Physician

Breaking the burnout: How health care leaders can support physician well-being

Physician

February 1, 2023

Recently I was scrolling through posts from a physician leadership Facebook group. I came upon one that caught my eye. It said something like, “Does anyone have information I can share with my radiologists to show them the impact of working through lunch?”

I was happy to see a post that focused on physician well-being. A leader who cares enough and wants her physicians to take a break. And then …

From science nerd to accomplished ballroom dancer: my story as a hospitalist

Aaron Morgenstein, MD & Corinne Sundar Rao, MD

Physician

February 1, 2023

“Life is about taking chances, trying new things, having fun, making mistakes, and learning from them.”
– Anonymous

Early journey as a science nerd

In high school, science was my thing. I wasn’t like the others. I wasn’t interested in teenage drama. The boys didn’t chase me, and I didn’t chase them. I was that nerd; I was committed to science. My love for science drew me to a degree in biology which …

The dark side of celebrity medicine

Toni Brayer, MD

Physician

January 31, 2023

Sharon Stone has publicly said that medical professionals missed a large fibroid tumor. This followed a prior incident where she reported that she was given larger breast implants without her knowledge while undergoing reconstruction surgery. We all know that Michael Jackson was killed by his personal doctor, who failed to monitor him while he was given Propofol (an anesthetic that is never used at home). Dr. Murray was on the …

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The dark side of celebrity medicine

Why are so many physicians quitting medicine? The real reasons revealed.

Aaron Morgenstein, MD

Physician

January 30, 2023

It is well-recognized that there is a large number of physicians leaving medicine or preparing to do so. This is not to be debated!

Many physicians are retiring due to age, and others have accepted early retirement as their best option with the current state of health care. Beyond those retiring, it is concerning how many young physicians are leaving medicine and no longer want to stay in the current health …

Patients’ hilarious comebacks: a doctor’s perspective

John Chase, MD

Physician

January 30, 2023

I’ve had the opportunity to interact with a wide variety of patients. Along the way, I’ve heard some pretty memorable and interesting things. I thought it might be fun to share a few of my favorites.

One of the most common things I hear from my older patients is something like, “Doc, it’s just hell getting old!” Our standard response is usually …

Forgiveness vs. self-preservation: the difficult decision of caring for an abusive parent

Sheryl Recinos, MD

Physician

January 29, 2023

“My parents abused me as a child. I went no contact with them over ten years ago, but now my dad is in the hospital with a serious diagnosis and the discharge planner keeps asking me to be involved. I don’t want to. What are my rights?”

I read the lengthy message several times, feeling an overwhelming sense of dread. I was in the same “no contact” situation with my own …

The $6 soup that saved a pregnant patient $20,000

Anonymous

Physician

January 29, 2023

A good cup of soup can be comforting during illness. It’s like a form of medicine. Soups have many vitamins and minerals, protein and carbohydrates, and of course, water or cream to help stay hydrated. Salt makes a sore throat feel better (like warm salt water gargling) and heat clears nasal congestion (which relieves pain and sinus pressure). As such, a typical cup of restaurant soup costing $5 or $10 …

The unspoken epidemic: Why health care professionals aren’t talking about burnout

Varun Verma, MD

Physician

January 29, 2023

We don’t talk about burnout.

I recently reunited with a former medical school classmate for lunch and realized that I talked more to him in two hours about my experiences over the past few years than with my hospitalist colleagues at work or my closest friends. I’ve only ever dared to mention anything to my wife and brother (both physicians).

Lots of sources define burnout as the accumulation of stress over time …

Why taking risks is worth it: a doctor’s journey from uncertainty to opportunity

Francisco M. Torres, MD

Physician

January 28, 2023

There were no smartphones when I was a medical resident in the late 80s in Puerto Rico. During my last year, while waiting for a lecturer to arrive, I grabbed a medical journal from the conference room table to kill some time. I flipped through the pages, skimming the titles of the articles and looking at some of the advertisements. When I was about to put the journal down, I …

The DNA of entrepreneurs: How your genes could determine your business success

Harvey Castro, MD, MBA

Physician

January 28, 2023

Creating something new, taking calculated risks, and effectively allocating resources are all aspects of entrepreneurship. Both environmental and genetic variables play a role in this intricate process. This article will examine how a person’s propensity to become an entrepreneur is influenced by genetic and environmental factors that drive entrepreneurship.

Personality qualities and risk tolerance are critical genetic determinants of entrepreneurship. These characteristics can influence an individual’s approach to entrepreneurship and can …

Insurance company vs. doctor: How the defense and settlement provisions in malpractice contracts favor carriers

Howard Smith, MD

Physician

January 26, 2023

In a medical malpractice lawsuit, your defense is completely in the hands of the malpractice carrier, and, make no mistake of it, its interests come first. However, the medical malpractice insurance contract is more instrumental in the defense of a doctor than insurance companies realize. There are clauses in the contract that, at first glance, seem to benefit carriers. However, there is a flip side to each clause.

First Read more…

Insurance company vs. doctor: How the defense and settlement provisions in malpractice contracts favor carriers

The art of the physical exam: the importance of returning to the basics

Brandi Fontenot, MD

Physician

January 26, 2023

“Make thorough inspection.”
– Sir William Osler, MD.

The art of the physical exam is precisely that: an art that must be practiced often, for years on end, and the one that a physician may become a great achiever or skilled but never the master.

When I trained in internal medicine over a decade ago, our program director often harped on this art. I was too naive to understand his message at the …

How receiving medical practice coaching can multiply your income

Curtis G. Graham, MD

Physician

January 26, 2023

Not only does medical practice coaching teach you how to open your mind to who you really are, but it also allows you to bypass the dreaded $20,000 to $50,000 MBA business education that your medical school refused to teach you about.

When you recognize that many highly educated professional athletes hire personal coaches throughout their careers, you must wonder what value they find in being coached. You would think that …

Feeling valued by my boss: How a simple tumbler made my day

Poonam Merai, MD

Physician

January 25, 2023

I arrived at my desk after a holiday hiatus with renewed energy to tackle the day. It sat there, unassuming, on my desk with a note. My heart was giddy, knowing my tea pastime would level up. Opening the letter, I realized it was from my boss. My boss had given me a tumbler, and I felt like a kid on Christmas morning. The excitement seemed out of proportion to …

It’s time to ditch cultural competence

Raj Sundar, MD

Physician

January 24, 2023

A pregnant Somali woman was determined to have a vaginal delivery. Unfortunately, labor wasn’t progressing as expected, and the health care team recommended a C-section. The patient declined the recommendation and said it’s in God’s hands. After some persistence, the health care team convinced the patient to get a C-section. After the C-section, the patient felt disappointed that her wishes weren’t considered. The OB team, however, didn’t understand why the …

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It’s time to ditch cultural competence

Balancing employee needs and fair pay during federal holidays

Deepak Gupta, MD, Sarwan Kumar, MD, Shushovan Chakrabortty, MD, PhD

Physician

January 24, 2023

Our previous post discussed how a full-time equivalent equals 2,080 work hours annually. To further clarify, we would like to explain how work hours during federal holidays can be calculated. One approach is to offer employees an incentive by counting each work hour after-hours as 1.5 and each work hour during federal holidays as two during the calculation of payable annual work hours. This can encourage employers to expect …

Why sharing your complete medical history with your clinicians is important

Miles J. Varn, MD

Physician

January 24, 2023

It’s your first visit to a cardiologist because you’ve had occasional episodes of an irregular heartbeat. As you fill out your pre-appointment paperwork, you carefully list the symptoms you’re experiencing and the treatments your primary care physician has recommended before referring you to a specialist. You don’t mention that you recently started taking Lexapro (escitalopram) to treat depression because you’re focused on your heart issue.

But that accidentally omitted information could …

The empathy gap: How a lack of understanding is fueling poor outcomes and health disparities

Nicole Rochester, MD

Physician

January 23, 2023

I recently watched The Color of Care, a documentary highlighting the disparate and inequitable care received by Black and brown individuals during the COVID-19 pandemic. During the movie, Executive Producer Oprah Winfrey opined that one of the primary health care issues is the “empathy gap.” Upon hearing the phrase, I shot up in my chair, as it felt eerily (and painfully) similar to what I described in …

How minimizing treatment burden can help patients with chronic conditions

John A. Dodson, MD

Physician

January 23, 2023

An older patient recently told me that she spent 80 days over the past year in a doctor’s office. This represented over 20 percent of her life. She was relatively well but had several chronic medical conditions that required frequent office visits. In addition to these visits, she navigated scheduling, prescriptions, laboratory testing, and copayments.

Her experience is not unusual. For example, among patients with diabetes (a common chronic medical condition), …

The power of physician-administrator partnership

Shannon Driscoll, MHA and Dr. Soumya Padala

Physician

January 23, 2023

Arianna Huffington recently wrote on LinkedIn, “45% of U.S. workers wouldn’t wish their job on their worst enemy. We’re in a crisis of purpose and meaning, not just burnout.”

This occupational phenomenon has also reached crisis proportions in the health care industry. In a recent study on physician burnout, Dr. Christine Sinsky reported the highest rates of burnout (>60%), emotional exhaustion, and the …

Physician

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