Let me start by saying that I am a diplomate (i.e., “board-certified”) by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology. I was completely in agreement that to display competence in my specialty after four years of residency, I should pass the oral and written exams required by the ABPN, further to prove I have maintained my skills, I have always found it …
How MOC is contributing to the demise of physicians
An excerpt from When We Do Harm: A Doctor Confronts Medical Error.
One of the selling points for the electronic medical record (EMR) was that it would be a boon for patient safety. Just having all the medical records in one place is a monumental improvement over …
Does the EMR improve or worsen patient safety?
Career transition is talked about a whole lot more these days than it was in 2004. Maybe I just notice it more now. Back then, I felt like I was the only one doing it. You know how it is when you are going through something difficult, and you feel utterly alone and unsure about what you’re going to do tomorrow? That was me, only I also felt like a …
I transitioned to a non-clinical career. What did that mean?
We’ve all heard the phrase, “survival of the fittest.” It suggests that in the competitive, “free market” world, it is the “best” who survives and it’s “the cream” that rises to the top. But is that true for doctors? Do patients get better care when competition rules the health care marketplace?
A few years ago, a doctor from a large primary care group contacted me to give a talk to the …
Why is it hard to find a good dermatologist in a competitive market?
Every year, National Nurses Day is celebrated on May 6 to raise awareness of the role nurses play in society. The date also marks the beginning of National Nurses Week, which begins on May 6 and ends on May 12, Florence Nightingale’s birthday. In addition to the annual celebration, the World Health Organization has smartly declared 2020 the “International Year of the Nurse and the Midwife,” in recognition of their …
Nurses deserve all the respect doctors and patients can muster
Many people looking in on the world of research have perceptions of brilliant minds at work, rapidly putting forth groundbreaking ideas. While they’re not entirely wrong, I discovered that this arena of fascinating new discoveries is not always so rapid and not glamorous at all.
As a clinical trials research associate, I learned that research is hard. I found that testing and implementing theories and postulations takes time and dedication. I …
The truth about research: Lessons learned by an aspiring physician-researcher
1. Anesthesiologists are your protector
Think about this: An anesthesiologist’s job is to protect you from the harm your surgeon is causing. Seriously. A surgeon’s job, at its very essence, is to damage your body. Now undeniably, it is with the intention of causing greater good and/or fixing something that is already broken. But in order for a surgeon to help a patient, they take a knife, saw, drill, or hammer, …
5 reasons why your anesthesiologist is a medical ninja
As a fourth-year anesthesiology resident, I opened up my email eagerly, awaiting the results of the pain fellowship match. It was official; I was heading to a major academic program in New York City. First came excitement and relief immediately followed by a rush of all-encompassing fear. I had grown up in Arizona my entire life, and the idea of living and training in New York City was daunting, to …
New York City provides residency training like no other
June 2020 will mark 15 years of my departure from flying the friendly skies. I have had the privilege of working as a flight attendant for JetBlue Airways from 2001 to 2005. Today, I am proudly grounded as a physician specializing in pediatric emergency medicine.
Gratitude is a positive mindset where you see your life and experiences as a gift. Practicing gratitude is a powerful way to reduce stress and build …
How working as a flight attendant made me a better physician
An excerpt from 50 Nonclinical Careers for Physicians: Fulfilling, Meaningful, and Lucrative Alternatives to Direct Patient Care.
Our profession, as physicians, is medicine. This holds true regardless of career path or job title.
The knowledge earned through medical training is ours to keep. Barring …
April 2020 was to be a month of personal milestones. I would be traveling to Mexico with sixty closest friends and family to marry the woman of my dreams. Twelve days later, I would celebrate my thirtieth birthday. Suffice it to say, I was looking forward to April with the excited anticipation of a child on Christmas Eve.
But that was before COVID. Before all eyes were focused on the novel …
A physician wedding in the age of COVID
As a fellow physician colleague, I felt compelled to address what medical personnel is experiencing in the COVID-19 pandemic. Needless to say, we’ve never been here before, and I would be remiss if I didn’t acknowledge the gravity of the situation, its effects on trainees and attending physicians across the globe. While this is not a discussion about the virus, I urge you to please follow credible sources of information, …
Words of encouragement to physicians and trainees during the pandemic
In a perfect world, an electronic medical record would aggregate a patient’s medical information from all health care providers into a single, comprehensive record that could be easily accessed by any provider with the patient’s permission. This information could reduce the risk of medical errors, duplicate testing, and inappropriate treatment and the associated cost of these mistakes. It could also be lifesaving in the event of a medical emergency that …
What can patients do to lower the risk of errors in their electronic medical records?
Elise loves this book. The protagonist is a girl who, due to a desire to fit in with her friends, denies her love of lima beans. Camilla awakens with stripes on her skin, and no one can explain it. The doctors are called in, then the specialists. The scientists and experts come next, but all are stumped. …
COVID: an impending case of the stripes
Like many physicians not initially on the front line of the COVID-19 pandemic, I watched with growing dread as stories from doctors and nurses started coming out from hot spots first in China then in Italy and then Seattle and New York. Seeing their faces and hearing their voices, I was struck by their exhaustion and fear but also by their sense of responsibility and duty. I wanted to help, …
Bearing witness: the physician’s role in a time of crisis
“I early conceived a liking for, and sought every opportunity to be in, a position to relieve the suffering of others.”
— Dr. Rebecca Lee Crumpler
In a time of crisis, epidemic or pandemic, “Who ya gonna call?”: An athlete? A booty-shaking singer? Television or movie stars? Yes, entertainers’ work provide humans fun. They make us laugh, or can foster team pride. But are they heroes? Do they save lives?
Might you call …
Physicians are called to care and service, pandemic or not
We worked tirelessly attempting to resuscitate this mother of five for almost an hour. Her husband was called, and he notified us that he would be there shortly. In the end, our heroic measures were simply not enough. It is fearful to imagine being told your wife and mother to your five children is no longer alive on Mother’s Day. The uncertainty of what killed her is a tough pill …
A young doctor struggles against the emotional devastation of losing a patient
What labor struggles do a grocery worker, custodian, and doctor in the United States have in common? A few months ago, many people’s answers may have been – not much. But ever since the COVID-19 pandemic hit, our shared challenges are becoming ever more apparent.
The pandemic is revealing that physicians, under our current for-profit medical system, are workers. Doctors are being expected to labor in dangerous settings for …
How the COVID-19 pandemic highlights the need for class consciousness among physicians
This concept comes up in Glennon Doyle’s new #1 best-selling book, Untamed. In this memoir, she looks at her unhappy marriage through the eyes of her daughter. She has been staying in the marriage for her children, believing that getting a divorce would be bad for her kids. As she is combing her daughter’s hair, she has an epiphany: I am staying in this marriage for my little girl. But …
Are physicians martyrs or models?
I became interested in medicine in my second year of college at Baylor University. I lived in the old Brooks Hall, which was built with large suites and communal bathrooms, and formerly used as military housing. Six of my suite-mates were pre-med and had doctors for either fathers or mothers. They all spoke of the work their respective parents did, and how much enjoyment treating patients brought them, and that …
Kudos to the new breed of physicians
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