When I meet a new person, and they find out I am a pediatric ER doctor, the most common response is a variation of: “Oh, that must be hard,” accompanied by a sympathetic frown.
The statement is well-intentioned, but I wonder — is their view of medicine closer to “Grey’s Anatomy” or “Scrubs?” (Hint: “Scrubs” is a better show and a more accurately reflects life in medicine.)
Albert Einstein once said, “The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing.”
No matter how advanced our artificial intelligence is and continues to evolve, it lacks the reproducibility of the powerful human instinct, sense of curiosity and constant questioning; especially when resulting in that “wow” moment of important scientific discoveries. Were it not for these powerful traits, medical science could not have evolved to …
Social norms are not the norm in the ER. Things that are regarded as gross in the real world are an everyday occurrence. Our ER especially lived in a special universe where all social graces were stripped away, and the rawness of humanity is what remained.
I begin my night shift. I hadn’t taken a solid nap before my shift, and I am now headed into round 3 of 4. Nights …
I recently read an article about how the physicians’ lounge, which was once present in every hospital and an important congregating area for doctors during the day, is now mostly a thing of the past. Although the article was not a new one, it peaked my interest because I’ve witnessed the demise of the physicians’ lounge at close quarters over the last several years.
The young woman was curled up in a ball. She was sweating and shivering from pain. As she answered my questions — all my many, many questions — tears fell silently from her eyes.
I was a third-year medical student, and the resident I was working with had asked me to evaluate this woman. She had …
I was recently at a meeting where some very influential physicians were discussing a question that I’ve been thinking about for a while: how do we find medical staff for rural emergency rooms and hospitals? It’s a tough question, because, increasingly, it seems that young physicians are trained to work in urban hospitals. Those are also the places these young doctors prefer to practice. Big hospitals and teaching centers in …
I have spent the last year doing a deep dive into my personal leadership style. I’ve done this for self-improvement and because some great leaders and mentors have challenged me to take a look at my skills. I’ve read countless blogs and books on leadership, specifically women leaders, and how they have succeeded at the helm.
There are a million different things books will tell you to be if you want …
When a drug is especially dangerous, or even potentially-maybe-especially dangerous, the FDA requires manufacturers to put a black box warning on the product insert. A black box warning is supposed to very explicitly say “buyer beware,” more than just the typical list of potential side effects mumbled by Mr. TalkFast at the end of a drug ad. It’s easy to ignore the wordy mumbling. The black box: That’s supposed to …
This past spring, I sat in a lecture hall at the Warren Alpert Medical School at the third annual Transgender Conference. A graduate of the Brown family medicine program, Alexis Drutchas, MD was the co-founder. I remember interviewing for residency and asking her what she was working on; she casually mentioned that she was creating a conference for the transgender community and medical community in the Blackstone Valley.
American physicians deserve to be paid well for their work. As a physician, myself, I know what it takes to become a doctor in the U.S. Four years of late nights in the college library in hopes of achieving a GPA commensurate with medical school admission; then four years of medical school, which makes the college work load feel light in retrospect; then, in my case, three years of residency …
The news cycle over the last several days has been dominated by President Trump’s interjection into the row about NFL players refusing to stand during the national anthem. The media went into hysteria following his curse remarks, and a full-blown row has gone on to develop. Turning this issue into a national political one is a great shame on so many different levels, including not least the reality …
“The fool doth think he is wise, but the wise man knows himself to be a fool.”
– William Shakespeare
I learned about the Dunning-Kruger effect at a medical conference recently. It certainly seems to apply in medicine. So often, a novice thinks he or she has mastered a new skill or achieved full understanding of something complicated, but as time goes on, …
Starting a new job is always stressful — the move from one institution to another, getting hospital credentials, obtaining provider credentialing for various insurances, meeting new staff, and adjusting to a new work “culture”. Having done my share of moves, these are nearly universal experiences. However, as I find myself walking around the hallowed halls …
An eleventh nursing home resident has died after an air conditioning failure following last week’s Hurricane Irma. The Rehabilitation Center at Hollywood Hills, located outside of Fort Lauderdale, was one of 160 nursing homes that had no electricity and no air conditioning, as power lines across the state were decimated by the storm. Yet, it was the only nursing home facility in the state of Florida where multiple deaths occurred …
As someone who talks to many physicians about burnout and life in medicine, I find myself having a lot of discussions about the circumstances of people’s jobs. Almost inevitably, there comes a point in the conversation where someone expresses dissatisfaction about an aspect of their contract or an additional responsibility that was placed on them.
As physicians, we’re groomed to take care of patients. During training, we don’t talk about compensation, …
RRegardless of specialty, no physician can truly provide patients with the care they deserve if they practice in isolation. In recent years, the health care system has acknowledged this reality by embracing greater collaboration and team-based care. With an aging population increasing the prevalence of chronic disease and life-threatening conditions, the timing couldn’t be better.
For the field of dermatology, the American Academy of Dermatology’s recent Burden …
A few weeks ago, my program hosted a lecture series that focused on patient safety. One lecturer truly caught my attention. He chose to highlight the fact that medical professionals have been trained since medical school that perfection, as a practicing physician, is necessary. We have been held to high expectations during our training, and we hold ourselves to these impossible standards as we continue our courses in residency and, …
With summer vacations over and school back in session, I should have gotten up earlier. The usually tough morning commute into Columbus was downright brutal, and I found myself getting repeatedly annoyed as I rushed to make it to clinic on time. Somehow, legally, I managed to make it right at 8 a.m., the start of my weekly asthma clinic. Though I arrived a bit later than usual, I still …
1. This is a calling. Physicians do not typically start out undeclared, drink through a couple of semesters and randomly apply to med school. For many, they started dreaming in grade school. They started pushing themselves for straight A’s in third grade, fought for valedictorian, turned down frat party invites to study, and then essentially gave up four years of their lives to med school incurring an average debt of …
