Physician

10 reasons to have your baby at a birth center

Physician

June 5, 2015

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1. Due to intermittent monitoring versus continuous fetal monitoring which is standard in the hospital, the patient has increased mobility and a wider range of laboring positions/options: sitting, standing, walking, water, birthing balls. The American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) has agreed that there is not a medical benefit to continuous fetal monitoring compared to intermittent monitoring in low-risk women.

2. …

I’m a physician. But please don’t call me doctor.

Anonymous

Physician

June 5, 2015

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I work in a place where nobody calls me by my name.

They all address me by a moniker of their choosing that I have asked them not to use. I have asked them to use my name. Aside from a few who respect my wish, most of my co-workers just call me by the impersonal-sounding phrase they’ve selected instead. It creates …

Doctors: Be sure to thank the case managers

Suneel Dhand, MD

Physician

June 1, 2015

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As someone who has practiced hospital medicine up and down the East Coast for the last several years, I’ve had the fortune of working with some absolutely terrific colleagues. The hospital environment is by its very nature a busy and hectic one — where we all put our heads down and work tirelessly at the coalface for hours on end. Doctors …

We all have the ability to touch other people’s lives every day

Hope Amantine, MD

Physician

June 1, 2015

There was once a woman whom I met for the first time when she came to the ER, on death’s door, metaphorically. I told her and her family just how seriously ill she was, and how slim the chances of survival. We all agreed on that day to take a shot at it — at survival, that is — despite lousy …

Should I go into radiology? A radiologist gives honest answers.

Dr. Saurabh Jha

Physician

May 27, 2015

I used to be a surgical resident in the U.K. One day, I was a little dispirited during a brutal call, and my senior resident asked, “Do you love surgery?”

“I like surgery,” I replied.

“If you don’t love surgery, love it unconditionally I mean — like loving your child — you will be unhappy.” He warned.

I really liked surgery. I like radiology. …

So you failed maintenance of certification. What now?

Wes Fisher, MD

Physician

May 25, 2015

What is it like for physicians to fail their ABMS Maintenance of Certification® (MOC) program examination? How does the largest member board of the ABMS, the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM), respond to doctors who fail their secure examination?

As I continue to confidentially collect information from physicians who have failed their MOC examination, I thought it would be important to publish …

The top 10 lies of doctors

Starla Fitch, MD

Physician

May 19, 2015

I’ve been a doctor for more than 20 years, and I hate to break it to you, but it’s time I came clean: We lie. Doctors lie. Not always. Not necessarily on purpose. But we do.

Sometimes the lies are to our patients. Sometimes, the lies are to our families. And sometimes the lies are to ourselves.

But, nonetheless, we lie. A lot. …

Read more…

The top 10 lies of doctors

Casual Fridays don’t have a place in medicine

Greg Smith, MD

Physician

May 16, 2015

A disclaimer before I even get started on this post.

Some of you who know me or work with me will think that by writing this post I am talking about you or even attacking you. I am not. If you’re especially sensitive, don’t read any further.

I am simply writing something that has been kicking around in my head for a long …

Being a patient is tough. Here are 3 reasons why.

Starla Fitch, MD

Physician

May 13, 2015

A while ago, I wrote about “The secret lives of doctors.” The post must have struck a nerve because it went viral, maybe because it helped patients to realize that doctors are human.

We doctors can’t really know how human we are until we become a patient.

That happened to me recently. And it wasn’t pretty. You need to know the …

Tips to avoid medical errors in the emergency department

Roneet Lev, MD

Physician

May 12, 2015

Emergency medicine physicians: Could these be your cases?

A 35-year-old presents with shortness of breath and numbness to the legs. CXR and EKG are normal. She is discharged to see her doctor in two days, but is found dead at home. Autopsy reveals a dissecting aortic aneurysm.
A 15-month-old is triaged to fast track and seen by a physician assistant for fever, lethargy, …
Read more…

Tips to avoid medical errors in the emergency department

Order your own lab tests. What could go wrong?

Roy Benaroch, MD

Physician

May 7, 2015

LabCorp, one of the largest outpatient lab providers in the USA, is soon going to let you skip the tedium of a doctor’s visit to get lab work done. Want some tests? Come on down!

I’ve got mixed feelings about this. While there are some tests that seem reasonable for people to do on their own — pregnancy and HIV tests come …

A surgeon who wasn’t God in the OR after all

Hope Amantine, MD

Physician

May 4, 2015

Do you know the difference between a surgeon and God? God doesn’t think he’s a surgeon.

Everyone who goes into the study of surgery has ideas about what they’re going to be. I would imagine that each individual has different expectations of what the future holds, though few find their future at all resembles those expectations.

I recall when I started my surgery …

Fellowship training, as viewed by a physician’s spouse

Ashley Mast

Physician

May 1, 2015

As a wife and mother, I have days that are very difficult, especially since my husband is in training. I go several days in a row where I only see him right before bedtime, and some days he is unable to see our son at all. I often feel like I have no control of our schedule, and am lucky to …

End-of-life care: What I learned from a pet’s death

Abigail Schildcrout, MD

Physician

April 30, 2015

It has taken me almost two years to be able to write this. We said goodbye to our beloved dog in early May of 2013. I grieved for well over a year.

About a month-and-a-half prior to his death, we had a big medical scare with him. I wrote at that time about how dealing with a veterinary emergency can provide us with some insights and practice parallels to dealing with …

We’re going to need more medical chaperones. Here’s why.

Edwin Leap, MD

Physician

April 29, 2015

For my entire life as a physician, from medical school, through residency and now until this 22nd year in practice, I have subscribed to the idea that I should have a chaperone when performing breast, pelvic or rectal exams on women. I was taught to do this from the beginning, and I still do it.

Why is this? On some level, the …

Our time on this earth is finite

Jordan Grumet, MD

Physician

April 27, 2015

Everything eventually expires.

I looked down at the bottle of natural spring water in astonishment. It had an expiration date. Scanning the empty hospital cafeteria on an early Sunday morning, I wondered what on earth about spring water could go bad? It had no living parts, Nothing that serves as nourishment for wayward bacteria or fungus. The container was sealed. Pristine.

I figured it was another fiscal hoax, perpetrated on unsuspecting consumers. …

Read more…

Our time on this earth is finite

Who gets to call themselves family physicians?

Lucy Hornstein, MD

Physician

April 26, 2015

Who is a PCP? (And does that second “P” stand for “physician” or “provider”?)

Who gets to say? Does it matter?

Perhaps we should start with some basic qualifications: The degree of MD or DO, the satisfactory completion of an accredited residency in family medicine, and successfully passing the written examination of the American Board of Family Medicine (ABFP, an organization distinct and independent of the AAFP). Hard to argue with those.

How …

Stay away from doctors: From a patient who listens

Hans Duvefelt, MD

Physician

April 26, 2015

Earnest Tipp was very overdue for his blood pressure follow-up. Almost a year and a half overdue, as a matter of fact. The last few times I had refilled his medications, I had added “needs follow-up” to the signum on his scripts.

The other day I finally saw him in my schedule. I thought about him all morning. A tall, muscular 90-year …

So you want to be a female surgeon. Here are 10 tips to make it.

Dr. Nikki Stamp

Physician

April 24, 2015

I am lucky enough, from time to time, to be invited to speak to young women who want to be surgeons when they “grow up.” I always have a hard time striking a balance between what I should share that is positive and inspirational and what I should share that is a little harsh and uncomfortable. Once, I turned to my …

I am a general surgeon. There is no shame in that.

Jeffrey Parks, MD

Physician

April 22, 2015

A few months ago, I was seeing an elderly man in the hospital with a sigmoid mass seen on his colonoscopy that day. He had presented to the hospital with fatigue and anemia, and the long meandering workup eventually zeroed in on this malignant appearing mass as the source. His daughter was in the room while I discussed the results, the …

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