Think you aren’t a part of the destruction of the medical profession? Think again.

Physician
December 27, 2022

As apparent as it may be to the predators of the medical profession, physicians themselves, thinking about the future of what the medical profession will be like by 2040, have yet to understand how they continue to be astonishingly complicit in the upcoming radical changes in health care and the medical profession.

You and I know that all physicians in our nation, especially those in clinical medical practice, have been brainwashed …

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Think you aren’t a part of the destruction of the medical profession? Think again.

Working through a pandemic and watching the health care system crumble around me

Physician
December 27, 2022

The first dying patient I saw as a medical student was a man newly diagnosed with lung cancer, a chronic smoker with now oxygen-dependent COPD. In rounds, our medical team stopped outside his room, and the learned men and women pontificated about what to do next with the man. Chemo? Radiation? Both? I pretended to listen and rubbed my chin with feigned discernment, trying to understand the conversation like any …

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Working through a pandemic and watching the health care system crumble around me

Can Medicare advance directives be simple?

Physician
December 25, 2022

Consider Medicare enrollment with the end in mind. In case of emergency, do seniors prefer medical care or holistic care? Might they designate a medical power of attorney or a merciful power of attorney? Do they oblige CPR or sign a DNR order?

The JAMA Network just published Death and End-of-Life Care in Emergency Departments in the U.S. This retrospective cohort study concludes that,

Robust systems of emergency care …

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Can Medicare advance directives be simple?

The solution to America’s primary care shortage is direct primary care 

Physician
December 24, 2022

Primary care in the United States is on the brink of collapse. Primary care providers suffer existential burnout, are the lowest compensated among all medical specialties, and there is a crisis-level shortage of primary care physicians, especially in health professional shortage areas. Despite strong evidence linking primary care (unlike any other medical specialty) to a better quality of life, longer life expectancy, better patient experience, and lower total …

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The solution to America’s primary care shortage is direct primary care 

When contentment falls short

Physician
December 24, 2022

Sliding toward another solstice, I feel myself yearning. I want the daylight to stay a little longer, soft like this, gentle warmth and lovely shadows, lazy breezes, the illusion of contentment.

But I am not content. Or perhaps I am, but whereas I once thought contentment was the goal, the sentiment makes me uneasy now.

“Nothing gold can stay,” Robert Frost wrote. To stay content would be to embrace the shift in …

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When contentment falls short

Psychic numbing: Why we would prefer to save a single dog instead of thousands of humans

Physician
December 22, 2022

In 2002 a fire broke out on an oil tanker hundreds of miles south of Hawaii. All eight of the crew members were successfully rescued, but, as it was later realized, the captain’s dog, Hokget, was left behind. The two-year-old terrier was alone on the tanker, floating around in the Pacific Ocean.

The lost dog story made headlines, and people donated thousands of dollars to the Hawaiian Humane Society to save …

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Psychic numbing: Why we would prefer to save a single dog instead of thousands of humans

The holidays can open up a range of emotions

Physician
December 22, 2022

Physician suicide rates are unacceptably high at baseline and go even higher during the holidays. The holiday increase in suicide rates is not unique to physicians, though. According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), A 2021 survey showed that 3 in 5 Americans feel their mental health is negatively impacted by the holidays.

And suicide is a problem that goes beyond the …

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The holidays can open up a range of emotions

Don’t make this mistake with gratitude

Physician
December 21, 2022

We hear it all the time.

Practice gratitude. Be thankful for what you have.

The evidence is clear. Being grateful does offer numerous scientifically proven benefits.

It makes sense why gratitude is good for you, from improved relationships to decreased physical pain to better sleep to increased happiness and self-esteem.

In fact, it’s one of the keys to leading an abundant life full of what you desire and deserve.

But gratitude is not just …

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Don’t make this mistake with gratitude

Gil Scott-Heron’s “Winter in America” is upon us

Physician
December 21, 2022

For me, the cheerful musical sounds of the holiday season invariably give way to a somber song: Gil Scott-Heron’s “Winter in America.” Dubbed the “Godfather of Rap,” Gil Scott-Heron (1949-2011) embraced diverse musical styles alternating between jazz, blues, soul, and hip-hop. He wasn’t known for delivering good tidings as much as he was for sermonizing and engaging in “Small Talk at …

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Gil Scott-Heron’s “Winter in America” is upon us

Suicide isn’t painless for those left behind

Physician
December 21, 2022

Suicide isn’t beautiful. It’s not glamorous. It’s not Virginia Woolf, with pockets full of stones walking calmly into the water surrounded by trees and dappled sunlight with string music playing in the background as you slowly sink under the water.

Suicide is blood and vomit pouring out of your nose. It’s losing control of your bladder and bowels and soiling yourself. It’s blood all over the bathroom floor. Or, it’s bits …

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Suicide isn’t painless for those left behind

When was the last time you wore a white coat?

Physician
December 21, 2022

When the COVID-19 pandemic began to dominate all aspects of health care, many of our colleagues opted to wear scrubs instead of their routine work attire and white coats. They cited concerns about personal infectious risk and not wanting to bring the virus home to their loved ones on their clothes. This reluctance aligned with research on the white coat as a nidus for infection, but it conflicted with the …

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When was the last time you wore a white coat?

What if we asked patients what they want?

Physician
December 20, 2022

Historically, the Canadian health care system has decided what should be done for the care of the population.

Who gets care, when and where, what is a priority, what delays are tolerable, and what degree of saturation is acceptable in a Quebec emergency room? This paternalistic approach is obsolete.

A modern service company must be interested in the needs and desires of its clientele.

Other than in the health …

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What if we asked patients what they want?

Physicians: Are we still the good guys?

Physician
December 20, 2022

In the very realistic fictional world of The White Coat Diaries by Dr. Madi Sinha, a first-year internal medicine resident goes through a harsh initiation into the realities of medical training. Protagonist Norah Kapadia encounters a complication of a penile implant in an elderly patient with end-stage liver disease and dementia. Her senior resident talks her through the problem of causing hematuria as she placed a catheter through an …

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Physicians: Are we still the good guys?

An expert’s advice about staying in private medical practice

Physician
December 19, 2022

Most physicians are aware of our nation’s disintegration of private medical practices. Bailing out of private medical practice for financial or other reasons predicts the takeover of government-controlled employed medical practice as well as the medical profession itself—including medical school education.

One world-renowned marketing and business expert offers important advice for medical care professionals who prefer to remain independent of such medical practice restrictions while we still can do so:

A lot …

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An expert’s advice about staying in private medical practice

The jobs you hold prior to medical school are important, but not for the reason you think

Physician
December 18, 2022

Most experts recommend that premed students seek medically-related jobs to gain early proficiency and support their medical school application. There is nothing like valuable hands-on experience, they say, for students to demonstrate their passion and knowledge about the field of medicine. According to the article “25 Health Care Jobs To Get Before Medical School,” written by the Indeed Editorial Team, “students who fill their resumes with volunteer work, …

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The jobs you hold prior to medical school are important, but not for the reason you think

Reflecting on health and wellness: Celebrating the wins and learning from the losses

Physician
December 18, 2022

The game came down to the last seconds.

Down by three, we scored on a layup. Now a one-point game. And then, it was over. A narrow 1-point loss in the championship game for our middle school boys team.

One started crying, then another. It caught on like something infectious, and suddenly parents were tearing up as well. As one of the coaches for the team, I wondered what we could have …

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Reflecting on health and wellness: Celebrating the wins and learning from the losses

A letter to residents after the subspecialty match

Physician
December 18, 2022

Dear residents:

I heard the amazing news that each of you matched today. Congratulations! That is huge. You will be outstanding subspecialists!

The best part is that now you can take a deep breath and relax. The stress is over. Hopefully, you matched at your first choice, but please know that if you didn’t, it will be OK. I know the feeling. Although I was lucky to get my first choice for …

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A letter to residents after the subspecialty match

Balancing the roles of patient and healer

Physician
December 17, 2022

“Holly, we’re really worried about you. You’ve been sleeping for days. Let us take you to the school clinic.”

I looked up at a figure in the bedroom door surrounded by a light that hurt my eyes.  It was my college roommate, a sweet girl from North Carolina who had put up with my shit for most of our senior year.  I wanted to bounce up and smile, to jump into …

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Balancing the roles of patient and healer

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