Physician

Medical journals that accept stories and essays from physicians

Physician

March 6, 2013

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Health and health care are hot topics lately, and not just for journalists and bloggers debating Obamacare. Suddenly – or so it seems; in fact the trend has been building for years – people from all walks of life want to read about medicine.

Within medicine, a majority of journals now have essay, viewpoint, or perspectives sections. Not only are such sections frequently …

When doctors dissociate themselves from the stories of their patients

Raminder Nirula, MD, MPH

Physician

March 6, 2013

As trauma surgeons we often have to disassociate ourselves from the stories that surround our patients so that we can focus on their life-threatening injuries. It’s also how I personally cope with the devastating injuries to the patient and the aftermath left for the family. Sometimes, though, I am caught off guard and my defenses aren’t strong enough.

A middle-aged man was brought in one evening after being hit while riding …

The baby had a seizure: Why was the mother smiling?

BirdStrike, MD

Physician

March 1, 2013

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My first night shift in a stretch of 7 was almost over. It was 6:15am and I had to keep moving otherwise the minute I would stop, my eyelids would drop like two ton shades and I’d fall asleep. That never makes for a good drive home after a night shift.

“Got time to see one more?” asked Jenny the nurse.

“Do I have …

What can nurses learn from doctors?

Meaghan O'Keeffe, RN

Physician

March 1, 2013

There’s a lot nurses can learn from doctors.

There I said it.

But I’m not talking about clinical ability or medical knowledge. I’m talking about expectations. I’m talking about basic behaviors that dictate a predictable response.

Nurses don’t feel valued. Much of this is warranted, but I argue that some of it is self-inflicted. I said this once to a colleague and she responded, “But that places the blame on the nurse.”

I disagree. …

Read more…

What can nurses learn from doctors?

Sending your child to the chiropractor: Be very careful

Roy Benaroch, MD

Physician

February 28, 2013

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There are plenty of things we don’t know about health and illness. Sure, we know a lot more than we did fifty or a hundred years ago—but every day, still, I have questions that aren’t yet answered. I read a dozen or so journals each month. (I know. Nerd.) Each one has at least ten or so good quality studies—good, …

Why physicians tend to decline CPR and other heroic measures

Maria Yang, MD

Physician

February 22, 2013

Radiolab recently aired a show called “The Bitter End” that discusses the end-of-life care preferences of physicians and non-physicians. Physicians are much more likely to decline “heroic” measures, such as CPR, mechanical ventilation, feeding tubes, etc. This comes as a surprise to the hosts and, presumably, to other non-physicians. It’s a good show. I recommend it. (Full disclosure: I like Radiolab.)

In the show, Ken Murray argues that …

Stop blaming patients for not doing enough to stay healthy

Bob Doherty

Physician

February 20, 2013

“Discrimination against heavy people, by the general public and medical professionals, might be a greater health and social problem than any extra pounds they may be carrying” argues UCLA Professor Abigal Saguy, PhD, in a provocative essay in the Washington Post.

“Despite the fact that body weight is largely determined by an individual’s biology, genetics and social environment, medical providers often blame patients for their weight and blame their …

Make patients more accountable for their own health

Shirie Leng, MD

Physician

February 20, 2013

Let’s talk a little about health accountability. Two news items have provoked the following rant: why is it always someone else’s responsibility?

The first item was on NPR. The FDA, reacting to the epidemic of prescription drug abuse in this country, is offering incentives to the pharmaceutical company that can come up with a less addictive painkiller. Such a drug would be a gold-mine for that pharma company because it could …

Teaching children how to behave: 5 essential principles

Roy Benaroch, MD

Physician

February 19, 2013

Young children are naturally petulant, noisy, and self-centered. We’re all born with ourselves in the center of the universe, an impression reinforced by parents who must cater constantly to their young babies. But babies become toddlers, and toddlers become children. Sometime during this transition, parents have to teach their children that they are part of a family. For a family to function …

Advice for parents in medical school or residency

MomTFH, DO

Physician

February 19, 2013

Being a single mother in medical school and residency isn’t a piece of cake. But, being a single parent in this world isn’t a piece of cake, either, and being a medical student and / or resident isn’t a piece of cake. Foregoing medical school isn’t necessarily the answer to any of that.

Here is some general advice I will share with parents, single or otherwise, who are facing decisions about …

My first year as a locum tenens physician

Janice Boughton, MD

Physician

February 18, 2013

Locum tenens (literally “place holder”) is professional work done to fill in where help is needed. It is what I have primarily been doing for the last year, and has been an interesting ride.

When I decided to leave my practice related to losing a couple of partners and wanting to update my knowledge base and re-evaluate my career, I decided to do locum tenens work. I had always thought that …

Is the history and physical examination worth performing anymore?

Gregory W. Rutecki, MD

Physician

February 17, 2013

Would it be silly to ask, “Is the history and physical examination worth performing anymore?” especially in this era of high-technology medicine? Does it matter if the diagnosis is made by the bedside in contrast to CT or echocardiography? Someone did ask, and the answer is intriguing and was debated. Let’s look at the data.

Four hundred and forty-two consecutive patients were admitted from the emergency department to an …

5 ways to adapt to an evolving healthcare workforce

Linda Brodsky, MD

Physician

February 15, 2013

Once upon a time a doctor first attended 3 or 4 years of college, then finished 3 or 4 years of medical school, trudged through 1 to 8 years of residency training to hang out “a shingle,” and finally begin to practice medicine, usually in solo practice. Those days are long gone. Time has expanded—schooling and training are longer.

Breaks are taken between and during this once but no longer traditional …

6 tips for getting your doctor to listen to you

Leana Wen, MD

Physician

February 13, 2013

Have you ever gone to the doctor and felt like he wasn’t listening to you? Have you tried to tell your story, only to have him interrupt with a checklist of questions: do you have chest pain, shortness of breath, fevers, cough, and so forth? Have you ever felt ignored, and left thinking that your doctor never understood why came to him in the first place?

Studies show that Read more…

6 tips for getting your doctor to listen to you

You’re still a doctor, even if you’re not on call

David Gelber, MD

Physician

February 13, 2013

Christmas morning at 1:30 am the phone chimes away. What the … I’m not on call.

“Please call Dr. Dred for patient Selma, perforated colon at local ER,” read the text message.

Why are they calling me, I’m not on call. Dr. Young is. Maybe something’s happened and they can’t find him.

So, I called. It was just as reported. There was a fifty year old female with abdominal pain for three days, …

Doctors are the canaries in the coal mine of medicine

Dike Drummond, MD

Physician

February 12, 2013

Back in the day, coal miners always carried a canary with them in a small cage whenever they would go down in the mine. The canary is a very talkative bird, always singing and tweeting in a constant background noise. Canaries have one more characteristic important to a miner.

When there is bad air in the mine, the canary’s sensitive lungs will cause …

When patients feel trapped by doctors and the medical system

Leana Wen, MD

Physician

February 8, 2013

An excerpt from When Doctors Don’t Listen: How to Avoid Misdiagnoses and Unnecessary Tests.

Danielle is a 20-year old college student at the New England Conservatory. She came to the ER because of a …

Law enforcement and medicine: The ties that bind both professions

Michael Kirsch, MD

Physician

February 6, 2013

Sometimes, I feel like I belong in law enforcement. There was a time in my life that I seriously considered a career where I would haul in the bad guys and make society a better place. Of course, every American male youngster fantasized that he would one day drive the Aston Martin, get the girl, defuse the bomb, and sip on a …

We can learn a lot by comparing guns to cars

Jennifer Gunter, MD

Physician

February 1, 2013

A common rebuttal to any discussion about of gun control is motor vehicle accident deaths. We don’t blame the car, we blame the driver. Regardless of the object’s intent (the car is for transportation and the gun is shoot people, targets, game, and skeet), neither a car nor a gun can kill or maim without human touch.

And I agree. Comparing guns and cars is fair, after all they kill about …

Do doctors take advantage of desperate couples with infertility loans?

Peter Ubel, MD

Physician

January 30, 2013

Somewhere near where you live, a couple will discover this week that they are infertile and that if they want biological children of their own, they are going to need in vitro fertilization (or IVF). According to treatment protocol, the woman will need to take powerful medicines to ramp up her production of fertilizable eggs. One monthly cycle of this treatment will run …

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