Physician

Why the best administrators are doctors and nurses

Physician

March 29, 2016

Over the last several years since I graduated from residency, I’ve worked in many different hospitals up and down the east coast. These have ranged from large urban medical centers to rural community outposts. In all of these places I’ve felt the inevitable conflict that exists between physicians and administrators — to varying degrees.

It almost seems like a rite of passage that the world of clinical medicine and administration are …

Doctors are more than just skilled workers. Here’s why.

Hans Duvefelt, MD

Physician

March 28, 2016

Physicians today are increasingly viewed and treated as skilled workers instead of professionals. The difference is fundamental and lies at the root of today’s epidemic of physician burnout.

Historically, there have been three learned professions: law, medicine, and theology. These were occupations associated with extensive learning, regulation by associations of their peers, and adherence to strong ethical principles, providing objective counsel and service for others.

Learned professionals have, over many centuries, worked …

Why we need hope in health care

Val Jones, MD

Physician

March 28, 2016

Hope is a tricky thing. On the one hand, false hope can lead patients to opt for painful, futile treatments at the end of life. On the other, unnecessarily bleak outlooks can lead to depression and inaction. When health is at stake, presenting information with the right amount of hope can guide patients away from both suffering needlessly and/or succumbing to treatable disease.

I was reading a sad story about a …

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Why we need hope in health care

This doctor quit medicine. But she really tried to make it work.

Rebecca Reyes, MD, JD

Physician

March 27, 2016

It is exactly 49 steps from my bedroom to my garage. It is a 23-mile drive to the hospital and 75 steps to the unit. It takes 10 seconds to walk to the nursing station. I can measure what it takes to get me to work each morning with absolute certainty. I know because I have measured it a million times hoping something will prevent me from reaching my destination. …

Naturopaths should be restricted from treating children. Here’s why.

Britt Marie Hermes, ND

Physician

March 24, 2016

You may be aware of Ezekiel Stephan, a 19-month-old boy, who died in 2012, after his parents chose home remedies and naturopathy for the treatment of viral meningitis. The parents currently are on trial in Canada for failing to provide the necessities of life.

Over the course of many days, Ezekiel’s condition rapidly deteriorated, but his parents chose to “give him as much natural product as possible,” including syrup, frozen …

Why doctors kill themselves

Pamela Wible, MD

Physician

March 23, 2016

Pamela Wible, M.D., takes on physician suicide in her TEDMED talk (delivered on November 18, 2015). Learn more about Dr. Wible and her talk at TEDMED.com. Full transcription below:

I love the three things that people fear the most: death, disease, and public speaking. Here’s how it all started. At four, I was so talkative (and bossy) no babysitter would stay with me. So I tagged along with Mom, …

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Why doctors kill themselves

A medical resident commits suicide. Here’s how one colleague mourns.

Anonymous

Physician

March 23, 2016

In the hour after I heard the news, I experienced the full spectrum of typical reactions to a physician suicide.

One end of the spectrum came from the attending in a clinic, who when asked if the residents could go home and mourn their friend who just committed suicide, proceeded to tell me a story of how when her grandpa died before a final exam in medical school. She decided to …

Call people by their rightful name. It matters more than you think.

M. J. Harbert, MD

Physician

March 22, 2016

There are several Tumblr sites where people submit their actual name and compare it to the name the Starbucks employee writes on the cup. There’s “Starbucks Name Fail,” “The Starbucks Name Game,” “Starbucks Can’t Spell My Name,” and “That’s Not My Name, Starbucks.”

There aren’t Tumblr sites for calling out Starbucks when they biff your drink. “Starbucks F***** Up My Drink,” “Would You Just Look at This Beverage,” and “There’s No …

A gastroenterologist looks for his first job. Here’s his story.

Matthew Moeller, MD

Physician

March 22, 2016

An excerpt from What It’s Like to Become a Doctor: The Year-by-Year Journey From Medical Student to Practicing Physician, Greenbranch Publishing, 2016.

My third year of fellowship: June 2010 — July 2011

In July 2010, I began my third and final year of fellowship. This year was focused on honing all the skills we …

Why physicians need to interpret your lab results

Yul Ejnes, MD

Physician

March 21, 2016

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

More than ever before, patients are receiving laboratory test results, with some of their numbers in bold or with “H”s or “L”s next to them. In some cases they’re getting them straight from the lab, in accordance with federal regulations. If not from …

5 tips for parenting a future surgeon

Anonymous

Physician

March 18, 2016

Mamas don’t let your babies grow up to be surgeons.

Really. Don’t.

As the mother of a soon-to-be fellowship-trained surgeon, I know what I’m talking about. Listen to me. Ignore Willie Nelson. You don’t want your babies to be doctors; you want them to be cowboys.

Really.

Yeah, yeah, I know, your daughter is a whiz at all things mathematical and/or spatial. And your son is a science prodigy. Their eye-hand coordination is legendary …

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5 tips for parenting a future surgeon

How to talk with your kids about exercise

Archana Reddy Shrestha, MD

Physician

March 18, 2016

No matter how early I rise with the intention of getting my workout done before my children wake up, I’m rarely able to do it alone. Most days my 3-year-old daughter climbs out of bed and comes straight down to our home gym and watches me do my workout.

Often times she’ll sit quietly in the corner, but sometimes she’ll join in and follow the trainer on my workout DVD and …

Why don’t patients pick up their prescriptions?

Alister Martin, MD

Physician

March 16, 2016

As emergency physicians, we write prescriptions for patients that we discharge home for all manner of presenting complaints. I used to believe that the overwhelming majority of these prescriptions would be filled by the patient after discharge.

It turns out I was wrong.

Research estimates that patients discharged from emergency departments (EDs) fail to pick up their high urgency prescriptions, like antibiotics, nearly 35 percent of the time.

This is problematic because failure …

Women may experience more pain than men, but receive less treatment for it

Padma Gulur, MD

Physician

March 12, 2016

A guest column by the American Society of Anesthesiologists, exclusive to KevinMD.com.

That men and women are different has been discussed since Adam and Eve. That they experience and cope with pain differently has been consistently described in research studies.

It is concerning, however, to learn that women may experience more pain than men, but receive …

How to do a no hands-on physical in 3 minutes (or less)

Pamela Wible, MD

Physician

March 12, 2016

Step 1: Greet patient.

Step 2: While chatting, check all boxes in electronic medical record for a complete review of systems and physical exam. Copy and paste parts of previous chart note while looking at patient every once in a while. Smile if possible.

Step 3: Tell patient to do yoga.

Step 4: Bill insurance company for complete physical exam.

Welcome to big box assembly line medicine.

Ever wonder what …

This doctor quit medicine. It saved her life.

Errin Weisman, DO

Physician

March 11, 2016

I quit medicine. I was five months out of residency, and I was leaving medicine. I had dedicated my heart, soul, several years of my life along with weekends, holidays, special events, and my children’s first words to this honorable profession. Medicine was never suppose to “just be” my job. It was suppose to be my calling, and it had betrayed me.

I was finally a full fledged physician, and I …

How palm reading helps this physician today

Divya Yerramilli, MD

Physician

March 9, 2016

I grew up in a house of spirituality, homeopathy, palmistry, astrology, art, and science alike. My father, with a masters degree in statistics, is a computer systems architect. He also fancies himself an amateur palm reader. The irritation with which I reluctantly used to give my hands over to my father, before the SATs, college decisions, medical school admissions, and my residency match results was real, but I was always …

Should doctors marry doctors? Here are the challenges they face.

Tanika Forestal

Physician

March 9, 2016

Fifty years ago, it was very uncommon to find doctors married to other doctors. Why? To answer that question, we need to explore the sociology of the time. Fewer women went to college, which meant fewer female doctors. Many couples married early, right out of high school or right after college. If the wife had career aspirations herself, these were often put aside in order to help her husband get …

The heartbreak of dating an exhausted medical resident

Ruth Diaz, PsyD

Physician

March 8, 2016

When I was finishing my fifth year of studies as clinical psychology doctoral student, I fell in love with a second-year medical resident; a wanderer at heart with the softest smile and a way of listening that made me feel like the whole world stopped when I spoke. Whenever possible, we found ourselves in the forest exploring the world on foot or, if the weather was bad, on long drives …

10 truths of physician parents

Nisha Mehta, MD

Physician

March 5, 2016

1. You either over or under-react to everything related to your child’s health. Your kid chokes? You perform the Heimlich and are back to dinner conversation 2 minutes later. Your infant spits up a little more than usual after their introduction to rice cereal? You decide they may have FPIES and stay up all night worried they may require tube feeds. True story.

2. You can’t go to …

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10 truths of physician parents