An excerpt from Confessions of an American Doctor: A true story of greed, ego and loss of ethics.
The Medical Board of California attorney, Mr. Arnold, proceeded to read the discussion I had with the undercover agent regarding the source of the human growth hormone, including the …
Confessions of a criminal doctor
For many centuries medical practice was a black art. What physicians did was based upon theories of how the body worked that turned out to be fanciful at best, dangerous at worst. The late nineteenth century brought breakthroughs in the biological sciences, such as the identification of bacteria and new understandings of physiology, which increasingly placed medical practice on a scientific basis. That process has continued over the past 150 years, …
The promise and pitfalls of evidence-based medicine
Now, I’m just a country doctor, but I have to say I find it very hard to understand why folks in this country, on one hand, keep talking about a doctor shortage in primary care and, on the other hand, keep piling sillywork on those of us who are still here.
The net effect is that the doctor shortage is going to be a whole lot worse than it has to …
The doctor shortage is worse than it has to be
My friend and neighbor died last week. In his early eighties, wiry, opinionated, well-read, he never tolerated schooling. He built an excavating business with a perfected aesthetic for contouring soil and also built a few homes in town including mine. When he saw the architect’s lower pitched roof framed on the garage, he had it torn off because: “It just wasn’t right. It looks like a tiny bowler hat on …
Hospice and palliative care are bringing dying back to life
I have lived for some time with depression. Most of the time, it is nagging in the background, helped by exercise, family and friends. But a few times, despite my best efforts, it has gotten out of control.
At the middle of my chief year in November, it came to a head. I was under tremendous pressure to apply for fellowship when I didn’t think it was what was best for …
I had depression, and my fellow doctors treated me horribly
During a recent internal medicine rotation, a senior resident expressed disappointment that I’ve chosen a career in family medicine. He was concerned that my talents would be wasted, because — in his words — I wouldn’t get to care for the “more complex patients” he sees in internal medicine. Although I appreciated his confidence in my abilities, I felt my heart sink, as it does each time I am faced …
No, I’m not settling for family medicine
Women surgeons all over the globe have been recreating the “Operating Theatre” cover of the New Yorker through the #NYerORCoverChallenge. The public recognition of women in what has been a male-dominated field has rallied female surgeons’ spirits everywhere.
Except, perhaps, mine. While I am fiercely proud of my surgical sisters, I also feel a twinge of sadness, because I know so many of the untold …
Can women be empowered and avoid burnout?
While Muzak plays (think Kenny G covering John Mayer) and courteous expressions like “excuse me” and “thank you” are exchanged in hospital waiting rooms, behind the front desk, angry patients are firing curse words into the hallway like their mouths are assault rifles with an endless supply of ammunition. Nurses are being cussed out by patients who sound like characters in “Platoon.” And medical professionals are dropping f-bombs. All of …
Why medical professionals have potty mouths
It was the end of my third year in OB/GYN residency. I was 39 weeks pregnant with you and doing a hysterectomy, my gravid abdomen being utilized as an “extra hand” to displace the large clamp nicely to the side as I pressed my belly gently against the table. I was doing surgery all day and loved operating and feeling your occasional gentle movements when in the quiet operating room as …
A letter from a doctor to her child
The American health care system is broken, but it is not really “health care” that is the problem.|
The science of medicine, the tests, and the treatments available are better than ever. It is health care bureaucracy that is the problem. But doctors, nurses, and patients bear the brunt of the dysfunction. Medical professionals are unable to practice, and patients are denied the care they need, even though it is readily …
It is time for physicians to fight back. Now.
The world of health care continues to change at a breathtaking pace. For reasons too long to go into during a short article, there’s been a huge shift of power away from individual doctors and patients, and towards administrators and big corporations. Health care in its most raw primary form used to be about Dr. Johnson’s small office around the corner,which would serve you and your …
What’s wrong with health care leaders today
As we enter into the hospital each day, our goal is giving patients the best care we can provide. We get a list of patients that we will take care of each day, and as we get that list, we start thinking about what we should monitor in terms of their physical exam, lab results, and vital signs to ensure that their hospital course runs smoothly for the day. However, …
Being superhuman in the most human circumstance
One of the things I most enjoy about being an anesthesiologist is the wide variety of patients that I see. You never know who you’re going to have the privilege to care for on a given day. Although my group is large, I will occasionally be assigned to a patient that I personally know. And occasionally, someone I know will request me as their anesthesiologist.
Last month I took care of …
When patients personally know their anesthesiologist
ADVERTISEMENT
I was covering for my partner over the weekend and saw his patient with end-stage liver disease, a consequence of decades of alcohol abuse.|
He was one of the most deeply jaundiced individuals I have ever seen. His mental status was still preserved. He could converse and responded appropriately to my routine inquiries, although he was somewhat sluggish in his thinking. It’s amazing that even after the majority of a liver …
Physicians are under no professional obligation to provide care that is futile
I think it’s fair to say a small part of all of us died along with Grace McDermott. Grace was a beautiful, talented PhD student studying in Ireland who tragically passed away in a house fire this past week. She was many things — musician, blogger, extrovert, women’s rights activist — but she was also my first girlfriend. I’m still in shock.
It’s hard to comprehend something like this. The mind shudders and reels, seeking …
A physician’s ode to someone who changed his life
A good relationship between a patient and his or her physician is the cornerstone of superb medical care. That relationship is important when you know the doctor well. It may be even more important when you don’t, say when you are in the hospital.
Growing competition for new customers is inspiring American hospitals to focus on providing …
8 traits of excellent hospital doctors
While I was in full-time practice, as far as I can tell, I received one bad anonymously written online patient review. It was on one of the numerous sites that exist but allows written reviews. The star rating is not much better since here you have no idea what the complaint is. However, the weight these reviews carry will increase, so we better take heed. Plus, given the fact that …
Are you now, or have you ever been, a bad doctor?
An open letter to the American Board of Family Medicine (ABFM):
I recently chose to sit for my sixth (and I hope final) family practice maintenance of certification (MOC) examination, having now practiced as a board certified family physician for the past 34 years and intending to work a few more years. I want to share my experience taking this examination your organization prepares, promotes and uses at a high cost …
This family physician is deeply disappointed in maintenance of certification
It was a case that every physician dreads. I took a deep breath, mustered up some courage and walked towards my patient’s room. When I entered, I saw an apprehensive and anxious family who was patiently waiting for some answers. The mother was sitting at bedside with eyes closed, hands clung to a rosary and lips whispering a prayer. The patient’s sister was standing by the window, looking out with …
Nurses make me a better doctor
The nurse grabs me: “You have to check my patient now! She is screaming and bearing down.”
Without letting go of my hand, she leads me into the labor room. I don’t even consider saying no, I know not to question this nurse. She has been a labor and delivery nurse nearly as long as I have been alive; she knows much more than I about everything.
The room is dark, but …
No words can convey the gratitude I have for nurses
Get free updates delivered free to your inbox.
