What independent and locum tenens doctors need to know about fair market value

Physician
May 11, 2025

If you are working as an independent or locum tenens physician, there’s a good chance you’ve found yourself wondering: Am I being paid fairly for my time and expertise? Unlike employed physicians, whose compensation is often shaped by established benchmarks and internal HR formulas, independent and locum tenens doctors are frequently left to navigate negotiations on their own—often with limited information.

Understanding what constitutes “fair market value” in this context is …

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Health care’s data problem: the real obstacle to AI success

Tech
May 11, 2025

As health care embraces digital transformation, one truth is clear: AI’s success depends on data quality. No matter how advanced the algorithms, poor clinical data limits their effectiveness.

AI in health care: Promise meets reality

The health care technology landscape is abuzz with large language models (LLMs) and conversational AI applications that show remarkable capabilities in synthesizing patient information and streamlining clinical workflows. Clinicians …

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What ChatGPT’s tone reveals about our cultural values

Tech
May 11, 2025

When Sam Altman recently said ChatGPT had become “too sycophantic,” the comment landed like a small UX confession—an admission that the model had gotten a little too flattering, a little too eager to please. Most coverage treated it as a byproduct of reinforcement learning. A bug to fix. A tone issue.

But that framing isn’t neutral.

Calling AI “too nice” is a values-based judgment. And it reflects something deeper than model …

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How collaboration saved my life from a rare disease doctors couldn’t diagnose

Conditions
May 11, 2025

So what exactly does collaborative health care mean? When we break this down into categories, there are three main approaches, each with a different benefit but ideally sharing the same end goal: to better improve patient outcomes. First, doctor to alternative practitioner. Secondly, patient to doctor. Lastly, patient to patient.

Years ago, I went through one of the biggest health battles of my life after being diagnosed with granulomatous mastitis (GM). …

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Mindful negotiation: practical strategies for physician self-advocacy [PODCAST]

Podcast
May 10, 2025
YouTube video

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Pediatrician and certified coach Jessie Mahoney discusses her article, “Why physicians find negotiating challenging—and what they can do to negotiate better.” She explores why negotiation often feels stressful for physicians, linking it …

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How one simple breakfast question can transform patient care

Physician
May 10, 2025

“What did you have for breakfast today?”

This phrase is a crucial part of my morning rounds.

While interacting with the patient, the greeting is very important. I believe doctors who approach the bedside without introducing themselves and who immediately ask about the patient’s active complaint tend to come across as less compassionate (whatever their actual intentions might be). This can hinder the development of the bond necessary for obtaining a complete …

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Why your emotions are your greatest compass in therapy and life

Conditions
May 10, 2025

In his book Ways of Attending, McGilchrist (2016) discusses a difference in attention—one that seeks organization and one that any attempt at organizing subverts. A bit like Schrödinger’s cat, just by looking, it is disturbed. In differing translations of Tranströmer’s poem Prelude from 17 Dikter (1954), about the moment upon wakening from a dream, he captures the infinite possibility that slides one fully awake into a new day, and which …

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Patients are not waiting: What MCDA twin parents teach us about shared decision-making

Conditions
May 10, 2025

Monochorionic diamniotic (MCDA) twin pregnancies come with more scans, more risk, and more decisions to make in very little time. Parents are expected to absorb complex medical information, navigate unfamiliar terminology, and act quickly, often under pressure. When care teams do not meet that need for clarity and support, parents do what any reasonable person would do.

They go looking for answers.

In 2024, we published a study in Midwifery that explored …

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How to change the world: Start by making your bed

Physician
May 10, 2025

Admiral William McRaven is a Navy SEAL and was the president of the University of Texas. In 2014, he gave a commencement speech that has been viewed over 10 million times. It is considered one of the greatest contemporary graduation speeches of all time.* Although the speech was directed at 8,000 graduates at the University of Texas, his message certainly applies to the health care profession.

So, here …

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Understanding therapy beyond crisis management [PODCAST]

Podcast
May 9, 2025
YouTube video

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Anesthesiologist and psychotherapist Maire Daugharty discusses her article, “Why real therapy isn’t just about crisis.” She challenges the common misconception that therapy is only necessary or effective during acute crises (“crisis-hopping”), explaining …

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Health workers deserve care too: How to protect their mental health

Conditions
May 9, 2025

Kim Downey:

A friend shared with me how she told someone their mutual physician was on medical leave. She heard it was serious. That person’s immediate response was concern over how it would affect their upcoming appointment. My friend said she thought of my advocacy work, initiating a conversation fostering empathy for the struggling physician.

I read a post by a surgeon, with fellow doctors commenting …

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A world without antidepressants: What could possibly go wrong?

Meds
May 9, 2025

Imagine waking up one morning to a bold headline screaming: “New Global Law: All Antidepressants Abolished!” Just like that, no more Prozac, no more Zoloft—no more of those little pills that have helped millions keep their balance while navigating life’s emotional tightrope. Pharmacy shelves are wiped clean overnight, and suddenly, one of the pillars of modern mental health care is gone.

Before you clutch your chest and start breathing into a …

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The truth about GLP-1 medications for weight loss: What every patient should know

Meds
May 9, 2025

For years, weight loss has been sold as a simple math problem: eat less, move more, and the pounds will melt away. But if that were true, we wouldn’t have an obesity epidemic affecting over 40 percent of adults in the U.S.

Now, a new class of medications—GLP-1 receptor agonists like semaglutide (Ozempic, Wegovy) and tirzepatide (Mounjaro, Zepbound)—are changing the game. People who have struggled with their weight for …

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A faster path to becoming a doctor is possible—here’s how

Education
May 9, 2025

Medical education is a long and arduous route and can take from twelve to sixteen years of education which includes three to four years of undergraduate degree, one to two gap years before medical school, four years of medical school and three to seven years of residency training.

To address this shortage, we have come up with solutions for creating three-year medical schools, starting tracks for physician assistants/associates and nurse practitioners. …

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Misconceptions about food allergy safety in the skies [PODCAST]

Podcast
May 8, 2025
YouTube video

Subscribe to The Podcast by KevinMD. Watch on YouTube. Catch up on old episodes!

Physical therapist and food allergy advocate Lianne Mandelbaum discusses her article, “Flying with food allergies: Combating misconceptions and advocating for safety.” Sharing harrowing personal experiences with dismissive airline staff that ignited her …

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From rejection to resilience: my journey through emergency medicine residency

Physician
May 8, 2025

When I first entered Aga Khan University Hospital as an emergency medicine (EM) resident, it felt like stepping into a whirlwind. The controlled chaos of the emergency department, the endless maze of technology, the pressure to make decisions in seconds—it all felt like too much. To make things harder, this opportunity came only after facing rejection last year—a moment that could have easily shaken my confidence. Some early on even …

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Conflicts of interest are eroding trust in U.S. health agencies

Policy
May 8, 2025

Why has faith in government health agencies never been lower? Because conflicts of interest (COIs) have never been higher.

At the FDA, concerns about drugmakers “buying” drug approvals go back to passage of the Prescription Drug User Fee Act (PDUFA) in 1992. Since then, the many doctors with research and speaker grants, drug stocks, and past employment with drugmakers heighten concerns. Worse, many major drug trials that claim to show …

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Why the words doctors use matter more than they think

Conditions
May 8, 2025

I recently attended a medical conference for the Huntington’s disease (HD) community. Hundreds of people were gathered to collaborate, share knowledge, and learn how to better address the needs of their patients. During the first session, I found it challenging to listen to the presentation and the conversations taking place around me. The detached manner in which people were speaking was troubling to me, so I stepped out for a …

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What my first Match Day as a program director taught me about hope

Physician
May 8, 2025

Today was my first Match Day as a program director and, while most of my emotions are unprocessed, I already have many thoughts.

I can’t forget the concurrent drop in my stomach, pause in my cardiac systole, and the involuntary intake of breath which occurred when the email arrived—2 minutes early!—from the NRMP. I stacked an extra gasp even before I exhaled the first while I fumbled to open the email. …

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