Conditions

Psychological safety for all: Why this phenomenon matters to everyone

Ashten Duncan, MD, MPH and Isabel Diaz Morfin, MD

Conditions

October 4, 2024

We saw the smile vanish from her face instantly. Our colleague, a zestful individual with a passion for obstetrical care, fell silent after our superiors met her ideas for improving her training experience with defensiveness and deflection. After the meeting, she confessed she was losing hope about getting robust enough exposure to delivering babies and managing laboring mothers prior to completing residency. For her, this was essential to her securing …

The shocking fall of a respected ICU nurse

Debbie Moore-Black, RN

Conditions

October 1, 2024

In the ICU, there was an experienced nurse. She was full of information and knew the policies and procedures inside and out. She was proficient in her role as an ICU nurse.

But she was flawed. Something was wrong.

Each day, she came to work wearing a gold bracelet, which she made sure everyone knew was valued at $15,000. She wore two-carat diamond rings. She would arrive, showing off her fancy pocketbook …

What you need to know about near-death experiences

John C. Hagan III, MD

Conditions

September 30, 2024

Imagine a medical syndrome so common that as many as one in five patients who nearly die in a medical setting experience it. Also, imagine that this syndrome has a profound, lifelong effect on both the patient and their family. Finally, imagine that if this syndrome is mishandled by the patient’s physician, it may have major adverse consequences for the patient and their loved ones.

Sounds like something all physicians and …

Postpartum crisis: a physician’s call for comprehensive maternal support

Phindile Chowa, MD

Conditions

September 29, 2024

The moment my daughter was placed on my chest, I knew something was wrong. Her skin had a blue-purple tinge, and she barely cried. I instinctively began rubbing her tiny body, trying to stimulate her, but she remained quiet and minimally responsive. When I tried to put her on my chest to nurse, she did nothing. My doctor quietly left the room, and soon after, a team of medical professionals …

Solving the health care dilemma: Why older adults are skipping vital care

Michael Pessman

Conditions

September 28, 2024

As a gerontologist, it is disheartening to engage with older adults who express disinterest in routine medical check-ups. Many of these individuals outright refuse to follow doctors’ orders or take prescribed medications. This troubling trend is not only a growing problem in America but also a critical issue that warrants our collective attention and action.

The advancements in modern medicine have significantly prolonged life spans and improved the quality of life …

A new approach to antidepressants and anxiolytics: the microbiota-gut-brain axis

Sumeet Dhillon and Jennifer Cesolini

Conditions

September 26, 2024

Our understanding of anxiety and depression has evolved over the years, leading to advancements in diagnosis, treatment, and clinical management. However, their prevalence has not lessened; in fact, it has heightened in recent years due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Its effects will last for years to come, so all mechanisms that can influence its incidence should be thoroughly considered, and the gut microbiota is the newest emerging target for antidepressant …

How biomarkers are advancing dementia detection and care

Amy E. Sanders, MD

Conditions

September 26, 2024

For decades, physicians have relied on diverse biological indicators to diagnose and monitor normal development, health, and diseases. Such indicators are important from the time we are born, when APGAR scores are recorded in the labor and delivery room, throughout our childhoods, when pediatricians monitor growth curves closely, and into adulthood, when our height, weight, and vital signs initiate virtually every medical appointment. For adults, these indicators, collectively known as …

Gus Walz and the male loneliness crisis

Chloe N. L. Lee, MD, MPH

Conditions

September 25, 2024

As Tim Walz accepted the vice presidential nomination at the DNC, his teenage son, Gus, inadvertently became internet famous after clips of him crying and exclaiming, “That’s my dad!” circulated. While many across the political spectrum found the display of emotion endearing, inevitable ugliness ensued.

Ann Coulter commented in a since-deleted post on X: “Talk about weird.” Podcaster Mike Crispi mocked “Walz’s stupid crying son” as a “puffy …

Read more…

Gus Walz and the male loneliness crisis

Why we’re never prepared for death—even after years of medical training

Shayla A. Sullivant, MD

Conditions

September 25, 2024

I remember the first time I pronounced a patient dead—that’s something they make sure you learn well in medical training, as nobody wants to get it wrong. They taught us how to apply pressure to the fingernail to ensure the patient does not respond to pain while holding the patient’s hand, watching for breaths, and feeling for a pulse. They taught us to take our time to ensure we got …

The hidden flaws of traditional CPR: Why we need a new approach to save lives

Jon Marinaro, MD

Conditions

September 23, 2024

Since its inception in the 1960s, traditional CPR has been heralded as a revolutionary life-saving technique. However, the limitations of CPR are becoming increasingly apparent, particularly in cases of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA). Currently, the survival rate for OHCA patients with good neurological function at discharge stands at a mere 7.5 percent. This raises important questions about the efficacy …

Is social media fueling the teen suicide crisis?

James Barrat

Conditions

September 23, 2024

An excerpt from Facing Suicide: Understanding Why People Kill Themselves and How We Can Stop Them.

Between 2000 and 2007, suicide rates were almost stagnant for young people between the ages of ten and twenty-four. Then they began moving steadily upward. By 2018, suicides in this age group had increased 57.4 percent from 2007 levels. An economic crisis darkened that period, and according to online posts, some seventeen- and eighteen-year-olds …

A surgeon’s battle with ketamine-induced hallucinations

Arthur Williams, MD

Conditions

September 21, 2024

An excerpt from Krooked Ketamine.

OK, here’s the thing: I had a little problem that needed correcting if I wanted to continue to work as a government surgeon. I had a janky heart, and it had a tendency to fire off at the absolute worst possible moments. I needed a pacemaker to help with the recalcitrant muscular metronome, but I absolutely hated the thought of lying down and feeling, at …

Anorexia nervosa: Silently suffering and debunking myths

Jillian Rigert, MD, DMD

Conditions

September 21, 2024

You can’t tell how much someone is suffering by looking at them—one reason I don’t share my journey with anorexia using photos to signify my mental health status. I’ve suffered more when appearing well, and “before and after photos” would spread misconceptions about eating disorders. They don’t magically go away with weight restoration and nourishment.

People assume I no longer live with anorexia. I perceive this is partially due to the …

Ways to overcome the grief of disillusionment about medicine

Rebecca Arnold, JD

Conditions

September 20, 2024

As a physician who cares about patients’ health and well-being, you have likely experienced the grief of disillusionment. You spent years in college, medical school, and residency, imagining the kind of health care you’d provide. It would be high-quality, patient-first, equity-oriented, and heart-centered. That vision got you through tough moments along the path.

Now, you find yourself pressured to spend as little time with patients as possible. You’re giving precious hours …

The legal trap every doctor needs to know before signing a contract

Dennis Hursh, Esq

Conditions

September 20, 2024

Are hospitals crazy?

I suspect many physicians would answer “yes” to that question without much contemplation. I have always assumed that, although hospitals are profit-driven and therefore likely to have very different priorities than physicians who care about patients, the institutions can be relied upon to have some semblance of reasonableness.

Lately, however, I have been forced to reconsider my position. For decades, I have represented physicians in their various interactions with …

The role of epigenetics in fertility: Can lifestyle choices affect future generations?

Oluyemisi Famuyiwa, MD

Conditions

September 19, 2024

Epigenetics has revolutionized our understanding of how lifestyle factors—such as diet, stress, exercise, and environmental exposures—affect fertility. Unlike genetic mutations, which change the DNA sequence, epigenetic changes modify how genes are expressed without altering the DNA itself. These changes occur through mechanisms such as DNA methylation and histone modifications, and they play a critical role in fertility. Even more intriguing, these epigenetic changes can be passed down to future generations …

The erosion of autonomy in sports and medicine

Arthur Lazarus, MD, MBA

Conditions

September 19, 2024

The fourth major concussion recently suffered by Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa – his third in 24 months – brings into sharp focus the balance between patient/player autonomy and treatment decisions. The right to self-determination, even in sports, has become as much a moral as a medical issue. If Tagovailoa is not able to pass concussion protocols for a third time in his NFL career, he could be forced to …

How I overcame the challenges of ADHD parenting: a physician’s story [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Conditions

September 18, 2024

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

We sit down with family physician Emma Hostetter, who shares her deeply personal journey navigating the challenges of parenting a neurodivergent child with ADHD. Emma opens up about the emotional toll, the gaps …

How a friend’s kindness saved me from my darkest hour

Ronald F. Levant, EdD

Conditions

September 17, 2024

An excerpt from The Problem with Men.

Gary could tell something was wrong the moment he saw me. “Come in, friend,” he said, his voice gentle. He guided me into the kitchen, a cozy, older space similar to the one in my apartment across the street, but his was painted a cheerful light yellow. After rummaging through a cabinet, he returned with a joint and lit it without hesitation.

“Here,” he …

A future male OB/GYN’s commitment to patient comfort

Daniel Chen

Conditions

September 16, 2024

The modern IUD has been an option for women for 60 years now.

CDC just updated its 2016 guideline that advises physicians to discuss pain management options. This comes after continued viral TikTok patient stories about IUD insertion pain have garnered increasing attention from the medical community.

For perspective: According to OB/GYN’s Kristyn Brandi and Aliye Runyan, MD, their patients describe the insertion procedure as sometimes feeling like …

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