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.
I am a 57-year-old female physician, and I remember an incident that involved a cardiologist on the other end of the phone, roughly fifteen years ago. I had recently started work as a hospitalist, and the cardiologist and I had never met. He clearly didn’t pay attention to my introduction, because when he heard my female voice calling from one the hospital floors to tell him that the twenty-seven-year-old patient …
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Is medicine a minefield of gender discrimination and abuse?
In medical school, I was taught to sit down at eye-level when speaking to a patient, ask them how they’d prefer to be addressed, make sure to ask questions in an open-ended manner to allow patients to express themselves, and interject with “that must be really difficult for you” or “I can only imagine how that makes you feel,” as a way to show empathy and foster better connection with …
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Can empathy be taught, or is it innate?
Does anyone really want health care for all? I promise this is not a political rant.
Americans, of any political persuasion, should not be misled by the implications of health care for all: It does not mean medical care for all. Providing a card stating you have health insurance is only a nominal solution, provided by politicians, who are looking for a superficial fix. Our problems are more complex than such …
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Health care and sick care are interchangeable
Just to give you my background, I manage a large hospitalist program for a busy downtown community hospital that is part of a large health system consisting of a total of 29 acute care hospitals in the same geographical area.
One of the reasons why our team was hired recently to manage this hospitalist program was to change the existing work culture, which had resulted in poor team performance, low physician …
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Start a hospitalist program with these 6 steps
“I wish this were not the case, but I am concerned that your disease is getting worse, and your time may be very short.”
“I know you are angry and upset at how you were treated — I will do my best to make sure that does not happen again.”
“I am sorry, but I cannot write a prescription for your pain medication.”
“I know you are confused — I will try to …
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A dam about to burst: The job of “doctor” places too much stress on one person
In medical school, physicians learn how to diagnose and treat medical conditions. We learn about all the different presentations and revel in catching a complex or rare diagnosis. In essence, we learn to categorize disorders based on a cluster of symptoms and match them with appropriate treatment plans.
Of course, you want this quality in your physician. This system works well until you enter independent practice and learn quickly that patients …
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System failure: We need a reboot to better handle intersectionality
I was busy running around the ER on a particularly busy shift when my phone buzzed, and a text message from Jane’s ex-boyfriend David popped up on the screen. I was surprised since I had not talked to him in over three years; therefore, I ignored it until I had a moment to myself an hour later and finally opened the message.
The first line of his message got straight to …
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My first physician colleague who died by suicide
Corpses.
A sea of corpses.
The smell of death was unmistakable. Its pungent odor snaked around corridors and made its way to the basement, where we stood in line to go up to the anatomy lab for the first time. My heart was racing. All along the walls were jars of human remains—brains, fetuses, organs. As we made our way through the anatomy library and finally came up to the second floor, …
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The physician and the sacred art of medicine
I’m here today to let you in on a little secret. It’s not something that I’m particularly proud of, and it’s work that I’m always trying to improve upon. But it’s true. And today you’re about to find out something I’m desperately trying to hide.
So here it is. Yes, I’m a doctor. And yes, I’d like to think that I’m pretty good at my job. But you know what? There …
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Doctors: It’s OK to sometimes suck
Recently, Congressman Jimmy Gomez, D-California, questioned HHS Secretary Alex Azar about improper preparation of health care workers before and during their interactions with Americans repatriated from Wuhan, China. A whistleblower reported to the California congressman that while assisting evacuees housed at Travis Air Force Base, federal health employees were not given personal protective equipment or briefed on protocols to avoid exposure and spread of the novel virus COVID-19.
More shocking than …
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During the coronarvirus outbreak: A failure to recognize physicians’ worth
I’m still coming to terms with the tragic death of Kobe Bryant, his 13-year-old daughter Gianna, and the seven others killed in the helicopter crash.
Kobe was not just a superstar on the court. He was a dedicated father and community leader whose compassion, patience, and heart of service shone in every action.
To honor this amazing man, I want to share the lessons I learned from his Mamba Mentality that I …
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What I learned from Kobe Bryant as a parent, coach, and doctor
The journey in medicine is a journey of goal setting. Doctors set goals all the time. We set the goal to become a doctor and then strive to achieve it. Once we decide on the chosen specialty, we set the goal for the residency training program we hope to match into, and we strive to achieve that. Match Day can be a day of great celebration for some, while it’s …
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What can a doctor do to build confidence?
About three months ago, something awful happened. The oncology nurse practitioner (NP) whom I trained for the past two years in my subspecialty decided to seek employment elsewhere in order to have a more flexible work schedule.
My team and I lamented we had a going-away dinner to say thank you for her work. And for the next three months, I trudged through my days in a busy oncology clinic, seeing …
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Should nurse practitioners complete medical residencies?
Squid and other cephalopods have the amazing ability to change the color of their skin. In an instant, they can blend into their environment, matching the landscape perfectly to avoid detection. In contrast, they can turn a bright iridescent hue to warn predators or, in some circumstances, to attract a mate.
They do this in a rather complex way. Squid, cuttlefish, and octopus have special cells called Read more…
Being like squid is easy. Don’t be one.
My dearest daughter,
Life is unpredictable. In case I won’t be around one day, here are things I learned from being a doctor and a mother that can guide you always.
1. New level. New devil!
There will never be a time outside of death that life will stand still. Embrace change and know that as soon as you accomplish one goal, you will need new goals and challenges to continue to grow …
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A letter to her daughter: 8 things I learned from being a doctor and a mother
If you or a loved one has ever been hospitalized, by day two or three of your hospital stay, you likely remember the doctor visiting you every day but not staying more than seven or eight minutes or 10 to 15 minutes max.
It may have felt like he or she was just “dropping by and laying eyes on you.” A month or two later, you get a bill with the …
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A peek behind that 8-minute $300 doctor visit
I believe in the practice of medicine and enjoy teaching others this amazing art. However, after experiencing nine months of interactions through medicine as the daughter of a sick patient, I struggle with my pride in the profession and fear of the health care system.
My mother would proudly tell all her physicians that her daughter was a doctor. I knew she was proud, but I didn’t believe in using my …
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I struggle with my pride in the profession and fear of the health care system
During a particularly long stretch of being on call, of spending my days caring for patients, documenting in the EMR, and sleeping – I was spent. I felt like a horrible doctor.
The blooper reel of my medical misadventures ran through my mind – the patient who decompensated before I got to the room, the emergent decision I made, and later regretted, the moments where my patience and compassion waned amidst …
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Doctor, how do you define your days?
