An excerpt from Dottoressa: An American Doctor in Rome.
When I migrated from the banks of the East River to the Tiber shores the path was strewn with bureaucratic boulders, land-mines, and pitfalls. I offer the tale of my odyssey as an object lesson to would-be fellow cosmopolites in that …
A recent uproar in Twitterverse regarding the publication of certain images has sparked further debate after the response from publishers. The images represent scantily clad women with socially “ideal” body-types, seductively eyeing the camera and would, unfortunately, be commonplace in glossy magazines meant to sell products using these women’s sexual appeal. Body positive activists in society, for some time now, have been campaigning industry to stop this damaging and exploitative …
After practicing psychiatry and behavioral health for nearly 25 years, I’m done. I feel sick, and especially sicker from my occupation. Not merely burned out, but ill. Primarily mentally.
I’ve always had complex post-traumatic stress disorder. And depression and generalized anxiety, and many other diagnoses from the DSM. But, I’ve covered my illnesses so I could go to work and help so many people. Least of all myself.
My mother had chronic …
When it comes to locum tenens, doctors have a lot of questions. Maybe you even have some of your own. But first, let me ask you a few:
Did you know that there are more than 50,000 doctors working locum tenens in the U.S.? Or that 90% of health care facilities use locum tenens each year? Or that 21% of residents choose to work locum tenens right out of college?
Despite its …
If you’ve needed emergency care in the last few years, you probably encountered this situation: Soon after entering the emergency department, you were asked to go to a triage area in the waiting room where a doctor, nurse practitioner, or physician assistant asked you a few questions and ordered some diagnostic tests while you waited.
That’s a …
Successful and happy physician. But why stop there? What about successful businessman as well?
This is my story. And I’d love to share it. Maybe it’ll inspire someone else who works in health care.
I am very blessed. I am actually living out my childhood dream. When I was 15, and starting high school, I wrote down something for our class time capsule that was to be opened at our 10-year high …
An excerpt from Playing God: The Evolution of a Modern Surgeon.
A woman, call her Betsy, comes to see me. Betsy is in her early sixties and horribly unhealthy. She walks with a cane, each step she takes slow and painful. It hurts to watch her walk. Betsy has undergone …
Several weeks ago, I began my studies for a master’s degree in journalism. I’m continuing to work as a physician, but for the next two years, I’ll also be gaining knowledge in an important field: health communication.
I recall being a medical student and observing the different ways in which my supervising doctors spoke with their patients. Some doctors communicated clearly and were easily understood. Others used words that I had …
Imagine your typical yearly physical. It’s probably booked for 20 to 40 minutes. Since you, like many of us, may see your physician only once a year, it is important for you to have your physician’s complete attention and to have all of your concerns addressed. Some of these concerns may be of a sensitive – even embarrassing – nature. Your physician may likewise ask you some probing questions about …
I was recently working in clinic on a Friday afternoon. I was on my last patient of the day, and it had been a particularly long clinic. I had big plans for the weekend and should have already finished. The gentleman entered the room, sat down, and we began the consultation. Because I was so behind, I went through everything a little quicker than I usually would, but still covering …
As media coverage of the 50th anniversary of Woodstock shifted into high gear earlier this month, two articles in the “Arts and Medicine” section of JAMA called attention to another anniversary that transported me back in time.
It has been 40 years since the publication of The House of God — an unabashedly irreverent (some would say “borderline pathological”) fictionalized account of author Stephen Bergman’s …
“Jeff, turn my headphones up.”
There is a peace and tranquility to the recording booth before the beat drops. A heavy bass and drum kick in, signaling me to bark gravelly lyrics into a state-of-the-art microphone with hopes that it sounds passable. Over the past year, my rhymes have gone from clunky to less clunky, and for a few moments, they weave between melodic insightfulness and relatable humor. Embedded within these …
As we’ve seen, the lives of those working in the health care system has become overwhelmingly challenging, burdened by all of the excess nonmedical stuff that has been added into our lives as we try to take care of patients.
From prior authorizations, to clicking in the electronic medical record, to endless streams of regulatory requirements, to the continuous onslaught created by …
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What is coaching? It’s a conscious effort to notice and evaluate how our thinking impacts our experiences, how perspective shows up in the results of our life.
Coaching has been integral to fields other than medicine for many years. Yet, many physicians don’t know much about it — much less anything about its potential to radically transform the culture of medical training and our experiences in health care.
It’s time we caught …
Earlier this year, I asked a group of nurses what gifts doctors could give that would help them know they are appreciated. There were hundreds of comments that included many I expected: Food (pizza, chocolate, cake, tacos, bourbon, Starbucks, healthy snacks), pens, cash, and/or gift cards for all shifts.
There were some interesting “high end” ideas: Massages or a massage chair. Trips. Cars. Stethoscopes.
Some still make me shake my head and …
Ever feel like you are always on the go, not feeling comfortable slowing down? All through school, college, medical school, residency, and then practicing medicine, the one thing that I got really good at was staying busy. Planning projects, test-taking, solving cases, treating patients, emails, meetings, joining boards, organizations, getting more certifications, a world of task lists, and checkboxes. What was often sacrificed was being a mom, wife, domestic duties, …
For what seemed like an hour, I stood staring at the flat lines scrolling endlessly across my monitor in the OR. The once pulsatile waves, rendered useless and flat due to the absence of a beating heart. After a frenzied six hours of pouring blood into the patient while it poured back out of her just as fast, the surgeons drowning in blood in their attempt to sew the new …
I am a cardiac anesthesiologist. I want to explain what anesthesiologists do, who we are, and why it is important for the public to know.
Anesthesiologists are physicians.
Anesthesiologists are the guardians of the operating room.
Anesthesiologists are leaders.
If you get in a car accident, we are there.
If you develop an infection and can’t breathe, we are there.
If you are having a heart attack, we are there.
If you need a new knee or …
I was an intern, doing a rotation in the coronary care unit (CCU) of a large urban hospital. It was very challenging: The patients had complex medical issues, and my fellow residents and I were given lots of responsibility for their care. Still, I felt I was finally getting the hang of residency.
One of the first patients I saw was Mrs. Smith, a middle-aged woman who had come to the …
At the end of a long table covered with hors d’oeuvres and a birthday cake, I struck up a conversation with three primary care physicians.
I was hungry for their opinions.
Inside the crowded apartment, we spoke for some 20 minutes about the systemic and cultural causes of burnout in primary care—a conversation that informed the first article in this series.
As I was about to leave, I …
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