Physician

Physicians writing on KevinMD about the life of the profession: the work itself, the exhaustion, what women physicians are paid and asked to carry, the losses the profession has been slow to name, and who decides how physicians work. Five maintained records draw on this archive: Physician burnout: what physicians say, in their own words, Primary care: what physicians say, in their own words, Women in medicine: what women physicians say, in their own words,, Physician suicide: what physicians say, in their own words, and Physicians and administrators: what physicians say about who runs medicine, in their own words.

What this medical epidemiologist learned from prior pandemic vaccination efforts

Tista S. Ghosh, MD, MPH

Physician

December 13, 2020

It was the fall of 2009. I was a medical epidemiologist at the largest local health department in the state of Colorado, in charge of coordinating the area’s H1N1 pandemic vaccination efforts. The CDC was distributing vaccine to state and local health departments, and we were in turn responsible for getting it out to our citizens. It was a daunting task – we were exhausted from months of dealing with …

What is the physician’s greatest gift to patients?

Andy Lamb, MD

Physician

December 12, 2020

I stood inside the door of “una chosa,” Spanish for “a hut” — the walls bamboo and sunbaked mud; a broom-swept dirt floor; two open windows partially covered by tattered cloth; no running water, no electricity. The acrid smell of smoke from the wood fire in the open brick oven permeated the air. Then I saw her. Lying on a bed made of wood and rope was a young woman. …

8 things physicians should know before they’re interviewed by the media

Tyeese L. Gaines, DO

Physician

December 12, 2020

Lights, camera, action!

You get a call from your hospital’s public relations office asking you to speak to the local news. Even though this isn’t your first time, your heart is pounding, with a mix of nerves and excitement. You start doubting whether you have anything valuable to say about the topic, even though, yes – you went through many years of medical school and residency before this moment. You are …

The unsung heroes of the pandemic

Christine Lau, MD and Collette Williams, PhD, RN

Physician

December 12, 2020

Physicians, nurses, and respiratory therapists on the coronavirus pandemic frontlines have been hailed as heroes for putting their lives at risk to help others. While they may be the face of the hospital and those interacting directly with the patients, hospitals are full of other staff members also going above and beyond to ensure patient and staff safety during this pandemic. These individuals not only make the hospital work daily …

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The unsung heroes of the pandemic

You shouldn’t be in health care if you don’t believe in masking

Kristina Scanlan, DO

Physician

December 12, 2020

As of December 5th, there have been 281,878 total deaths and over 2,000 deaths daily. The U.S. has had a 48 percent increase in deaths compared with two weeks ago. Despite COVID-19 infections increasing exponentially, many still don’t believe in the efficacy of masking and social distancing. The most disturbing part of this is that there is still a large minority of health care practitioners who …

What is culinary medicine and why do we need it?

Disha Narang, MD and Nisha Patel, MD

Physician

December 12, 2020

It is no secret that physicians spend countless hours studying a wide variety of disease processes and treatments. We all know that sub-optimal dietary choices and habits can lead to chronic diseases such as obesity, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and cancer. The burden of these diseases is rising astronomically. According to the USDA 2015-2020 guidelines, in 2008, the medical cost related to the chronic disease of obesity was estimated to be …

A physician’s guide to surviving COVID winter

Rada Jones, MD

Physician

December 11, 2020

If you’re in health care, this is probably your worst winter ever. Between the COVIDs, scarce resources, shutdowns, homeschooling, bureaucracy, hoaxers, and checking the in-laws’ rashes online, you must feel cooked.

You’re frustrated. Your patients die calling COVID a hoax. People refuse to wear masks. So many loved parents die alone. Bureaucrats don’t prioritize people’s lives. Even some of our own sold their soul for fame or money.

You’re tired of being …

How the pandemic affects the residency match

Lisa Sieczkowski, MD

Physician

December 11, 2020

Ours is a medium-sized pediatrics residency program. Each year, we receive hundreds of applications. Less than a quarter of the applicants are chosen to interview. Less than two percent of the applicants will be chosen to be our new interns.

It is not just up to the program leadership to choose who our new interns will be. It is also up to the applicants to choose which programs they most want …

The vaccinated and the anxious: lessons from the pandemic

Cynthia Tsai, MD

Physician

December 10, 2020

As a primary care physician, I eagerly discuss the importance of routine vaccines with my patients. My patients bring varying beliefs and opinions about vaccines to our conversations. Some of my patients share my enthusiasm, and other patients share their questions or hesitations with me that we review in greater detail together. Still, other patients share with me worries and fears about vaccines that my counseling and reassurance can only …

More physicians have tattoos, and how that makes them more genuine at the bedside

Katherine Palmisano, MD

Physician

December 10, 2020

Throughout my time in medical school, residency, and now as a practicing physician, I have noticed physicians’ changing face. When applying for medical school, I remember choosing a medium-grey pantsuit to match my medium-brown hair to wear for my interview, paired with a simple necklace and conservative makeup. Nothing too flashy, as even choosing grey instead of black and a pantsuit instead of a skirt would stand out and be …

What is the future of telemedicine?

Alan Dappen, MD

Physician

December 9, 2020

Now that a pandemic has brought telemedicine into Americans’ consciousness and the health care system, it is timely to ask: How will telemedicine fit into future care? Failing to understand telemedicine’s transformative capabilities is akin to missing the cell phone or online banking revolutions. I can still hear myself saying dismissively to one of my patients 20 years ago, “I don’t need a cell phone. I’ve never needed …

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What is the future of telemedicine?

Reflecting on the advice of a revered physician counsellor

Olubadewa A. Fatunde, MD, MPH

Physician

December 7, 2020

I turned into the hospital parking lot, placed my car into park, and looked up at the time. 5:44 a.m. I’d spent the previous night researching COVID-19 symptoms and treatment options, preparing to field questions from my patients, family, and friends. Attempting to understand this disease process, which seemed to present a new wrinkle every few days, felt like trying to spot a chameleon. While the number of COVID cases …

Live like you are dying

Edna Wong McKinstry, MD

Physician

December 7, 2020

“Hey, did you hear the news?” Tanya, my long-time friend, texts, referring to a social media post.

It is peculiar (even perplexing) we get our news this way. “In a relationship,” engagements, weddings, buns-in-ovens. Baby pictures, white beaches, sunsets. Those are happy news.

Then there are the break-ups, the “not-in-a-relationship,” the I-hate-my-job rants. These posts are intense. The need for drama goads me into wanting to know more about the people’s not-so-secret …

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Live like you are dying

The critical role of physicians as pandemic truth-tellers

Philip A. Masters, MD

Physician

December 7, 2020

A guest column by the American College of Physicians, exclusive to KevinMD.

Because of their unpredictable occurrence, ubiquitous nature, and the fact that they present us with a previously unknown disease to learn and manage, pandemics have always posed a major threat to humankind. And the novel coronavirus pandemic we are currently experiencing is no …

How this surgeon beat a medical staff disciplinary action

Barney Cohen, Esq

Physician

December 6, 2020

I recently represented a physician in a noteworthy peer review case at an academic medical center. The medical staff president initiated a complaint against a surgeon, who would later become my client. The complaint was that the surgeon inappropriately collected cash payment from an uninsured patient at the hospital’s point of service instead of having his office invoice and collect payment from the patient. The medical staff felt this was …

COVID-19 vaccines: Channeling the 7 habits to get from vaccines to vaccinations

Toyin M. Falusi, MD

Physician

December 6, 2020

In the U.S. and worldwide, cases, hospitalizations, and deaths from COVID-19 are surging. The health care workforce is overworked, and increasingly, more people appear to be experiencing mask fatigue. In the midst of this, there is exciting news. A few weeks ago, initial promising results from two phase 3 COVID-19 vaccine trials were released. The vaccines reportedly showed 90 to 95 percent efficacy, exceeding expectations, and providing much-needed optimism.

Vaccines are …

Why this plastic surgeon closed his practice to become a high school science teacher

Timothy Bill, MD

Physician

December 5, 2020

Imagine turning off your pager forever. If you are a solo-practitioner on call 24 hours a day, I suspect this thought has crossed your mind. Coordinating time off for vacation, being constantly interrupted at your children’s recital or athletic event, and even making it home to prepare dinner represent common challenges in this setting. A particular obstacle as a solo-practitioner involves the difficulty of running a small business – a …

Without trust, we face an uphill battle in defeating COVID-19

Hussain Lalani, MD

Physician

December 4, 2020

My annual routine of recommending the flu shot to my patients is now more critical than ever before. But when I asked one of my patients recently about getting the flu shot, she said:

“No, not really. I’m worried it will give me the flu and make me sick.”

I listened and shared some information about the flu vaccine’s benefits and how preventing hospitalizations due to the flu would help us fight …

Physicians who work themselves into the ground have nothing to be proud of

Jenny Hartsock, MD

Physician

December 4, 2020

There were recently many news articles and coverage exalting a physician for working 250 straight days during COVID. 250 days, that’s nearly 8 1/2 months without a day off.

While this physician displays dedication and caring, I don’t think we should celebrate this as an achievement. The truth is he’s working every day all day for one of two reasons. Either there is no one else, and he’s a victim of …

We have been the precious gift of making a difference in the lives of others

Andy Lamb, MD

Physician

December 4, 2020

“You that seek what life is in death,
Now find it air that once was breath,
New names unknown, old names gone:
Till time end bodies, but souls none.
Reader! Then make time, while you be,
But steps to your eternity.”

– Baron Brooke Fulke Greville, “Caelica 83”

I cried Sunday morning as I sat by my fire pit. It was all I could do to keep from sobbing as I read the last pages of When Breath …