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.

We are in danger of hospitals no longer being safe havens

Andrea Lauffer, MD

Physician

November 7, 2018

On the outside, most American hospitals appear completely modernized. If resources are utilized correctly, they appear equipped for any disaster, any CMS audit and any surprise joint commission inspection that may come. The procedural appearance of hospitals seems robust and reflective to medicine in the 21st century. However, the framework for the daily function of many American hospitals is architecturally weak and weathered (metaphorically speaking). With the progression of times …

Have difficult conversations now to avoid chaos later

Varun Verma, MD

Physician

November 7, 2018

“Before I leave, I want to talk to you about something very important. I want to make sure that nothing is ever done against your wishes, so it doesn’t matter if you’re 18 or 98 years of age, if you’re a patient being admitted to the hospital, I need to ask you some questions. You’re stable — so I hope I don’t alarm you with this discussion. Have you ever …

This is what the face of resilience looks like

Rebekah Fenton, MD

Physician

November 6, 2018

At the age of 17, my younger sister Elisabeth noticed a change in her body — enlargement of the front of her neck. “I just thought I was building muscle from working out,” she innocently rationalized. A series of laboratory tests and imaging followed and led to a much more grave discovery — cancer.

There are days my family will never forget, like the day of my sister’s diagnosis. My older …

Why patients don’t do what physicians tell them

Philip A. Masters, MD

Physician

November 6, 2018

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

Those of us who provide clinical care inevitably have patients who simply don’t do what we tell them. And this isn’t limited to only primary care but is encountered in all specialties and by subspecialists and consultants alike.

Not only can this be frustrating …

A physician’s experience with time stress

DocG, MD

Physician

November 5, 2018

I have two Achilles’ heels. Two mental health issues that continually challenge me no matter how introspective and self-aware I become. One is food. I have talked before about how food was my money. As annoying as that can be, I feel like I have a good hold on that one. With the right intentions and self-control, I no longer have to wrestle with this demon as frequently. …

We need to make better use of the health team and technology

Fred N. Pelzman, MD

Physician

November 5, 2018

Nearly a quarter of a century ago (good heavens, I can hardly believe I have to say that!), when I was just starting out as a junior faculty attending, I remember one of my mentors taking me to the hospital with him on morning rounds to see all of his patients who were admitted to the hospital.

He was an eminent cardiologist, incredibly gifted and well-respected, and we walked the wards …

Patient satisfaction: Who is rating the ratings?

Skeptical Scalpel, MD

Physician

November 5, 2018

Everything is being rated these days. But who is rating the ratings? As a public service, I have been blogging about the shortcomings of various rating systems since 2010. Two recent papers on this topic are worthy of review.

In a randomized controlled study, investigators from the University Hospital of Münster, Germany found that medical students who were provided cookies during academic course sessions rated the experience significantly higher than …

Doctors need to vote. And doctors need to help them.

Jonathan Kohler, MD

Physician

November 4, 2018

Doctors need to vote.

Everyone should vote, of course, but doctors have a unique perspective on some of the most important issues of the day, and it’s time we express that perspective in the one place it matters most: the ballot box. Whether it’s the actual effects of bullets on tissue, or the value of having health insurance for you and your children we are …

Physicians are more than their jobs

Jazbeen Ahmad, MD

Physician

November 3, 2018

I had a strange thought that both delighted and frightened me in my intern year: I was sitting in my parent’s living room, exhausted. I had been fortunate enough to complete residency near my parents and visited with them pretty regularly. I realized that being a doctor is like no other job because you eat, breath and sleep medicine, it becomes your life. You are a doctor when you are …

Read more…

Physicians are more than their jobs

6 ways to better work with physician recruiters

Health eCareers

Physician

November 3, 2018

This article is sponsored by Careers by KevinMD.com.

When searching for a new job, building strong relationships is an important part of the process, especially when you’re working with a physician recruiter. The relationship you create with your recruiter will set the tone for your job search and ultimately have an effect on whether or not you …

Why demanding a randomized controlled trial for vaccines is disingenuous

Christopher Johnson, MD

Physician

November 1, 2018

I swiped this editorial cartoon by Steve Sack from the redoubtable Dr. David Gorski’s blog, who goes by the nom-de-web of Orac. Recent epidemiology shows reducing the fraction of vaccinated children in the population rather promptly leads to a resurgence of the diseases vaccines protect against. This is the concept of community or herd immunity. …

Medical waste is a bigger problem than you might realize

Scott Hippe, MD

Physician

November 1, 2018

The nature of the crime? Bringing my reusable food container down for meals. I just wanted to avoid the Styrofoam plates and plastic silverware, but the lunch ladies were convinced I was asking for two portions’ worth of side dishes and then only paying for one. I wasn’t, although I admit to once sprinkling cheese from the salad line on my soup [gasp!]. But by that time, I already had a large target painted on …

Gender-diverse youth need pediatrician advocates

Olivia Low, MD

Physician

November 1, 2018

For many pediatricians, the thought of providing care to children who live outside of gender norms is daunting. But it is time for the pediatric community to awaken to the realities of our world. We need to stand behind our gender-expansive and transgender children, because their well-being depends on it.

Under our current administration, we as the pediatric community have the opportunity to define our goals and our vision as a …

Make sure you pay attention to your medical interpreter

Andrea Bischoff, MD

Physician

October 31, 2018

During my flight from Denver to Japan, I watched a movie called Un Traductor. It is a true story directed by the children of the couple who are the main characters in the movie. The reason why I chose this movie was that there was a Brazilian actor in it. Even so, I was not expecting to enjoy it as much as I did.

The story takes place in Cuba, and …

A bad outcome changed this physician’s life

Anonymous

Physician

October 31, 2018

I’m struggling — truly struggling. This year has been beyond hard. I honestly never thought this time last year that I would be in this predicament. Things were good, I had a great job, and I was working on our fixing up our dream retirement home. We had great vacations every year. Yes, the home remodel wasn’t quite on track, but we were making progress. But then, my world fell …

The doctor is in, but please check your bias at the door

Sameena Rahman, MD

Physician

October 31, 2018

“What’s the deal with your people?”

As a baffled second-year resident, I looked up through my scrub mask at the Caucasian female attending with whom I was operating. I had an idea about what she was referring to as I overheard her complain about a laboring patient while she was scrubbing with the other Caucasian attending who was operating in the room next door.

“She acts as if she has never had …

A story about the Patient and the Big Man

Maria Yang, MD

Physician

October 30, 2018

The nights from that time run together in my memory: The cuffs of my scrub pants getting caught on the heels of my clogs because my pants were sagging; stuffing dry graham crackers I stole from the nursing stations into my mouth at 4 a.m. to stay awake while writing notes; what seemed like my pager buzzing against my hip every five minutes; feeling the enormous specter of unending work …

Be the honest doctor instead of the confident one

Frederick Gandolfo, MD

Physician

October 30, 2018

This is an article about certainty, or maybe lack of certainty?

It is about the need for confidence, without having overconfidence.

Doctor! Don’t be arrogant — listen to your patient — they are telling you the answer.

So believe them, but be a skeptic!

Better yet, figure out the diagnosis, but then don’t believe yourself.

Try to prove yourself wrong at every turn.

The definition of the word hubris is important to understand. One definition of hubris is “exaggerated pride or …

4 things this family physician wants patients to know

Annie Ray, MD

Physician

October 29, 2018

Dear patients:

A few things come up daily in my office that need to be addressed. I’m just going to put these out there in the blogosphere in the hopes that someday they’ll be shared widely and save myself and other doctors a whole lot of hair-pulling (as an alternative to crowdfunding a Super Bowl ad).

1. Stop apologizing

So many people apologize out of habit for way too much (I’m guilty too), …

5 lessons on doing research as a resident

Kathryn Jobbins, DO

Physician

October 29, 2018

I remember sitting in my residency academic adviser’s office as I was discussing the plans I had designed for my community project at the end of my intern year. I can only imagine what she thought as I looked at her with a blank stare when she had suggested I should create an original research project around this. “What?” was all I had managed to mumble out of my mouth. …

Physician

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