Medical education

2,303 articles · Since 2007

Articles, page 78

Duty hours restrictions may be doing more harm than good

January 13, 2015Jan 13, 20153

Do physicians in training take better care of patients or perform better on their exams when their work hours are restricted? Two recent studies in the Journal of the American Medical Association suggest that the answer is no. In one, patients of surgery residents showed no difference in morality or postoperative outcomes after duty hour restrictions were implemented. Their test scores …

Why is it so hard to define what professionalism is?

Skeptical Scalpel, MD

January 9, 2015Jan 9, 20154

A while ago, I wrote about a medical student whose school tried to dismiss him just prior to graduation for unprofessional behavior. A judge ruled that the school could not do so because it had tolerated some similar behavior earlier…

A while ago, I wrote about a medical student whose school tried to dismiss him just prior to graduation for unprofessional behavior.

A judge ruled that the school could not do so because it had tolerated some similar behavior earlier in his medical school career and had not considered it important enough to mention in his letters of recommendation.

In that post, I said, “‘Professionalism’ is difficult to define, especially when trying to …

What I learned after going through the fellowship match

Anonymous

January 7, 2015Jan 7, 20155

You've made it. Four years of college, four years of medical school, and three years (sometimes four or five) of residency, depending on the specialty you chose. You've earned a prestigious title. You are a doctor. But wait, you are…

You’ve made it. Four years of college, four years of medical school, and three years (sometimes four or five) of residency, depending on the specialty you chose. You’ve earned a prestigious title.

You are a doctor.

But wait, you are not done yet.

Want to be a cardiologist, oncologist, or gastroenterologist? Add another three years to the eleven spent to become an independent practitioner. Another three years of interest accruing on that six-figure …

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Breaking the vicious cycles in medicine

Ilana Yurkiewicz

January 5, 2015Jan 5, 20156

He was known to the hospital as someone who would try to manipulate his caregivers. And I fell for it anyway. Frequently admitted for pain crises associated with a chronic illness, he spent most of his hospital course avoiding eye…

He was known to the hospital as someone who would try to manipulate his caregivers. And I fell for it anyway.

Frequently admitted for pain crises associated with a chronic illness, he spent most of his hospital course avoiding eye contact with the team. So, too, were avoided answers that involved more than a few words. Providing care for him was business-like; we knew better than to expect pleasantries.

The day of …

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Breaking the vicious cycles in medicine

Being a medical student is a full-time job

Nathaniel Fleming

January 4, 2015Jan 4, 2015

In our transition to medical school as first-year medical students, one significant part of our learning has been adopting the dress of the medical profession. Twice a week, in our first-year practice of medicine course, we wear professional attire and don our white coats, the famous symbol of the medical profession. As we learn how to interview and interact with patients, …

It’s time to train physicians to practice in nontraditional settings

Elaine Khoong, MD

December 31, 2014Dec 31, 20143

Despite the changes around us, the training of physicians has stayed much the same. Sure, there are new work hour limitations and a push to move towards competency-based assessments, but the overall structure of our training remains largely untouched. We spend the vast majority of our time training in hospitals, with the remaining time spent practicing in traditional outpatient clinics.

However, health care is being increasingly delivered outside these two arenas. …

Improve the diversity of physician assistants

Richard Bottner, PA-C

December 30, 2014Dec 30, 20142

The issues around race and how it plays out in modern day American society are numerous, deeply personal to many and utterly complex to most. The incidents in Ferguson, Mo., which began in August and erupted late November in nationwide protests, are an example of the many problems with race relations that persist in our country. While I believe we have made significant progress since the civil rights movement began, …

How medical students can change the culture of medicine

Pooja Yerramilli, MD

December 29, 2014Dec 29, 201453

“All of you want to help people and save the world now. But, by the end of medical school, only two of you -- if we’re lucky -- will remain idealistic.” Within the first three days of medical school, I…

“All of you want to help people and save the world now. But, by the end of medical school, only two of you — if we’re lucky — will remain idealistic.”

Within the first three days of medical school, I had heard three different lecturers tell me that I would lose my compassion and empathy. By the end of the first three weeks, that number had grown to six. During the …

Family medicine residencies should be 7 years. Here’s why.

Vamsi Aribindi, MD

December 28, 2014Dec 28, 201433

I'm on my family medicine rotation right now. One of my preceptors is about 80 years old and went through medical school in the 1960s. He is still sharp as a tack; he used to do C-sections, hernia repairs, appendectomies,…

I’m on my family medicine rotation right now. One of my preceptors is about 80 years old and went through medical school in the 1960s. He is still sharp as a tack; he used to do C-sections, hernia repairs, appendectomies, fracture repairs and get this — emergency burr holes for subdural hematomas (a.k.a. neurosurgery). He stopped around 1997, mostly because he …

From medical student to patient, in a matter of minutes

Hamsika Chandrasekar

December 26, 2014Dec 26, 20143

As part of the second-year clinical skills course, each member of my class is required to complete two 8-hour emergency department (ED) shifts. I had my first ED shift last week, and when I walked in, I introduced myself as a second-year medical student who needed to practice IV placements, EKGs, and any other procedures that happened to come my way. Three hours later, when I walked out of the …

An attending threatens patient safety. A resident blows the whistle.

Anonymous

December 24, 2014Dec 24, 201429

My department had a problem that harmed patients on at least a weekly basis. It was well-known, but it seemed there was no viable solution. My supervising attending was in his seventies and highly regarded at my hospital, having held…

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My department had a problem that harmed patients on at least a weekly basis. It was well-known, but it seemed there was no viable solution.

My supervising attending was in his seventies and highly regarded at my hospital, having held powerful administrative positions for decades. About ten or so years ago, he stepped down from running the hospital, and

…

Is there any benefit of duty hour reforms?

Tara F. Bishop, MD, MPH

December 22, 2014Dec 22, 20145

Almost every practicing doctor remembers the grueling hours and intense workload of residency. I recall overnight calls when I ran around from floor to floor, my beeper never stopping. I would collapse at home the next morning exhausted, drained and a little depressed. I would never want to relive residency, but I do look back at it with a sense of accomplishment. In some ways, it is a badge of …

Shortening medical school: Is that a good idea?

Arshya Vahabzadeh, MD

December 20, 2014Dec 20, 201417

Why are we shortening medical degrees? The four-year medical degree has been the mainstay of U.S. medical schools for more than a century, following the publication of the Flexner report in 1910. Prior to this, there was little standardization about…

Why are we shortening medical degrees?

The four-year medical degree has been the mainstay of U.S. medical schools for more than a century, following the publication of the Flexner report in 1910. Prior to this, there was little standardization about what a medical degree could or should look like. Medical school education was subsequently standardized to two years of academic study, followed …

Don’t dread internship: 5 truths from a first-year intern

Vanessa Galli, MD

December 18, 2014Dec 18, 20142

I admittedly spent a good portion of the fourth year of medical school dreading internship. A year where I was expected to suddenly be a doctor and to have all the answers. A year where I would work long hours and carry several pagers at one time. I come to you in blog form to inform you of some of the …

When it comes to health care, I finally understand how beautiful banality can be

Sarah Mongiello Bernstein, MD

December 17, 2014Dec 17, 2014

She was absolutely perfect. She had ten perfect fingers and ten perfect toes. Her eyes were wide and curious and drew you in fondly. She was absolutely perfect everywhere -- everywhere except for her nose and mouth. She was born…

She was absolutely perfect. She had ten perfect fingers and ten perfect toes. Her eyes were wide and curious and drew you in fondly. She was absolutely perfect everywhere — everywhere except for her nose and mouth. She was born in 1959 with a unilateral complete cheiloschisis and palatoschisis, more commonly known as a cleft lip and palate. Where her perfect, beautiful nose should have been was an empty, gaping …

Ethics: The six-letter word of medical practice

Jennifer Chevinsky, MD

December 17, 2014Dec 17, 20142

In just the past six months we, the medical community, have been challenged by questions regarding the torture report, #ICantBreathe and #WhiteCoatsForBlackLives hashtags, Ebola research and treatment, the ALS ice bucket challenge, deaths of Brittany Maynard and Joan Rivers, and the Hobby Lobby case. What these events have in common are not their scientific or molecular underpinnings, but rather their push for us to reflect on the current state of …

She screamed when her boyfriend hugged her. Why?

Natalia Birgisson

December 16, 2014Dec 16, 20144

I was checking my email when it happened. My boyfriend had texted me saying that he was late arriving to the airport. So I stood outside with my suitcase behind me and clicked to an email from my mother. I…

I didn’t notice until too late that someone had approached me, and I screamed when I saw a black man reach out to …

What I learned from the next generation of doctors

Natasha Deonarain, MD, MBA

December 16, 2014Dec 16, 20144

“So this is Christmas, and what have you done?” John Lennon sang from my nightstand, waking me out of a deep slumber. Bleary-eyed, I pondered his question: What have I been doing all year? A decade ago, my conversations with…

“So this is Christmas, and what have you done?” John Lennon sang from my nightstand, waking me out of a deep slumber.

Bleary-eyed, I pondered his question: What have I been doing all year?

A decade ago, my conversations with my younger brother, went something like this: “Do anything but medicine for God’s sake, save your soul, man!”

He’s now an emergency room doc. …

How to fix maintenance of certification: Here’s what I’d do

Kevin Pho, MD

December 16, 2014Dec 16, 201413

There's a lot of angst when it comes to board recertification. The general consensus is that doctors find the requirements onerous, while a more cynical segment calls the whole process a money-making operation for our professional societies and those that…

There’s a lot of angst when it comes to board recertification. The general consensus is that doctors find the requirements onerous, while a more cynical segment calls the whole process a money-making operation for our professional societies and those that profit from recertification courses and materials.

Cardiologist Wes Fisher has articulated the many criticisms against board recertification: “Does board recertification …

Medical students in the couples match: One student’s story

Moises Gallegos

December 11, 2014Dec 11, 2014

I recently wrote about the pressure that comes with the scrutiny of residency applications and the interview process. Adding to this, many applicants apply alongside their significant other, making use of the “couples match” option. Let’s think about that: No…