Doctors shouldn’t lie to their patients, even now when the parsing of words and the telling of white lies is common at the highest level of our government. But they do it all the time — sometimes for personal reasons but most of the time for what they believe is the good of their patients.
As …
Doctors sometimes lie to their patients. Is it ever OK?
Kang Se-hoon, a surgeon in South Korea, operated on a popular rock singer and song writer in October 2014. According to reports, Shin Hae-chul had abdominal pain, and the surgeon performed laparoscopic lysis of adhesions. Without having obtained consent, he decided to also do a weight reduction procedure.
The patient was discharged a few days after surgery but returned a day later with fever and severe abdominal pain. Kang did not …
What could be worse than being sued for malpractice? Prison.
Sometimes it is a light breeze across my face, sometimes it is a flutter in my heart, sometimes it is a glimmer of a memory, and momentarily, you are with me dad. The sensation never lasts long, just a flash sometimes as I’m talking to a patient or writing notes in a chart, and as soon as I recognize it, you are …
A physician’s tribute to her father
I did not enjoy dating. It was not fun to figure out who liked me, who didn’t, how did the date go, should I call them, should they call me, how long should I wait, the anxiety of rejection … the list goes on. My husband and I knew each other for years, and although we did not start dating right away, things worked out. I met the love of …
Finding a new physician job is just like dating
Picture an alternate universe where you as a physician look forward to your lunch break so that you can refuel and engage with your fellow colleagues. In this imaginary world, not only do you have time to eat and converse with others, but you also have time to throw on your sneakers and go for a walk outside before you start your afternoon. And the best part of all, while …
Refuel and engage: small tweaks towards addressing burnout
Since the advent of the internet and rise of social media, patients can connect and compare their experiences with prescribed drug withdrawal. A problem that was once considered rare is a worldwide epidemic that is finally getting noticed. A recent New York Times article discussed the problems many have discontinuing antidepressants, and more than 8,800 readers responded about their difficulty stopping …
Internet support forums for benzodiazepine withdrawal: the good, the bad, and the ugly
It was not so much the words as the overall tone of the interaction. The doctor-patient relationship had been generally affable. There was the usual exchange of pleasantries over the years. Questions about family, children, and grandchildren. It was a good relationship — until Harvey got sick, that is.
Originally, there was weight loss and fatigue. The initial physical exam and slew of testing showed nothing but a frail, cachectic, middle-aged …
When a physician gets yelled at
Editor’s note: This article contains racial slurs essential to the story.
A few days ago at my breakfast table, over coffee and my usual peanut butter protein shake, I read Doug Brunk’s article in Family Practice News about gun violence. The article reminded me that on the same day in history (April 16th, 2007) that the Virginia Tech shooter killed 32 people and injured 23 others, 231 other gun casualties occurred …
The drip, drip, drip of hate in the U.S.
High performers constantly struggle with the issue of time management. The more things you are good at, the more people who think you have talent, the more opportunities you are presented with, the harder time management becomes. In order to manage your time, you must first grasp one crucial concept: You cannot “manage time,” you can only manage yourself and how you take advantage of time.
Time will march on no …
The key to time management is the ability to say no
A doctor is working down their long list of patients, powering through the day, striving to use their skills to get them better. Some of the patients will be follow-ups who they already know; others will be brand new patients, who they are meeting for the first time. Of course, the job of any doctor is first and foremost to heal their patient in whatever way they can. That’s what …
Your patient has judged you 7 seconds after meeting you
We’re all human beings, but we’re not all alike.
Each person experiences pain differently, from an emotional perspective as well as a physical one, and responds to pain differently. That means that physicians like myself need to evaluate patients on an individual basis and find the best way to treat their pain.
Today, however, doctors are under pressure to limit costs and prescribe treatments based on standardized guidelines. A major gap looms …
Why physicians should respect the pain patients report
I often speak on stages at conferences. I am often the only woman and sit on what some have called “manels.” I love to teach large groups, and I enjoy medical and leadership conferences.
I used to take pride being “the only woman” on stage.
Not anymore.
For years I would be on panels, and I would be the only woman. Many times I was given the “case presentation.” The more serious panel …
It’s time for women physicians to shine on stage
For many years, I’ve held a brief huddle with my team every morning to make sure we are ready for the day: Anybody with complex problems coming in today? Anybody who’s been in the ER? How is Mrs. Jones’s husband over at the nursing home, is she worried about his condition? Where can we squeeze in more add-on’s?
Now other people have tried to hijack the word “huddle” for a completely …
When preventive care becomes upselling in medicine
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My wife and I have befriended multiple people with struggling marriages. Maybe this shouldn’t be a big surprise given the majority of marriages end in divorce. That said, every time we end up with friends struggling in marriage, it never gets any less challenging. Every single time we run into this challenge, I am reminded of some sage advice I received before I got married: “The three most common causes …
How physicians can save their marriage
I hadn’t thought about this call night in a while, as it happened three years ago. It came back into my consciousness this past week, when I re-experienced the events in a dream. (Of note, my stress dreams used to be about my car accident in 2014, which was a high-speed collision that left me in crutches. I guess I can now safely say that some call nights are actually …
When mansplaining kills patients
I grabbed a few beach pillows, put on my old worn-out blue beach button down, poured myself a glass of whiskey and walked down to the beach from our villa to watch the sunset. My four friends and I were ten days deep into a two-week vacation. We had already toured Seoul, South Korea for three days, Tokyo, Japan for four days and Hong Kong for three days. So, I …
No matter where you are, you’re still a doctor
A cup of black coffee — such an ordinary request. Behind this request is a mother of a dying son, who due to financial restraints, has slept on the same hospital recliner chair and eaten the same oatmeal and mashed potatoes made from a water kettle every day for months. What can we offer when there is no more chemotherapy, what can we do to alleviate this mother’s struggle? A …
Palliative care: My moral grounds were shaken and my beliefs challenged
I was in my surgical residency back in the days of “you can go home when the work is done.” A few years before I arrived as an intern, one of my attending surgeons had decided he was going to jump on the trauma train. Trauma was in its infancy back then, and he was convinced (and rightly so) that patients could be greatly helped with this relatively new concept …
This surgeon changed his mind about having more support
Dear millennial,
Mea culpa!
I’m not so old — but old enough to have thrown out my share of jabs at the millennial generation. My quips have been nothing creative: lazy, entitled, lacking work ethic, you know, the usual stuff. These generalizations were how I would describe the work-hour restricted medical residents, the girl behind the Brandy Melville counter, heck even my brothers (one of whom I don’t even think technically classifies …
Do millennials have the key to fight burnout?
I would like to give some tips to younger doctors regarding how to tell your patient that he is going to die. Your approach should also incorporate your unique personality, as well as published literature and other resources.
For your first case, watch someone more senior tell the patient. See what you think worked and what could be improved. When it is your turn, make sure to have …
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