Conditions

Geriatric foot care 101: How shoes can help reduce the risk of falls

Conditions

February 7, 2023

If you did not know all that I know about feet, you would think geriatricians (doctors for patients 65+ years old) have a foot fetish. We are obsessed with feet, but in a good way. You see, feet play a big role in balance and preventing falls. We really care about our elder patients’ health, which is why we care about what our patients wear. Falls kill, and if one …

Say “no” to APNO and say “yes” to breastfeeding medicine

Cindy Rubin, MD

Conditions

February 7, 2023

It is common to get some nipple discomfort at the start of breastfeeding. Babies and moms are learning how to do this new skill, and sometimes they just don’t get it right, and nipple damage can occur. If caught and adjusted early, this can clear up quickly, but in the meantime, women can have cracks, bleeding, and extreme sensitivity to their nipples.

All-purpose nipple ointment – otherwise known as APNO – …

The rise of at-home STI testing: a solution to America’s growing problem or a risky gamble?

Nikki Kasal

Conditions

February 4, 2023

In 2021, I spent the year before starting medical school calling and counseling the patients of a busy urban emergency department on the results of their sexually transmitted infection (STI) tests.

“What exactly is gonorrhea?” some would ask. “Is there a cure?”

“No one ever taught me about this,” one older gentleman lamented when we discussed using condoms to prevent the transmission of infection.

Stories like his reflect our society’s hesitancy to discuss …

An angel in the woods: a tragic story and the gift of life

Debbie Moore-Black, RN

Conditions

February 3, 2023

We lived in the woods. Five acres of trees. You could barely see the sky. We left the big city for this piece of heaven. And by chance, we met a couple that had a 5-year-old daughter. Our son was four years old. They became best friends. They’d swing on the swing set, play in the sandbox, and splash each other in our little pool.

Kayla was this sweet, tiny girl. …

Postpartum depression or psychosis: Understanding the reality behind Lindsay Clancy’s story

Courtney Markham-Abedi, MD

Conditions

February 2, 2023

The recent case of Lindsay Clancy has weighed heavily on my heart over the past several days. According to her husband, she was a young mother who was suffering from postpartum depression or psychosis and receiving treatment in an intensive outpatient program. She allegedly took her children’s lives and tried to end her own life.

The DSM 5-TR nomenclature for this condition is peripartum onset, referring to mood onset during pregnancy …

Cream Puff Days: Coping with grief and finding comfort

Nancie Wiseman Attwater

Conditions

February 1, 2023

I wrote an article on letting grief make you stronger and talked about a trip to the grocery store where I was not as strong as I hoped. I walked by the Cream Puffs and broke into tears. My husband passed away almost four months ago, and he always used to ask me to get cream puffs when I went to the store. I didn’t even think about it until …

The dark side of cannabis: increased risk of psychosis

Ken Finn, MD

Conditions

January 31, 2023

Psychosis is a broad term that describes a change in the perception of reality. It can be caused by various conditions, including metabolic, psychiatric, neurologic, genetic, and other medical conditions, as well as licit and illicit substances, particularly cannabis. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5) states that abnormalities define these disorders in one or more of the following five domains: delusions, hallucinations, disorganized thinking (speech), …

Why skipping your colonoscopy could be a deadly mistake

David Neiblum, MD

Conditions

January 31, 2023

I have to respond to and correct the recent article and podcast about a doctor having his first colonoscopy in his late 60s without anesthesia. There were multiple factual errors and misstatements by the doctor author, which may well dissuade doctors and laypeople from colonoscopies in the future.

First, he notes the reason he’s thus far not had a colonoscopy: he has no family history, and he’s athletic and overall …

Infertility: Navigating the challenges of IVF and the importance of self-advocacy

Lei Chu, MD

Conditions

January 30, 2023

I have undergone numerous IVF cycles. It is a heart-wrenching experience. Infertility is a pain that is difficult to describe unless personally experienced. I have never truly known heartbreak until the failure of IVF embryo transfers. Three preimplantation genetically tested normal embryos failed to implant, and knowing my three perfect embabies (embryos that were transferred but not implanted) will not be in my arms still hurt my heart. It took …

The isolation of the COVID ICU: the need for patient advocates

Sara L. Merwin, MPH

Conditions

January 30, 2023

The COVID ICU is abuzz with monitors beeping and doctors and nurses rushing from bed to bed to care for critically ill patients, most on ventilators. The machines – dialysis, vents, pumps – sound off their rhythmic repetitions; breaths are pushed in and pulled out, and meds are dripped. Only the patients themselves are silent. We know this, and we hear this, but we are not there. It’s thhe height …

Challenging conventional wisdom: How to reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s disease

Arnold R. Eiser, MD

Conditions

January 29, 2023

Alzheimer’s disease is a devastating illness without effective treatment. Yet it may, in fact, be largely preventable. The first shocking fact to absorb is that the pathogenesis is largely extracranial, though assuredly not entirely so. That clearly defies the conventional pharmacologic wisdom, which has obsessed with amyloid-beta as the offending agent and has approached it by crafting and evaluating antibodies against it. The FDA has even bought into that theory …

Teen substance use rebounds after pandemic

Richard Capriola, MBA

Conditions

January 28, 2023

Among high school seniors using marijuana, the pandemic forced the largest one-year decline in use over the past 48 years. Marijuana use fell from 35.2 percent in 2020 to 30.5 percent during 2021. In 2022, it remained pretty much unchanged at 30.7 percent.

Alcohol drinking among high school seniors fell from 55.3 percent of seniors in 2020 to 46.5 percent during the pandemic year. However, in 2022, alcohol use among seniors …

Women should be allowed to exercise autonomy with regard to their bodies and their medical care

Caroline Berberian

Conditions

January 27, 2023

When I walked into the ultrasound room, I immediately noticed the patient’s red-rimmed eyes and cloud of mussed-up brown hair. My eyes tracked the defeated curve of her back and its stark contrast to the sterile environment of the obstetrics and gynecology exam room, with its muted grey and blue tones. A forty-year-old woman, she had used in-vitro fertilization to become pregnant because she wanted her toddler son to have …

ICU nurse of 33 years speaks out on the harsh reality of corporate hospitals

Debbie Moore-Black, RN

Conditions

January 26, 2023

I wasn’t supposed to hear this, but I did. It sealed the deal for me. It was one of the reasons I had to finally leave my true love: ICU nursing. After 33 years as an ICU nurse, I knew it was time to go.

I used to feel like I had a purpose. I used to think I was a dynamic part of saving lives in the ICU. I lived …

The hidden link between soft skills and patient safety

Beth Boynton, RN, MS, CP

Conditions

January 25, 2023

The skill

Patient safety, patient experience, workforce health, and cost-effectiveness are critical outcomes with an important common root. They’re all impacted by our ability to communicate effectively and respectfully. Additional terms to describe these skills include people, interaction, interprofessional, relationship, and social skills. They can even be used to describe behaviors inherent in many properties of complex adaptive systems, such as the butterfly effect, flexibility, and adaptability. The more we understand …

Streamlining your life is the key to career fulfillment

Kerry Petsinger, DPT

Conditions

January 24, 2023

When my kids were born (3 within 19 months), one thing became very clear: there was only one way that I could possibly accomplish all of my goals. I wanted a fulfilling, successful career, with big aspirations. I also wanted to be really happy and present in my personal life. I didn’t want to sacrifice my career and didn’t want to sacrifice my personal life. I wanted success and fulfillment …

Cervical health awareness month: Unveiling inequities in cervical cancer outcomes

Bintou Diarra

Conditions

January 21, 2023

According to the World Health Organization, cervical cancer is among the most preventable and treatable gynecological cancers. Human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination and longitudinal screening are highly effective modes of prevention and detection, respectively. While statistics on the efficacy of vaccination and screening are promising, the realities surrounding cervical cancer outcomes are anything but. A closer look at the diagnosis and mortality rates paints quite a bleak picture.

The United States’ …

Nurse’s heart-wrenching encounter with newborn going through withdrawal

Debbie Moore-Black, RN

Conditions

January 20, 2023

I always knew my work schedule, but this time I got it wrong … or maybe I got it right. I clocked in and reported to the ICU for my night shift to start, but I wasn’t on the schedule. Strangely enough, they had enough nurses that night. The nursing supervisor asked if I would be willing to go to the neonatal ICU (NICU) and rock a baby. Except for …

A physician’s story of survival: the importance of seeking help

Samantha Benjamin-Allen, DO, MBA

Conditions

January 18, 2023

“Remember, today you could be standing next to someone trying their best not to fall apart. So whatever you do today, do it with kindness in your heart.” – Unknown

Today, I want to talk personally from the perspective of a Black, female, physician. I have a confession, I struggle with setting boundaries. I did not know how detrimental this challenge was until I started studying it more deeply. Did you …

A mundane ultrasound? The emotional weight of diagnostic tests.

Michele Luckenbaugh

Conditions

January 18, 2023

The word mundane is defined as an occurrence that is very ordinary and, therefore, not interesting. However, what may be mundane for one may be monumental for another, especially if one’s health is in question.

An ultrasound provides needed information to trained medical personnel for the evaluation of the health status of an individual. In many situations, it is a means to alert the physician to a potential problem situation for …

Conditions

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