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The blueprint to be financially free from medicine

Physician Finance

February 7, 2018

I am so excited to write this post. It’s been a long time coming, but in fact, it’s come years sooner than I had even dared to hope. Now, I can finally say that I am truly financially free from medicine and I wholeheartedly believe that anyone can achieve this.

Setting the scene

First, a little background. My wife and I are both physicians, and we’re both about six years out of training. We’ve …

The story behind a cadaver: Fall down, get back up. Even after you’ve passed out

Rachel Matar, PA-C

Medical Education

February 7, 2018

I was taught anatomy and physiology by a pediatrician-turned-professor who found in academia an opportunity to meld his love of medicine with a propensity for the performing arts. His lectures were scripted and theatrical, and he gifted a generation of students with an awe and understanding of the human body that would serve as the foundation for hundreds of medical careers. Because he was a physician, ours was one of …

Change the experience: a Muslim medical student’s story

Manar Mohammad, MD

Medical Education

February 6, 2018

I watched the young woman across from me wrap the soft stretch of fabric around her face. She folded a part of it that hung close to her ears and loosened it slightly, put her fingers slowly under the fabric and experimented with how much room there was. Would a stethoscope earpiece fit through each side easily? She unwrapped it again. Repeated the same finger test.

She had chosen a light …

How hospitals can impact generic drug companies

Mark Kelley, MD

Medications

February 6, 2018

The costs of many generic drugs have skyrocketed. In some cases, the price of a single pill has increased over 500 percent.

But help may be on the way. Recently several large and respected non-profit hospital systems indicated that they will “fire a shot across the bow” of the generic drug business. That would be a game-changer.

Why has the price of generics skyrocketed?

Some large drug companies have purchased …

Stop letting delayed gratification steal your joy

Maseray S. Kamara, MD

Medical Education

February 6, 2018

I couldn’t wait to get into college. Next, I couldn’t wait to start medical school. But, last year, when I found myself eagerly counting down the months to graduation, I was disgusted with myself.

Why was I always waiting to arrive at a destination? Had I unknowingly signed up for a never-ending, achievement journey? Upon reflecting, I realized that by inaction, I had accepted this lifestyle. I had become content in …

A typical day in this physician’s household

Tara Vijayan, MD

Physician

February 6, 2018

There is peanut butter on the doorknob.

Coffee cup in one hand, I stumble after my 17 month-old who is chattering away Mogwai-style, and quickly wipe my other greasy hand on my pajama pants. I ensure that she is not about to ingest any number of the choking hazards my 4 year old has left splayed on our floor.

It is 6:45 am on a Saturday morning, and in about an hour I will rush off …

Financial independence means nothing if you don’t have your health

Live Free MD

Physician Finance

February 6, 2018

Money is great. It provides security, options, and freedom. If you work hard, practice relative deprivation, and save enough money to become financially independent, you will have reached a commendable milestone.

However, financial independence means nothing if you don’t have your health. It doesn’t matter that you have $5 million if you aren’t around to enjoy it, or if your health is so poor you can’t travel, start a business, teach a class …

As a doctor with cancer, I have opinions on opinions

J. Edward Les, MD

Physician

February 6, 2018

The modern news cycle’s obsession with all things Trump has moved light years beyond dispiriting with cacophonous reams of vitriol shoveled endlessly back and forth.

One could opt out, I suppose, and simply take an elongated holiday from all things media-related. But like moths drawn to a flame, we can’t seem to help ourselves, and your humble scribe is no exception.

And so, I took note last week of Andrew Coyne’s ruminations …

How racism affects this physician

Ameet Nagpal, MD

Physician

February 5, 2018

I was fortunate enough to be able to go to my friend’s wedding in Indianapolis in October. My three-year-old son called it “India with Apples.” This is a friend that I’ve known since I was in first grade, and my parents and his parents are good friends. We were at the Friday night celebration and enjoying ourselves and decided to walk back to our hotel. We made it to the …

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How racism affects this physician

What I learned from the ICU (other than medicine)

Michelle Ramirez, MD

Physician

February 5, 2018

This week I had some particularly emotionally tough cases at work, and it got me thinking about life in general and how, in spite of having a tough job, I have learned so much from it.

When I think of childhood diseases, there are the ones that are chronic, the ones that let you process that your baby is sick and has a potential life-threatening condition. You have weeks and months to …

What physicians what their patients to know: 13 more things

Joanne Jarrett, MD

Physician

February 5, 2018

After reading “13 things every doctor wants their patients to know,” here are 13 more things good doctors wish their patients knew.

1. We need the complete truth. I feel for patients who hesitate to reveal something embarrassing. But we hear so much. Very little shocks us. Also, we realize we haven’t walked a mile in your shoes. Or an inch. We take in the facts and get down to …

5 mistakes this doctor made when negotiating his contract

Mitchel Schwindt, MD

Physician

February 5, 2018

The final year of any residency is a time of accelerated independence, moonlighting, and an intense search for that first job as an attending. This decision is critical as one embarks on a life-long career in medicine, and it will undoubtedly blend a mix of analytics, emotion, and finance into the final analysis.

With a bit of candor, I want to share the mistakes I made when accepting my first contract …

What to do when a patient wants to leave the hospital against medical advice

Robert Donnell, MD

Physician

February 5, 2018

There’s an interesting article in the Journal of Hospital Medicine on what to do when a patient wants to leave the hospital against medical advice. After reading and rereading it, I had to disagree with the conclusion, but it took me a bit to get there because the article, with its confusing use of terms, is a masterpiece of obfuscation. The most obvious example is the oxymoronic use of the term “AMA …

Should physicians invest in municipal bonds?

Wall Street Physician, MD

Physician Finance

February 5, 2018

The primary benefit of municipal bonds compared with other bonds is that the interest earned is typically exempt from federal income taxes. In general, income from municipal bonds is also exempt from state income taxes if you live in the state where the bond is issued.

Calculating the equivalent return of municipal bonds

Municipal bonds will typically have lower returns than an equally risky corporate or government bond. However, the interest on corporate and …

A drug problem in rural Georgia

Ashish Advani, PharmD

Medications

February 4, 2018

Meet Johnathan, a 34-year-old male from rural Georgia we recently treated for back pain as a result of some extra contractor work he took on over the holidays. We see patients like him every 11 minutes, which doesn’t leave much time to get beyond Johnathan’s chief complaint. He leaves with his first prescription for opioids.

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Of the 91 Americans taken each day, Georgia now claims Read more…

A drug problem in rural Georgia

Think twice before tapering opioids in some patients

Casey Grover, MD and Lee Goldman, MD

Conditions and Diseases

February 4, 2018

Bill is a 58-year-old male with a history of head and neck cancer as well as chronic low back pain who presents to his new primary care doctor for a routine checkup and visit for a medication refill. He works in construction and has been on chronic opioid therapy after his cancer — with a stable dose of 15 mg of oxycodone for over five years.

At his new primary care …

Every medical student deserves to be educated in an anti-bias learning environment

Sarah M. Smith, MD

Medical Education

February 4, 2018

In recent years, medicine has begun to advance at a rate that is, at times, difficult to even comprehend. The world has now seen its first birth from a transplanted uterus, an artificial pancreas, mobile stroke units, therapeutic virtual reality, an embryo with three genetic parents and more. No doubt, medicine has come far. But as we enter 2018, we are still missing the mark on gender equity.

Before I started …

Should physicians pay off debts or invest? Here’s a detailed answer.

James M. Dahle, MD

Physician Finance

February 4, 2018

We’re going to address the most common question I see. Should you pay off debt or use your money to invest? Over and over again it is asked, always with slightly different details. 95% of the time, the answer is a simple “It depends.” So today, we’re going to talk about what it depends on. I’ve written about this topic before, but it has been six years. I …

Here’s how poetry saved my life in medical school

Tolu Kehinde, MD

Medical Education

February 3, 2018

I often tell people that medical school has been one of the most challenging periods of my life — emotionally more than academically, although my test scores might tell you that it hasn’t exactly been a walk in the park in that regard either. I came to medical school after a fantastic gap year in Boston where met and built a strong community of friends that turned into a family …

Concierge medicine sucks for specialists. Here’s why.

Anonymous

Physician

February 3, 2018

As a private practice specialist in an affluent metropolitan area, I am often inundated with requests for consultation by local residents and primary physicians. That’s fine — it’s what I do, and it’s what I enjoy doing. Hey, it pays the bills, and I won’t complain about that.

Concierge medicine has taken a foothold locally, and this means more referrals directly from doctors who insist we take care of their patients …