Physician voices

12,751 articles · Since 2006

Articles, page 168

Understand the power of words when curing and harming

November 11, 2021Nov 11, 20212

Some things in a physician's life are perpetual. Nowadays, COVID-19 has become one of these inescapable crises that doctors must deal with. At this point, everyone - including medical practitioners - is exhausted to the core. It feels as though…

Some things in a physician’s life are perpetual. Nowadays, COVID-19 has become one of these inescapable crises that doctors must deal with.

At this point, everyone – including medical practitioners – is exhausted to the core. It feels as though we haven’t slept for weeks or that we’re repeatedly being hit by a train. Every movement feels as if we’re running a marathon.

Even so, my career as a medical professional gives …

Savoring the last time and enjoying the moment

Andy Lamb, MD

November 10, 2021Nov 10, 2021

The old man sat at the front of the drift boat as it swayed gently, anchored at the river's edge. The guide sat behind him, making final preparations for the day's float downriver. The man had fly fished for nearly…

The old man sat at the front of the drift boat as it swayed gently, anchored at the river’s edge. The guide sat behind him, making final preparations for the day’s float downriver. The man had fly fished for nearly 40 years; he even tied his own flies and made fly rods such was his love for it. Age and unwelcomed health problems, though, were slowly bringing an end to …

But my children are not vaccinated

Anonymous

November 9, 2021Nov 9, 2021

Go to the store, support small businesses ... But my children are not vaccinated. Go out to eat; buy local … But my children are not vaccinated. Go back to work; go travel… But my children are not vaccinated. Come…

Go to the store, support small businesses … But my children are not vaccinated.
Go out to eat; buy local … But my children are not vaccinated.
Go back to work; go travel… But my children are not vaccinated.
Come celebrate, please enjoy … But my children are not vaccinated.

Kids need people; they need play … But my children are not vaccinated.
Kids need sports and activities … But my children are not vaccinated.
Kids …

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But my children are not vaccinated

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To Aaron Rodgers, from a physician and Packers fan

Allison Neitzel, MD

November 9, 2021Nov 9, 20213

I'm a doctor passionate about public health and public policy born and raised in Wisconsin and educated at the Medical College of Wisconsin (the same institute that bestowed Mr. Rodgers an honorary degree in 2018). I'm also a Packers shareholder,…

I’m a doctor passionate about public health and public policy born and raised in Wisconsin and educated at the Medical College of Wisconsin (the same institute that bestowed Mr. Rodgers an honorary degree in 2018). I’m also a Packers shareholder, as is my father, a practicing physician in the state. I cheered you on for your 2011 Super Bowl win from my college dorm freshman year and even had an …

A patient caught in the middle of a communication crisis

Afua Aning, MD

November 9, 2021Nov 9, 20212

A 65-year-old female presents to the emergency department (ED) with contusion from a fall at work. She has no loss of consciousness. Two other employees at her workplace, the cardiac floor of the same hospital as the ED, witnessed the fall. The patient has a previous medical history of fatigue, GI issues, and appetite loss for the last two days. She also has anemia which her primary care physician is …

Don’t let the holidays sabotage your weight loss goals

Angelice Alexander-Martin, MD

November 8, 2021Nov 8, 2021

The holiday season is rapidly approaching, and it is not uncommon for us to gain up to 10 pounds between Thanksgiving and Valentine’s Day. But what if we do not want to put on some insulation? What can we do? I specialize in medical weight loss, and my first recommendation would simply be to be aware of the food around us and recognize that seeing food in itself can be …

How I learned to let go of perfectionism: a lesson from my mother’s suicide

Erin Fenstermacher, MD

November 7, 2021Nov 7, 20213

My mother died 18 years ago today. It has probably taken me that long to be able to talk about it because, as survivors of suicide, our culture teaches us to live in shame. However, as I grow older, I…

My mother died 18 years ago today. It has probably taken me that long to be able to talk about it because, as survivors of suicide, our culture teaches us to live in shame.

However, as I grow older, I have learned to let go of that shame. If you mention your experience with suicide to others, you will usually always find that they were affected by a similar loss in …

My biggest blind spot is me

Arthur Lazarus, MD, MBA

November 7, 2021Nov 7, 20212

I tend to size people up pretty quickly. Adult ADHD? I can diagnose it in about two minutes. Borderline personality disorder? About one minute. Bad actors on the Dr. Phil show? About 30 seconds (with the benefit of Dr. Phil’s preamble). I can’t help it. I attribute my habit of analyzing people to my training and practice in psychiatry. After a 40-year career in medicine, I can no longer delineate …

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My biggest blind spot is me

The toxic doctor-insurer relationship

Gerald P. Corcoran, MD

November 6, 2021Nov 6, 20215

My introduction to health insurance companies was very abrupt and simple. I received my medical training in the U.S. Navy and served three years after that. Then, I was finally discharged. I had treated thousands of patients as a Navy…

My introduction to health insurance companies was very abrupt and simple.

I received my medical training in the U.S. Navy and served three years after that. Then, I was finally discharged. I had treated thousands of patients as a Navy doctor, but I had never charged one, nor did I even know how to charge for services.

My partner in the civilian practice I joined made the transition easy: “Sign this contract …

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The toxic doctor-insurer relationship

You’re a doctor when you’re not giving anesthesia?

Karen S. Sibert, MD

November 5, 2021Nov 5, 2021

One recent afternoon in the GI endoscopy suite (not my favorite place to work, but that’s a topic for another day), I walked up to the bedside of my next patient and introduced myself as I always do. “Hi,” I…

“Hi,” I said, holding up my name badge for the patient and his wife to see. “I’m Dr. Sibert. I’m with the anesthesiology department and I’ll be looking after you today.”

The patient was …

The art of asking where it hurts

Hans Duvefelt, MD

November 5, 2021Nov 5, 20213

Norman Grant was a new patient. He had chronic back pain, not helped by surgery or a dozen injections after that. It all started with an industrial accident in 2001. He had settled his case and was on chronic OxyContin, which far from kept him functional. But as of January 1, his insurance was no longer covering that drug. He only had two weeks left of it.

He told me he …

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The art of asking where it hurts

The troubling similarities between primary care physicians and MLB relief pitchers

Robert Pearl, MD

November 5, 2021Nov 5, 2021

When I was young, my father told me that baseball is a metaphor for life. As a lifelong fan, I’ve found professional inspiration and valuable lessons in this game, time after time after time. This year was no different. Throughout…

When I was young, my father told me that baseball is a metaphor for life. As a lifelong fan, I’ve found professional inspiration and valuable lessons in this game, time after time after time.

This year was no different. Throughout the 2021 MLB playoffs, and amid an exciting World Series between the Houston …

The unique agony of being a Black female doctor

Tomi Mitchell, MD

November 3, 2021Nov 3, 20212

It was as if my four-day-old daughter's condition was not critical. It was as if I was not a clinician who could confidently assess and identify seizure episodes. It was as if there were no monitors blatantly showing critically low…

It was as if my four-day-old daughter’s condition was not critical. It was as if I was not a clinician who could confidently assess and identify seizure episodes. It was as if there were no monitors blatantly showing critically low oxygen levels.

Nine long hours and still no response. I felt like I was begging for eternity. I had repeatedly approached the nurses’ station to get their attention and assess my …

Grieving our collective loss with compassion

Diana Londoño, MD

November 3, 2021Nov 3, 2021

What can we learn as we experience turmoil, change, or as we grieve a loss? Is there something we can focus on to help us go through difficult times in our lives? This can be a minor occurrence in our…

What can help us see what is beyond what we are experiencing now and let …

Practicing medicine as a Deaf physician is an uphill battle. COVID makes it worse.

Carolyn Stern, MD

November 2, 2021Nov 2, 2021

March 11, 2020, my nightmare began. “Ready to switch?” asks my American Sign Language interpreter during an all-day virtual conference. Switching from speaker view to gallery view, I search for a different speaker's interpreter among numerous attendees, pin her video,…

March 11, 2020, my nightmare began.

“Ready to switch?” asks my American Sign Language interpreter during an all-day virtual conference. Switching from speaker view to gallery view, I search for a different speaker’s interpreter among numerous attendees, pin her video, and switch back to speaker view. This interpreter updates me on what I missed during the transition.

I do this every half hour throughout the conference, peering through my reading glasses while …

Are collagen supplements good for you? A physician’s deep dive answer.

Ryan McCormick, MD

November 2, 2021Nov 2, 2021

I was asked this question at least three times this week, so I think there must be something going around. It doesn’t help that a Kardashian with 140 million Instagram followers recently signed a deal to become an equity partner and global spokeswoman for a company selling collagen supplements. The global market for collagen-containing products was estimated at $300 million last year, and is projected

…

Yes or no questions may be hazardous to healthy relationships

Steve Adelman, MD

November 1, 2021Nov 1, 2021

A common communication problem: Although important questions often have complicated answers, sometimes we ask things in a way that shuts people down. When someone poses a question that calls for “yes” or “no” as the expected answer, the person doing the asking often puts the other individual on the spot. When this plays out in a professional setting where there is a presumed power differentiaL, the questioner may unintentionally be sowing …

America is failing primary care doctors

Jen Baker-Porazinski, MD

November 1, 2021Nov 1, 202116

While the pandemic sparked a renewed (if only temporary) appreciation of the medical profession, this alone wasn't enough to induce change in the system overwhelming them - a fact blatantly revealed to me this year at the annual conference of…

While the pandemic sparked a renewed (if only temporary) appreciation of the medical profession, this alone wasn’t enough to induce change in the system overwhelming them – a fact blatantly revealed to me this year at the annual conference of the American Academy of Family Physicians. I admit I was a little disappointed when the pandemic forced the location to be changed from sunny California to virtual. But, since I’d …

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America is failing primary care doctors

An un-apology: a physician’s breastfeeding isolation

Hannah Nordhues, MD

October 31, 2021Oct 31, 2021

This article was written before COVID-19 social distancing recommendations. I want to start off by saying that I fully know my breastfeeding journey is a success story. There are so many women who struggle with medical illness, latch issues, an…

This article was written before COVID-19 social distancing recommendations.

I want to start off by saying that I fully know my breastfeeding journey is a success story. There are so many women who struggle with medical illness, latch issues, an unsupportive workplace, milk production, and more. I had initial struggles; but, largely, these were not my issues. In that way, I was fortunate. Mine is the story of learning to become …

Medicine is not a business: a poem

Drea Burbank, MD

October 30, 2021Oct 30, 2021

Medicine is not a business You fools. Healing is your blueprint, activated to complete itself. A doctor does not broker it, The best anyone can do is align you With what you should be, And stay out of the way.…

Medicine is not a business
You fools.

Healing is your blueprint, activated
to complete itself.

A doctor does not broker it,
The best anyone can do is align you
With what you should be,
And stay out of the way.

(Like a teenager setting off an illegal firecracker.)

Mostly, you pay the doctor for the alignment,
And the nurse
To keep the doctor out of the way.

If you’re not ready,
to get on with the business of what you should be,
You come …

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Medicine is not a business: a poem

Physician voices

Articles, page 168

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