I am a Gen X’er. We are a generation that I think is most aptly described as hardworking, rule-following, law-abiding, good, and productive citizens. That’s a good thing, right? Most of the time, sure. Where we go wrong is we work hard, follow the rules, and do what we are told even when our hearts are not in it. I have too many times overheard, and if I am being …
It’s time to take a page from Gen Y and challenge the status quo
Although it was midwinter, the air coming in through the front windows of the Nissan Versa was balmy. The radio was tuned to a local station. It was playing Air Supply’s “Out of Nothing at All.” This is one of those songs you turn the volume up and allow yourself the one brief moment of karaoke stardom as you belt out your lungs. As the high notes hit, I’m feeling …
Medical specialties, especially within the medical community, are known to be identified as comedic stereotypes of themselves.
In addition to (or in conjunction with) being viewed as lazy, anesthesiologists are often stereotyped as being obstructionists to the operating room. A spot-on joke generated during the “first” COVID-19 surge in March of 2020 was in reference to Jerome Adams: “First Anesthesiologist Surgeon General, recommends canceling all elective cases.”
For better or worse, the …
Why this anesthesiologist rarely cancels surgeries
Creating the ideal life is hard, but it can be especially difficult in medicine, where the pressures and daily stresses are significant. What simple steps can you take to live your best physician life? Here are some action items to consider:
Follow your values. Most of us pursued medicine to help others, but were there other reasons that inspired you to dedicate a decade of your life to become a doctor? …
How to create a life you love in medicine
Before getting dressed for work this morning, I stood in my kitchen, marveling at the ice crystals, or “tree diamonds,” as my mother calls them, from the window above the sink. As I waited for the coffee to brew, I scrolled through the text messages sent to my phone overnight until I saw my friend’s forwarded news link: “Doctors suspect COVID delayed immune response in young surgeon’s death.” I clicked …
COVID tragically took a young orthopedic surgeon
When I think about boundaries, I am struck by how individual, varied, and unique each of our own personal definitions of boundaries can be. For one person, it is the physical boundary between the external world and our property. For another, the emotional and relational boundary between physician and patient. For many, the physical, emotional, and energy boundary between work and home. And often the most difficult, the boundary between …
Boundaries as a woman physician
I didn’t receive an offer to study medicine after graduating. Despite my best efforts, I’d fallen short. But what happened next made me realize the mistake I’d been making.
For a while, I thought I wanted to be a scientist.
After graduating from high school, my thirst for knowledge was at an all-time high. And without an offer to study medicine, I enrolled in what I thought was my next passion, science.
Studying …
Focus on what you want to do, not what you want to be
Today I lost one of my patients. He saw me in the office for the first time about three and a half years ago. It went downhill after a simple infection, with repeated hospital visits back and forth, and ultimately today, he passed away. He gave a good fight, he had a strong will to live, and he fought hard. When I heard the news, I was at home, and …
The pain I feel in primary care is real
The thing I think would surprise people the most is my relationship with death.
I’m a critical care anesthesiologist. It’s an exciting, rewarding field – I tell my medical students and residents that it blends expertise in the human body with mastery over crisis.
I started my career imagining every day in the ICU as another battle between the living and their eternal …
Death: friend, foe, or something else?
About a year ago, before the pandemic hit, I was at the local fitness center, having just completed a group exercise class, when my former residency program director entered the room. I hadn’t seen him in 20 years. He looked exactly the same, give or take a few grey hairs. We smiled and heartily greeted each other. We’d known each other since I was a medical student. When I did …
What if the hierarchy in medicine was dismantled?
As doctors, we are taught the art of assessing our patients through the doctor-patient relationship. We learn a series of open-ended questions to gain insight into our patients’ values and thoughts regarding their personal health. We learn how to evaluate lab values and make diagnoses. Through all of this, we strive to make optimal decisions for our patients to avoid the legal ramifications of medical errors and because physicians thrive …
Managing stress with coping strategies for the perfectionist-driven physician
Ten years ago, I was professionally and personally burned out. I was disinterested in the revolving door of primary care pediatrics and exhausted from the merry-go-round of home and work.
I had lived most of my adult life with chronic pain and chronic fatigue syndrome. My personal relationships were draining me.
One day, while clearing out my spam folder, I noticed an email …
How this burned out pediatrician found integrative medicine
In addition to the medical risks of COVID-19, the pandemic’s occupational hazards are numerous for health care workers. The threat of walking into the clinic or hospital and being exposed to the increasingly contagious novel coronavirus is a now-familiar reality for the many physicians caring for patients. It is astounding to think about these surreal conditions as the pandemic approaches its one-year mark. As doctors, we have met this new …
Hazard to our health: Moral injury undermines care
ADVERTISEMENT
If you’ve been diagnosed with a serious, rare, or complex health condition or your doctor has recommended surgery as a treatment option, your next step should be to get a second opinion on both your diagnosis and treatment options. There are several reasons to seek a second opinion. First, it’s important to understand all the treatments that are appropriate for your condition. A second opinion can also lower your risk …
4 steps to help you prepare for a successful virtual second opinion
A moment in medical school that left a huge impression on me was when we had chairman’s rounds with the department of medicine’s chair. He was a renowned breast oncologist and researcher and described a bit of his process when interacting with a patient. The process he had developed over his years of experience was so fine-tuned that there was not a single movement, action, word, or breath that was …
I’m the best anesthesiologist there is
Years ago, I watched an interview on TV with nurses who cared for a man dying of Ebola. Their words and actions continue to ring as true today during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic as they did then.
Their compassion deeply moved me for this man dying a horrible death. They did all they could for him, not only medically but also emotionally. They spoke of the fear that gripped them, knowing …
The times we need to be reminded why we went into this profession
The recent controversy and backlash surrounding Kamala Harris’s Vogue cover shows that it is still fashionable to diminish powerful women. It also is the latest example of the sad fact that no matter how far we have come, women are still held to a different standard—by both men and women.
As a female vascular surgeon, I have spent my career pushing back on ideas about what …
Women in medicine need to have each others’ backs. Too often, they don’t.
Do you routinely make deadlines for meeting registrations? Paper revisions? Promotion and submissions? Most physicians easily make professional deadlines, but how often do you honor commitments to yourself?
Similarly, do you have a friend who plans to go with you to the gym and then is always a no-show? Do you have a hypercritical friend who routinely tells you, “you are a terrible mom!”? Do you have a weirdo roommate who …
Make full professor faster by working less and not sacrificing you: a Valentine’s Day message
This is all about death.
In early January 2021, my hospital was overwhelmed with COVID-19 cases as the second wave of infections hit our coastal holiday town with devastating force.
The senior emergency doctor contracted the disease and was unwell. The remaining doctors were stretched to cover the extra load. Our infrastructure was stretched. My measure of how we were coping was based on a few rough gauges:
How many people were lined …
The “rest in peace team” during the latest wave of COVID
The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated and highlighted many health issues, particularly those suffering from chronic pain.
An estimated 50 million people in the U.S. live with chronic pain, of which approximately 19.6 million experience high-impact chronic pain that interferes with life, social, and occupational activities. Regardless of the pathology of pain, chronic pain may involve Read more…
Recommending yoga to your patients? Consider this first.
Get free updates delivered free to your inbox.
