influence their families. Whether or not their competence, or lack thereof, gets overlooked …

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Balancing expectations and reality in modern obstetrics

Physician
June 13, 2024

“I want everything to be natural.”

Well, we are in a building with electricity and high-speed internet, neither of which are gifts from Mother Earth.

Yes, that’s really how I responded to a patient. We laughed, but her comment allowed me to reflect. I interpret this statement to be the patient’s wish to minimize intervention or achieve a vaginal delivery. I understand this position. However, it may stem from the cultural mythology …

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How contemplative medicine revived a doctor’s passion [PODCAST]

Podcast
June 12, 2024
YouTube video

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Join Koshin Paley Ellison, a psychotherapist and author of Untangled: Walking the Eightfold Path to Clarity Courage and Compassion. Explore the transformative power of contemplative medicine as we delve into topics such as …

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13 reasons why women should not be doctors?

Physician
June 12, 2024

This article is satire.

In recent years, health care has made significant strides toward gender equality. But are these changes for the better? Let’s use facts to address the misconceptions and finally close the topic of women in medicine.

1. Female doctors make less money than men. As everyone knows, quality of care is directly proportional to revenue.

2. Female doctors cannot handle multiple patients. They are, after all, the undisputed queens of …

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Is your portal making you too available? Give your patients an option that works for everyone.

Physician
June 12, 2024

Recently, a physician wrote about how access to a patient portal has turned his primary care practice into a reluctant concierge medicine practice, with patients asking questions and expecting quick responses day or night. I could relate. Modern technology is bringing a host of new, unexpected challenges to today’s physicians.

Patient portals may provide a level of ease and efficiency, but, as the physician rightly pointed out, they also create confusion, …

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Ensure your physicians always have crisis support: 5-step awareness program

Physician
June 12, 2024

Physician leaders: Are you committed to doing everything you possibly can to prevent physician suicide?

This CHAP is how you answer that question.

This document contains two steps that will ensure you do everything possible to be there for your people when they need you the most.

  1. A simple audit that will show you how badly you fail to support your struggling doctors. It will take you less than 15 minutes to …

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How one patient’s death transformed my approach to mental health care

Conditions
June 12, 2024

Prior to working as a nurse practitioner, I worked as a psychiatric registered nurse in an inpatient behavioral health setting, caring for individuals with severe mental illness (SMI). Individuals with SMI die ten to twenty years earlier than the general population due to comorbid medical conditions. I had been aware of this statistic for some time but only understood the devastation after I had an encounter with a patient in …

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The unseen impact of Miami’s homeless crackdown

Policy
June 12, 2024

17th Street – nestled between Jackson Memorial, a major U.S. safety net hospital, and Camillus House, the largest homeless shelter in South Florida – is empty. There are no bicycles or tents belonging to the individuals who typically inhabit the area. There is no line outside of the Three Sisters where people usually wait for a meal. The street is quiet and desolate.

We visit 17th Street every Saturday morning with …

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Mistakes make us better doctors [PODCAST]

Podcast
June 11, 2024
YouTube video

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Join us for an insightful exploration of the complexities of managing mistakes in health care with our guest, Josh Schwarzbaum, an emergency physician. Together, we’ll discuss the importance of embracing errors as opportunities …

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Why the U.S. must urgently address maternal health disparities for Black women

Policy
June 11, 2024

It is no secret that the U.S. lags greatly behind other developed nations in maternal health outcomes. When we hear the stories of women like Shalon Irving, who died three weeks after giving birth and whose pleas for help prior to her death were all but ignored, or the story of Kira Johnson, who was left hemorrhaging for ten hours in the hospital after what was supposed to be a …

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CRISPR and eEVs in the fight against chronic diseases

Conditions
June 11, 2024

In one of my favorite movies, Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, the original crew of the Enterprise has traveled through time, back to the, to them ancient, city of San Francisco circa the 1980s. It’s all about Earth whales and alien cetaceans being none too pleased that we killed them all … And Klingons, of course. There must be Klingons. But what stuck in my young mind at the …

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Why health care organizations must be accountable to local communities

Policy
June 11, 2024

In the not-too-distant past, health care was a local industry. If you saw a doctor, they were likely a solo practitioner. If you went to the hospital, it was probably run by a local religious order or non-profit. Health care leaders and board members shopped at the same stores as their patients did, socialized in the same community groups, and sent their children to the same schools. Today, though, health …

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